Isaiah Wilkins' Cavaliers are featured in the biggest upsets in March Madness History

10 Biggest March Madness Betting Upsets Ever: Spartans Top The List

March Madness creates the perfect mixture of beer and gambling to see one of the biggest upsets in March Madness go down. It took overtime for the No. 15 Saint Peter’s Peacocks as 18.5-point underdogs to down the No. 2 Kentucky Wildcats 85-79 but where does this game rank in the top 10 biggest March Madness upsets?

If you’re looking to avoid getting caught in a March Madness upset, let our college basketball computer picks page do the thinking for you. Meanwhile, if you have that keen eye and want to capitalize on a big underdog, see our best March Madness betting sites for where you can place your bet.

Whether it’s Northwestern State coming back from a 17-point deficit to beat Iowa in 2006, VCU cruising past top-ranked Kansas in 2011 or Lehigh beating Duke in what was basically a road game in 2012, nothing is more exciting and profitable than the underdog story.

Top 10 Biggest March Madness Upsets

Biggest March Madness Spread Upsets
DateUnderdogFavoriteClosing SpreadFinal Score
March 16, 2012No. 15 Norfolk StNo. 2 Mizzou-/+ 21.086-84 Norfolk St
March 16, 2018No. 16 UMBCNo. 1 Virginia-/+ 20.574-54 UMBC
March 14, 1997No. 15 Coppin StNo. 2 South Carolina-/+ 19.078-65 Coppin St
March 17, 2022No. 15 Saint Peter’sNo. 2 Kentucky-/+ 18.585-79 Saint Peter’s
March 15, 2001No. 15 HamptonNo. 2 Iowa State-/+ 17.558-57 Hampton
March 18, 2016No. 15 Middle TennesseeNo. 2 Michigan St-/+ 16.590-81 Middle Tennessee
March 19, 2021No. 15 Oral RobertsNo. 2 Ohio State-/+ 1575-72 Oral Roberts
March 11, 1999No. 14 Weber StNo. 3 UNC-/+ 15.076-74 Weber St
March 18, 2010No. 14 OhioNo. 3 Georgetown-/+ 14.097-83 Ohio
March 19, 2015No. 14 UABNo. 3 Iowa State-/+ 14.060-59 UAB

Upsets like the ones above destroy people’s March Madness bracket predictions in a hurry. If you’re unfamiliar with what the odds mean, our How to Bet on March Madness guide will talk you through the information.

What Was The Biggest Upset In March Madness History?

Of course, many people will quickly respond with the only No. 16 seed to knock off a No. 1 seed and that happened in 2018 when the UMBC Retrievers ran through the Virginia Cavaliers 74-54 as 20.5-point underdogs. But you would be wrong if that was your thought for the biggest upset.

We Are Spartan!

The biggest upset belongs to the 2012 Norfolk State Spartans. The 2012 MEAC champions toppled Mizzou 86-84 despite closing as 21-point dogs to the Tigers, who owned the sixth-ranked scoring offense in the nation. As Norfolk State’s star player, Kyle O’Quinn, said after the game, “We messed up some brackets!”

Recent March Madness Upsets

The most recent upset to make the list came with the aforementioned Saint Peter’s Peacocks edging the Kentucky Wildcats. The game was tied at the end of the first half and at the end of the second before the Peacocks outscored the Wildcats 14-8 in overtime to advance to the Round of 32. 

With the Wildcats losing, the East Region odds have shifted dramatically, as Kentucky was favored at +200. Baylor now tops the list at +180. 

We have also now had back-to-back years with upsets that rank inside the top 10 for biggest of all time with No. 15 Oral Roberts topping No. 2 Ohio State in 2021 by a score of 75-72 as a 15-point underdog.

Will there be more upsets for the 2022 March Madness? Head over to our college basketball best betting sites page to get in on the action.

How To Bet On An Upset In March Madness

Here at Odds Shark, we have many betting resources to help your handicapping process and hopefully find an upset to cash in on. To start, our college basketball scores page has consensus picks, the spread for the game and links to line history and matchup information. 

Furthermore, below is a list of the betting history of the results from the Sportsbook round since 1996. You will see the betting trends for all the seed matchups, but in the list of the top 10 March Madness upsets of all time, you may notice a lot of No. 15 seeds beating No. 2 seeds.

 

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