When a team has reached the Final Four, they’ve almost certainly earned a mountain of respect. It doesn’t matter if they’re from a mid-major or started off the tournament as a lowly 8 seed. Teams that reach college basketball’s ultimate stage have typically slayed a blue blood dragon or two along the way.
That respect is almost always reflected in the betting odds in the Final Four.
Look at how tight the lines are for this weekend’s games, for instance. Illinois is a narrow -2 favorite over UConn, while Michigan is a -1.5 favorite over Arizona.
The 2010 Butler Bulldogs were completely unknown nationally before the Big Dance. But, by the time they reached the National Semifinal round, they were a favorite (-1.5) against a known powerhouse like Michigan State, even though both were five seeds.
All that said, there have been times throughout the history of the Final Four in which monumental upsets have taken place, and the disrespected finally get their just due. These are the 10 Biggest Final Four Upsets of All-Time.
10.2003: Syracuse over Kansas, National Championship
Kansas was a 2 seed and Syracuse was a 3 seed in the 2003 National Title game. Syracuse was led by Carmelo Anthony. So, the Orange being a decently-sized underdog in this scenario seems strange now.
Then again, late March and early April of 2003 was a strange time period. Von Dutch was still huge, and Chingy was about to release “Right Thurrr”. So I suppose a Carmelo-led Syracuse team as a +5.5 underdog makes perfect sense.
A good part of the reasoning at the time was that Jim Boeheim was thought of as nothing more than a spectacled-wearing choke artist, as Syracuse often knocked on the door of a natty, but never quite kicked the thing in.
Syracuse was up by 11 at halftime in this affair, but Kansas made things interesting, cutting it to 80-78 with under 40 seconds remaining. Hakim Warrick had a memorable block, and Kirk Hinrich’s attempt to tie the game on a 3-pointer at the buzzer went long, giving the Orange the upset victory.
9.2014: UConn over Florida, National Semifinals
The Gators were the No. 1 overall seed in the 2014 tournament and were facing a UConn team that was a far-cry from previous title winners, as far as on-paper talent goes.
UConn went just 12-6 in conference play that season, while Florida was the first team to ever go 18-0 in the SEC.
Kevin Ollie’s Huskies barely made it out of the first round of the 2014 tournament as St. Joe’s took them to overtime in Round 1 (an 89-81 UConn win) and entered the game against the Gators as a 7-point underdog. But DeAndre Daniels led the way for UConn with a 20-point, 10 rebound performance, while Shabazz Napier chipped in with 12 points and six assists.
The Huskies held the high-powered Gators to just 53 points in a 10-point victory.
8.2015: Wisconsin over Kentucky, National Semifinals
A year earlier, Kentucky reached the Final Four as an 8 seed and upset second seeded Wisconsin. We got the same matchup in 2015 but this time the roles were reversed. Kentucky was the undefeated No. 1 overall seed and were at the height of John Calipari’s “One-and-Done” era as the team boasted Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker.
Kentucky entered the game as a -5.5 favorite.
This clash was tied at halftime, and Wisconsin kept the pedal to the floor throughout the second half. Frank Kaminsky and Bronson Koenig went 7-for-8 from the free throw line in the final 24 seconds to secure a 71-64 Badgers win.
7.2022: North Carolina over Duke, National Semifinal
When it comes to narrative, this one had all the fixings of a Scorsese blockbuster.
UNC vs. Duke. Coach K’s farewell tour. North Carolina as an 8 seed. Duke as a 2 seed.
Despite Hubert Davis’ North Carolina team beating Duke at Cameron Indoor just a month earlier, UNC was a +4.5 underdog to their longtime rival in the National Semi-final contest. North Carolina hit seven 3s in the second half of the game and scored 47 points in that frame.
The classic featured 18 lead changes and 12 ties but UNC was standing tall at the end, coming away with an 81-77 victory while ending Mike Krzyzewski’s storied career.
6.1997: Arizona over Kentucky, National Championship
Kentucky was loaded in the mid-to-late 1990s as they made three consecutive trips to the National Championship game. Kentucky won it all in 1996 and 1998, but the sandwich-meat year was spoiled by a memorable Arizona team led by Mike Bibby and Miles Simon.
Arizona went just 11-7 during conference play that season and was a 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Combined with Kentucky’s defending National Champion status, that earned Arizona a hefty +7 underdog spread.
