NCAA Basketball: Top 25 NCAA Tournament upsets since 2000
By Joey Loose
4. #15 Norfolk State 86, #2 Missouri 84 (2012 Round of 64)
There’s no doubt that Frank Haith inherited a solid team when he took over as head coach of the Missouri Tigers in 2011, but that doesn’t diminish the incredible first year he had.
His Tigers won their first 14 games and dropped just four games in Big 12 play. They knocked off a ranked Baylor Bears squad three times, beat the Kansas Jayhawks, the Illinois Fighting Illini and won the Big 12 Tournament. Their 30-4 record netted them a 2-seed and cemented their status as a true Final Four contender.
Their preparations would begin with the Norfolk State Spartans, the 15-seed who had triumphed in the MEAC Tournament. They were getting 15 points a game from senior center Kyle O’Quinn, but this was also a team that looked good against weak MEAC foes.
Either way, the Tigers had spent the first two months of their season crushing teams in non-conference play; this Norfolk State team would just be their latest victim.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, that is not what happened. The Spartans started the game with hot shooting and fought off every run that Missouri could muster. By halftime, this was a tied game.
After the break, there was more of the same, with the Spartans buoyed by their hot shooting. The game was a back and forth affair all the way down to the end. A pair of free throws by Rodney McCauley gave the Spartans their two-point lead; though it should’ve been put out of hand.
O’Quinn missed two important free throws, setting up one final chance for the Tigers. At the buzzer, Phil Pressey got a good look, but his 3-pointer missed and the Spartans prevailed.
They had done the remarkable, scoring an incredible first round upset over the 2-seeded Tigers. The Spartans shot 54 percent from the field, including 10-of-19 from 3.
Despite missing those free throws to ice the game, O’Quinn had 26 points and 14 rebounds in a breakout effort. Chris McEachin and Pendarvis Williams both added 20 points in a remarkable offensive effort for the Spartans, who got all 86 points from their five starters.
The Tigers also had three players with 20 points (Michael Dixon Jr. with 22, Marcus Denmon with 20, Pressey with 20), but they just didn’t hit enough shots to keep up with the Spartans.
A few hours after Norfolk State’s incredible win, the Lehigh Mountain Hawks pulled their upset of the Duke Blue Devils, giving us two incredible upsets featuring 15 seeds nabbing victories.
What’s more incredible about the Spartans’ performance is that they didn’t have a future star leading the way. This was a group of talented players who played their hearts out when it mattered most. They were massive underdogs, but that didn’t keep them pulling off a stunner.