Betting College Basketball

 Home
 Basketball History
 Brackets
 Biggest Upsets
 Champs
 MVP's
 Final Four History
 Final Four 30's
 Final Four 40's
 Final Four 50's
 Final Four 60's
 Final Four 70's
 Final Four 80's
 Final Four 90's
 Final Four 2000's
 
 
betED Sportsbook & Casino
 

When it comes to sports the Final Four has produced some of greatest sports upsets ever in the history of sports.

Here are some of the most famous Final Fours upsets

1996 - Princeton Tigers shock the UCLA Bruins

In this game the backdoor pick and roll could have not been made even more perfect even if it were done by John Stocktan and Karl Malone themselves.
This was a game where the 13th seed Princeton Tigers defeated the defending champs UCLA Bruins in the first round. Tigers, 43-41.

1994 - Boston College over No. 1 UNC in round two

Boston College ended the North Carolina Tar Heels' golden era of 13 straight Sweet 16 appearances, winning 75-72 despite facing a loaded, stacked and experienced team, with future NBA players Jerry Stackhouse and Rasheed Wallace, that had won the 1993 title just a year earlier.

1993 - Santa Clara beats Arizona

This marked a second straight year that Arizona had been ousted in the first round in a huge upset. In 1992, the victors had been 14th seed East Tennessee State. The spread of this game had Arizona a 30 point favorite.

This was the emergence of a future NBA MVP. This was a coming out party not only for the Santa Clara basketball program but also an awkward looking player who would someday would become MVP.

The Santa Clara Broncos were a twenty point underdogs against Arizona, who they faced in the first round of the West Regional in Salt Lake City. The Broncos were as "a motley jumble of eggheads, surfers and imports," survived a late run of 25 straight points by the Number 2 seeded and fifth-ranked overall, Arizona Wildcats to win, 64-61.

One of those motley jumble egghead imports was Steve Nash 2005 NBA MVP.
I guess the saying is true: You can't judge a book by its cover.

1991 - UNLV versus Duke

How could a Duke Blue Devils team winning ever be considered an upset you say? And this Duke team was coached by Mike Krzyzewski, and led by Christian Laettner and Bobby Hurley.

And they scored one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history?

That's how dominating the UNLV Runnin' Rebels were in 1991. After all, UNLV returned its top four players from the '90 squad that beat Duke by 30 points. Coupled with the embarrassing loss in the '90 finals, no one gave Duke a chance against the spectacular Rebels

The original fab four of Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Anderson Hunt and Greg Anthony already had their place in history but they wanted more. The talk of the '91 season was where the Rebels ranked all-time. Were they the most talented team ever assembled?

Jerry Tarkanian's club rolled through an undefeated regular season, where margin of victory was the only question each game. Once the tournament started, the games didn't get much tougher as they won all but one of their first four games by double figures.

Duke's unbelievable upset propelled them into the national finals against Kansas. The Devils were somewhat flat but defeated the Jayhawks to win the national title. After all, this was their year.

1986 - LSU beats Kentucky to advance to the Final Four

It seemed destined to be a doomed year for the Bayou Bengals after already losing three times to No. 1 Kentucky during the season.

But in the tournament, they scored three straight upsets -- over Purdue, Memphis State, and Georgia Tech. Then they beat Kentucky 59-57 at the Omni in Atlanta, effectively using "The Freak," a deceptive defense devised by Dale Brown -- and became the lowest seed ever to make it to the Final Four.

Billy Packer wrote that Brown did one of the "greatest coaching jobs in history," in getting his decimated team to the semis.

1986 - Little Rock ousts the Irish

10th ranked Notre Dame went into their first round game at the Minneapolis Metrodome a 17-point favorites over the Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans.

The 14th-seeded Trojans played a near-perfect second half, going 15 for 19 from the field and hitting 9 of 11 from the free throw line in the final minutes to win, 90-83.

1985 - Villanova beats Georgetown for the championship

The Georgetown Hoyas, the 1984 champions led by future NBA all time 50 best players ever Patrick Ewing, looked like an instant lock in 1985. The Villanova Wildcats, the 8th seed in the Southeast Regional, never cracked the Top 20 all year and lost twice during the season to the Hoyas. This was a total mismatch, however, would not be more further from the truth.

Surprisingly, the Wildcats led 29-28 at the half. Missing only one shot from the field the Wildcats played a nearly flawless second half. Villanova won, 66-64, by shooting 78 percent against the best defensive team in the nation.

How great was the Villanova performance? Well after the game, they were applauded by none other than Georgetown Hoyas themselves. "Any time you shoot that percentage you deserve the praise," said Georgetown coach John Thompson. "You couldn't get much better."

1983 - NC State shocks Houston

This is one of the most surprising and shocking result EVER in all of sports history. NC State had lost 10 regular season games, and nobody and I mean nobody expected them to get to the Elite Eight, much less the title game. The NC State Wolfpack were on a postseason roll, having won the ACC tournament and then advancing past Pepperdine, Virginia, and Georgia in tight games.

Now they had the opportunity to face the Phi Slamma Jamma gang and Akeem Olajuwon.

NC State led at the half, and overcame a 17-2 run by Houston at the start of the second half to tie the game at 52 with two minutes left. The Wolfpack then fouled freshman guard Alvin Franklin, who missed the front end of a one-and-one. State rebounded and held the ball for the last shot, but the final play went awry, and Dereck Whittenburg -- who'd sunk two straight to tie the game -- missed a desperation 30-footer. As it fell far short of the rim, Lorenzo Charles went up, grabbed it, and slammed it in with one second left for an amazing Wolfpack win.

1966 - Texas Western defeats Kentucky

Texas Western (now the University of Texas at El Paso) was the first College basketball team to ever use an all-black starting five. Heavy underdogs vs. Kentucky ("Rupp's Runts" -- all under 6'6") and its openly racist coach, Adolph Rupp. Rupp could spot white talent -- Louie Dampier and Pat Riley were All-Americans -- but he couldn't spot the future. This upset had it all. Racial injustice, David versus Goliath and overcoming indifferences. This is the stuff movies are made of and in 2006 it will be. Texas Western, 72-65.

1956 - Canisius stuns NC State

Who the hell is Canisius you say. Well that why they are one of the greatest NCAA upset Before there even was an official Final Four, there was still an undeniable exciting flavor to the tournament. Case in point: The Wolfpack was ranked number 2 in the nation when they faced Canisius in the first round. And in quadruple overtime, Canisius won, 79-78. Where Canisius is now who know but this is one of the greatest upsets ever.
 

Directory | Site Map | Copyright Notice

 
 
Win-With-Free-Picks
WinWithFreePicks
Sign-up today for all the FREE NFL, MLB, NCAA, NBA, NHL newsletter. Get the latest strategies, daily lines, in-depth analysis, free sports picks and predictions daily.
 
Total Odds

 

Who2beton
 
 
 
Superbowl Histories