Stunning stat highlights chaos of 2023-24 men's college hoops season

As March Madness looms, this men's college basketball season is shaping up as the year of the upset for unranked teams playing at home.

On Tuesday night at home, unranked Syracuse stunned No. 7 North Carolina 86-79, avenging a 36-point loss to the Tar Heels in January. It was Syracuse's first win over an Associated Press top-10 team since 2019.

"We wouldn’t have won it if we didn’t think we could win it,” Syracuse guard Judah Mintz said, per The Daily Orange. “We’re a confident group, no matter how the odds are stacked against us. We feel like we’re the team to beat.”

Syracuse's win, part of a surprising trend, comes on the heels of home wins Saturday by Michigan State over No. 10 Illinois and on Monday by Texas Tech over No. 6 Kansas. 

Since 2010, the highest winning percentage for unranked teams at home against AP  top-10 teams was .381 in 2015-16, per statistician Jay Cuda. That mark is likely to be topped this season, as those teams were winning at a stunning .525 clip as of Feb. 10.

After Tuesday's result, unranked teams have a 34-29 mark (.534 winning percentage) in games at home against top-10 opponents.

With March Madness one month away, chaos may be the only certainty in college basketball — and perhaps no team is safe.