NCAA Basketball: Top 25 NCAA Tournament upsets since 2000

3. #15 Middle Tennessee 90, #2 Michigan State 81 (2016 Round of 64)

When the 2016 NCAA Tournament bracket was revealed, it showed that the Michigan State Spartans would be the 2-seed in the Midwest region. This placement was a surprise to some, as the Denzel Valentine-led Spartans were a legitimate title favorite.

They had started the year winning their first 13 games and had been even stronger down the stretch. The Spartans won 13 of their last 14 games, including a Big Ten Tournament title. The trendy title pick entered the NCAA Tournament with a lot of momentum.

But long before they could even flirt with the Final Four, the Spartans had to win four games, and the first of those would end up being quite the challenge. Having won the Conference USA Tournament, the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders were given a 15-seed and the unenviable task of facing those Spartans.

They boasted a home win over the Auburn Tigers, though that was long before Bruce Pearl revitalized the Tigers program. This game against the Spartans would by far be their biggest challenge of the year, but they weren’t going to back down from a challenge.

Before they could blink, the Spartans were down 15-2 to the feisty Blue Raiders. They would erase this early run later in the half, but this Blue Raiders team hit their shots and came to play.

By halftime, the Blue Raiders held a six-point lead and didn’t disappear after the break. They led the entire second half, having a response for every Michigan State run.

With under four minutes left, the Spartans made this a one-point game, but their offense disappeared down the stretch. The Blue Raiders hit enough shots and knocked down their free throws and escaped with a stunning victory.

This was a Michigan State team loaded with talent, but they were going home after one game. Middle Tennessee shot 56 percent from the field, including the 11-19 mark from te 3 that was important to them building that advantage.

Valentine only had 13 points for the Spartans, and Matt Costello’s career-high 22 points and nine rebounds simply weren’t enough. These Spartans shot well (55 percent), but couldn’t make enough plays down the stretch in a game they should have easily won. Reggie Upshaw had 21 points, while Giddy Potts added 19, sending the Blue Raiders to the next round.

Though they were smoked by the Syracuse Orange in the second round, the Blue Raiders had already pulled an incredible shocker, busting brackets around the country. With the way Valentine and his Spartans were playing, this effort by Middle Tennessee will go down as one of the most unexpected and stunning first-round upsets in NCAA Tournament history.