NCAA Basketball: Top 20 biggest tournament upsets of all time

By Brock Zimmermann | Apr 19, 2017

Mar 24, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; General view of a march madness logo during practice the day before the semifinals of the Midwest regional of the NCAA Tournament at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports /

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18. Duke over UNLV – 1991

UNLV entered the Final Four looking to continue a perfect season and become back-to-back national champions. The game was a rematch of the National Championship the year before with the Rebels coming out on top. UNLV had won 41 games in a row dating back to the 1990 season.

The 1989-90 Rebels team sent four players to the NBA and beat the Blue Devils by 30, embarrassing them in the National Title game. They cruised to an unblemished record following their National Championship and met the Duke Blue Devils for the second year in a row.

Duke was a great team but on paper, the Rebels were believed to be too strong. The No. 2 seeded Blue Devils beat the No. 1 overall seeded Rebels, 79-77, and derailed a potential perfect season.

The victory would propel Duke into the national spotlight and begin the reign of one of the most dominant programs in NCAA basketball.

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