March Madness is the most cumulatively watched month of collegiate sports in the world. Named after the propensity for upsets and bracket breakers, March Madness viewers are open to every possibility, but with that being said here are the top 5 March Madness upsets in 2024 thus far.
- Clemson vs. Arizona
As a 6-seed vs the 2-seed and odds heavily in favor of Arizona, Clemson continued their March Madness run with a 77-72 win. Compared to Arizona, Clemson was collectively shooting almost 12% better from the field than Arizona, and had up until this point been a much stronger contender, nevertheless, with show-out performances from Chase Hunter and PJ Hall, Clemson beat out the odds in a great game and an amazing upset.
- NC State vs. Marquette
The number 2 seed Marquette has plenty of explosive players but in a thrilling upset by the 11-seed NC State completely dominated Marquette in their match-up. With a 9-point 67-58 win NC State beat the Tyler Kolek and Cameron Johnson duo that runs Marquette’s offense. A major contributing factor to this upset was the abysmal three-point shooting from Marquette with a team average of 12.9%. And despite having double the amount of free throws of NC State, DJ Horne’s offense and Mohammed Diara’s defense propelled the 11-seed further in their Cinderella story.
- Duquesne vs. BYU
Looking at the records for both teams you might not have expected the odds to be so in favor of BYU, but as it turns out most people had their bets riding on them. Duquesne won 71-67 in a game that went down to the wire. Duquesne took a strong lead in the first half, but BYU managed to claw back to a fighting position in the second, unfortunately for BYU Duquesne took control of the game in the final minute and secured their lead ending BYU’s March Madness run. The main force behind Duquesne’s performance was without a doubt Dae Dae Grant, who kept the lead in that final stretch.
- Yale vs. Auburn
2 points was all that separated the favorites, Auburn, from beating the 13-seed Yale team. Both teams had amazing performances with great shooting averages and good performances from their star players. Yale had a nail-biting 78-76 win, over the number 4 seed Auburn, but in the first half the story seemed like it would play out as intended, but it most definitely did not. John Poulakidas had 28 points in 36 minutes, a dominant performance that was central to the second-half comeback by Yale. Beating the odds, and in extreme fashion this game was an incredible upset to watch live, second only to the obvious first place.
- Oakland vs. Kentucky
The 3-seed Kentucky, a blue-blood basketball college responsible for some of the best NBA talent in the league right now disappoints once again in a massive upset from the 14-seed team: Oakland Golden Grizzlies. Led by the three-point man Jack Gohlke who seemingly only shoots threes showed everyone why you can never can’t any team out with his 32-point game. Jack Gohlke and the Golden Grizzlies showed in truly storybook fashion the power of determination in the face of adversity.
