Ranking the eight No. 15 vs No. 2 upsets in March Madness history

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5. Coppin State: 78, South Carolina: 65 (1997)

In 1997, the South Carolina Gamecocks and Coppin State Eagles entered March Madness with similar overall records from the regular season, but obviously with vastly different perceptions about each team given how they were seeded. However, Coppin State didn’t waste any time in showing the Gamecocks that perhaps their seeds shouldn’t have been nearly as far apart as the Selection Committee determined them to be.

The Eagles played South Carolina tough for the first 20 minutes and the two teams went into halftime just as they started the game, all knotted up. However, it was what happened in the final 20 minutes of the action that was truly shocking to the college basketball world. Behind a slew of ridiculous performances from their stars, the Eagles absolutely landed haymakers in the second half and ultimately ran away with it as Antoine Brockington scored 20 points, Danny Singletary scored 22, Reggie Welch grabbed 15 rebounds, and Terquin Mott finished with 11 points and 11 boards for a double-double.

The ultimate 13-point victory for Coppin State is still the largest margin of victory for a No. 15 seed over a No. 2 seed. Though it may be the most emphatic upset win of it’s kind, it’s hard to call it the best as both the Eagle and the Gamecocks probably should’ve been seeded differently. It’s still impressive as all upsets are, but this one is just outside the top-half of this list.

Next: No. 4 Santa Clara over Arizona