NCAA Basketball: Top 25 NCAA Tournament upsets since 2000

5. #14 Mercer 78, #3 Duke 71 (2014 Round of 64)

Led by phenomenal freshman Jabari Parker, the Duke Blue Devils were a pretty solid team in 2014. They had lost a few more games than they had envisioned, but a 26-8 mark after the ACC Tournament still netted these Blue Devils a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

With players like Rodney Hood and Quinn Cook, this Duke squad could definitely make a deep run, especially if Parker had a few standout games. Anything can happen in March Madness, but these Blue Devils had a challenge before they could even dream of the second or third weekends.

The year before, the Mercer Bears had been upset at home in the final of the Atlantic Sun Tournament. They had watched from the NIT, as the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles pulled off their big upsets of the Georgetown Hoyas and the San Diego State Aztecs; but they were not going to be denied this year.

Mercer took care of business and secured the automatic bid, knowing they had their work cut out for them against the Blue Devils. However, just like their rival Eagles the year before, this team had a bit of magic inside of them.

There was never a point where the Blue Devils could pull away against the pesky 14-seeded Bears. The Duke lead was as large as seven, but Mercer fought back against every run.

The entire game was a back and forth affair, something these Blue Devils certainly didn’t expect would happen. After taking a five-point lead late, the Blue Devils failed to close out the game, losing control on an 11-0 Mercer run that iced the game away.

Incredibly, Jabari Parker and the Blue Devils had fallen again in the first round; and this time, there wasn’t a future NBA star on their opponent’s roster. They lived and died on the 3-pointer, making 15 of their 37 attempts against Mercer’s stout defense, but it simply wasn’t enough.

Parker didn’t have a breakout game; while 23 points from Cook (on seven 3-pointers) wasn’t enough either. Jakob Gollon led the Bears with 20 points for a team that hit 55 percent of their field goals. The Bears were efficient and careful with the basketball; exactly how they pulled this monumental upset.

Mercer didn’t have enough left in the tank against the 11-seed Tennessee Volunteers, but they had already pulled 2014’s most unexpected upset. For the second year in a row, the underappreciated Atlantic Sun shined brightly. For the second time in three years, the Blue Devils were done after one game. Even as Duke marched to the title the following year, memories of their performance against Mercer will not be forgotten.