'We messed up some brackets!': The biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history

Now that the 68-team field is set for the NCAA Tournament, the attention immediately shifts to picking which teams are capable of pulling off a first-round upset.

While injuries to key players or a losing skid entering the Big Dance can make certain teams ripe for an upset, there are certain outcomes that completely shock the world and throw brackets into shambles. 

With that in mind, here are the five biggest upsets by spread in the history of the NCAA Tournament:

No. 16 Fairleigh Dickinson (+23.5) beats No. 1 Purdue, 2023

Purdue featured two-time Player of the Year Zach Edey, but Fairleigh Dickinson won 63-58 despite having the smallest roster in Division I. It even needed to win its First Four game against 16-seed Texas Southern to have a chance. A second-round loss to nine-seed Florida Atlantic end the Knights' season, but not before the historic first-round win etched them into the record books.

"Those dudes were ready to go," Purdue senior David Jenkins said, per Sam King of the Lafayette Courier & Journal. 

No. 15 Norfolk State (+21) beats No. 2 Missouri, 2012

The Spartans became the first 15-seed to knock off a two-seed since 2001 with an 86-84 victory over the Tigers. The hero of the game was center Kyle O'Quinn (26 points, 14 rebounds), whose performance led to him getting drafted No. 49 overall by the Orlando Magic in the 2012 NBA Draft.

After the game, according to the Associated Press, O'Quinn shouted, "We messed up some brackets! We messed up some brackets!" 

Then he turned around and looked at a pack of reporters and said, "We even messed up my bracket." 

Norfolk State bowed out of the tournament with a second-round loss to No. 7 Florida.

No. 16 UMBC (+20.5) beats No. 1 Virginia, 2018

Before Fairleigh Dickinson added its name to the list, the Retrievers became the first No. 16 seed to beat a one-seed with a 74-54 rout of Virginia, a team that entered the 2018 NCAA Tournament with the second-best odds to cut down the nets.

“If you play this game and you step into the arena, this stuff can happen,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said, per USA Today. “And maybe those who haven’t been in the arena or in the competition, maybe they don’t understand that.”

UMBC made 54 percent of its shots and held Virginia to a dismal 18 percent from long range. The Cavaliers would go on to win the national title the following season.

No. 15 Santa Clara (+19.5) beats No. 2 Arizona, 1993

On a roster that included future two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, the Broncos stunned the No. 2 seed Wildcats 64-61. Arizona, which featured seven future NBA players, became the second No. 2 seed to lose to a 15-seed in the NCAA Tournament after Syracuse fell to Richmond in 1991.

"This is definitely going to be weighing on my mind," said Arizona guard Khalid Reeves, per The Arizona Republic's Richard Obert. "Nobody is going to let it drop. The media isn't going to let it drop. My friends aren't going to let it drop. My relatives aren't going to let it drop. So I'm going to be the heavy for a long time."

This was the first of two losses to a 15-seed as a two-seed for Arizona, which also lost to Princeton 59-55 in 2023. That result was surprising as well, but given the star power on the 1992-93 squad and the rarity of a two-seed losing in that spot back then, the result caught most college basketball fans by surprise.

No. 15 Saint Peter's (+18) beats No. 2 Kentucky, 2022

The Wildcats were led by National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe, but it was not enough to slow a hot-shooting Peacocks team, which pulled off the 85-79 stunner.

"I know this is getting old, it's a cliche, but we got guys that really have a chip on their shoulder," Saint Peter's coach Shaheen Holloway said, per the Lafayette (Ind.) Journal & Courier. "[They] really believe that they belong at big-time schools."

This was the start of a magical run for Saint Peter's, which danced all the way to the Elite Eight before losing to eight-seed North Carolina 69-49.