I was a member of this Princeton team that shocked UCLAactually, member is too kind; I warmed the bench. So call me biased if you’d like, but Princeton’s upset is a legit number one. Princeton’s Hall of Fame coach, Pete Carril, had announced his retirement less than a week before the game, giving him one more shot at an upset after his Tigers lost by an average of 4 points in the opening round from 1989 to 1992 (Princeton’s 50-49 loss to Georgetown in 1989 is still the closest a 16th seeded team has come to beating a top seed). Thanks to the final play, Carril avoided another tragic near-win. Princeton’s Gabe Lewullis cut backdoor once, but the opportunity wasn’t there. He cut again: Steve Goodrich bounced a perfect pass, Lewullis made a tricky lay-up, and the Tigers toppled the defending champs.
Top 10 NCAA Tournament First Round Upsets
The bands. The buzzer-beaters. The unproductive offices. Must be the start of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. To mark this year's edition, we scoured the record books to select the 10 best first round upsets in tournament history
(13) Princeton 43, (4) UCLA 41, 1996
Full List
March Madness
- (13) Princeton 43, (4) UCLA 41, 1996
- (15) Richmond 73, (2) Syracuse 69, 1991
- (15) Hampton 58, (2) Iowa State 57, 2001
- (14) Cleveland State 83, (3) Indiana 79, 1986
- (13) Valparaiso 70, (4) Mississippi 69, 1998
- (15) Santa Clara 64, (2) Arizona 61, 1993
- (14) Northwestern State 64, (3) Iowa 63, 2006
- (13) Vermont 60, (4) Syracuse 57, 2005
- (14) Bucknell 64, (3) Kansas 63, 2005
- (14) Austin Peay 68, (3) Illinois 67, 1987