NCAA Basketball: Top 25 NCAA Tournament upsets since 2000
By Joey Loose
22. #14 Stephen F. Austin 70, #3 West Virginia 56 (2016 Round of 64)
Head coach Brad Underwood made a name for himself very quickly with his success at Stephen F. Austin. Underwood tore through the Southland in his three years (89-14), but he built a team that could beat more than just low-major foes.
In 2014, his Lumberjacks scratched out a close win over the 5-seed VCU Rams before falling two days later to the UCLA Bruins. Two years later, they struck again in March.
Another clean sweep through Southland play won the Lumberjacks a paltry 14-seed and a date with the West Virginia Mountaineers, a team with intense full court defense. “Press Virginia” posed a formidable threat to any foe, especially a low-seeded mid-major. Fortunately for the Lumberjacks, they were no ordinary 14-seed.
West Virginia pulled ahead in the first half, eventually building a 9-point lead, but the Lumberjacks didn’t panic. Led by senior stud Thomas Walkup, the Lumberjacks hit their shots and got back into the game, overcoming the Mountaineers’ press and swallowing them up with their own defense.
By halftime, the Lumberjacks had built a 3-point lead before pulling away after the break. Midway through the second half, West Virginia was within three points, but Stephen F. Austin would rebuild a double-digit lead, hitting its free throws and pulling away late.
The aforementioned Walkup was a machine for the Lumberjacks, scoring nearly half (33) of their points and hitting 19 of his 20 free throw attempts. Each team shot 30 percent and the Lumberjacks were greatly out-rebounded (48-33), but the Mountaineers were doomed by 22 turnovers. Devin Williams led West Virginia with 12 points and 17 rebounds, but he shot poorly from the field and had five turnovers himself.
After a third conference title and second Tourney upset, Underwood would take the Oklahoma State Cowboys job before heading to the Illinois Fighting Illini a year later.
It was impressive enough that a 14-seed pulled the first-round upset, but for the Lumberjacks to power past a team like the Mountaineers in the way they did made it all the more special. There was no panic for Stephen F. Austin, the Lumberjacks simply played their game and pulled off one of the year’s biggest upset wins.