Kentucky’s Anthony Epps forced overtime by nailing a double-clutch 3-pointer, but Arizona hit 10 free throws in OT to shockingly claim the title.
5.1991: Duke over UNLV, National Semifinals
Yes, there was a time when Duke wasn’t an automatic favorite and even something of a (lovable … nah, that’s too strong) underdog. In fact, most people thought the Dukies were going to get thrashed in this Final Four rematch with UNLV.
The Larry Johnson, Greg Anthony, and Stacey Augmon-led Runnin’ Rebels were one of the greatest college teams ever assembled and had won an incredible 45-straight games heading into this game. Plus, a year prior, UNLV had destroyed Duke in the National Championship game, 103-73. This led to Duke being a +9.5 dog in this 1991 rematch, which is tied for the biggest spread on this list. In the end, Christian Laettner’s two clutch free throws with 12.7 seconds left secured Duke’s 79-77 victory over Jerry Tarkanian’s bunch.
4.1988: Kansas over Oklahoma, National Championship
When Kansas, a 6 seed, took down second-seeded Duke on National Semifinal Saturday, 66-59, it served as an upset appetizer to the Jayhawks’ Monday clash with Oklahoma, who were -8 favorites.
Kansas was such a big dog in both of these games from what transpired earlier in the season. During a February stretch, Kansas lost five games in a row and was in serious jeopardy of not making the tournament at all.
Danny Manning and co. were the classic case of a team “getting hot at the right time,” though, and that momentum carried them to an 83-79 win over the Sooners.
3.1983: NC State over Houston, National Championship
The image of the late Jim Valvano running onto the court after Lorenzo Charles’ buzzer-beating dunk ranks up there with Christian Laettner’s edging of the horn against Kentucky in terms of all-time college hoops moments.
A big reason why it was so special is because Valvano’s NC State squad, a 6 seed, was a heavy +7 dog to No. 1 seed Houston ahead of the game.
Houston was nicknamed “Phi Slama Jama” during this time due to its proficiency in rocking the rim and were led by future NBA Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler.
With the game tied, 52-52, NC State’s Dereck Whittenburg launched a shot from nearly 30 feet away that hit nothing but air until Lorenzo Charles plucked it out of the air and slammed it home. The unconventional alley-oop beat the buzzer, and NC State slayed the mighty Cougars.
2.1999: UConn over Duke, National Championship
It was tempting to put this in the top spot, but our No. 1 has pretty much reached “Kleenex or BAND-AID brand name status” at this point in that it’s automatically and generically referred to as the top Final Four upset.
UConn was a whopping +9.5 underdog in this game against the Blue Devils though.
Duke’s status as college hoops’ Evil Empire was at its zenith in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They had the sneering Coach K at the height of his powers roaming the sidelines, and an assembly line of star-studded recruits The ’99 squad featured future NBA players Shane Battier, Elton Brand, Trajan Langdon, Corey Maggette and William Avery.
UConn also had plenty of talent, highlighted by Rip Hamilton, Khalid El-Amin, Kevin Freeman, Ricky Moore and Jake Voskhul. But at this point in his career, head coach Jim Calhoun had a “bridesmaid not a bride” belt holding up his oversized khakis.
Trailing 75-74, Duke’s Trajan Langdon traveled with 5.4 seconds left. El-Amin knocked down a pair of pressure-filled free throws and UConn’s smothering defense didn’t allow Langdon to get a final shot off, allowing the Huskies to secure their first ever National Championship.
1.1985: Villanova over Georgetown, National Championship
This game featured the perfect blend of narrative and actual betting odds with Villanova being a heavy 8-point underdog to mighty Georgetown.
The Patrick Ewing-led Hoyas were thought to be an unstoppable force during this period in time, as they won the National Title the season before, and rolled through the brutally tough Big East with a 14-2 conference record (35-3 overall). Georgetown also beat Villanova twice that season, although Rollie Massimino’s Wildcats took the Hoyas to OT in a January game earlier that season at the old Spectrum in Philly.
Villanova’s Ed Pinckney out-scored and out-rebounded Ewing, and the Wildcats shot an incredible 78.6% from the field in the game.
Nova came away with a 66-64 victory over the Hoyas and remains the lowest seed (8) to win a National Championship.
