15 biggest NCAA Tournament upsets of all time

10. No. 14 Cleveland State over No. 3 Indiana, 83-79 (1986, first round)

In the 1987 NCAA Tournament, Bob Knight and the Indiana Hoosiers would go on to win a National Championship on the back of star guard Steve Alford and cohorts such as Daryl Thomas and Rick Calloway. Before they would go on to cut down the nets, however, the Hoosiers had to experience some heartbreak and an upset loss in the 1986 tournament, coming at the hands of the Cleveland State Vikings.

There’s no question that Cleveland State, under the watch of head coach Kevin Mackey, got some phenomenal performance from their best players against Indiana as Clinton Ransey notched 27 points and Eric Mudd went for 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Vikings shot 58.9 percent from the field as a team. It was the other end of the floor, however, that earned Cleveland State the win.

Don’t let the fact that they Hoosiers shot 54.2 percent from the field in this game fool you — Cleveland State played phenomenal defense that frustrated Knight and his team throughout the contest. They were high-pressure without the ball and caused 15 turnovers on the day, a huge boom for their chances of pulling off the upset, and ultimately the recipe for success to do so.

The Vikings actually advanced to the Sweet 16 as well, but things came tumbling down soon after. Vikings reserve player Paul Stewart died of a heart defect playing pickup basketball just months after the tournament. Moreover, Mackey was arrested and fired in 1990 after an arrest revealed struggles with substance abuse. Despite all that, though, Cleveland State’s upset in 1986 will live on forever.