15 biggest NCAA Tournament upsets of all time

9. No. 15 Coppin State over No. 2 South Carolina, 78-65 (1997, first round)

When the Coppin State Eagles drew a 15-seed and a date with the second-seeded South Carolina Gamecocks in the First Round of the 1997 NCAA Tournament, history wasn’t on their side. Not only were they massive underdogs, but they’d never won a game in the tournament. Furthermore, the Eagles’ most recent matchup with a power Division I program resulted in a 36-point loss to the Illinois Fighting Illini.

The MEAC champions didn’t seem to care about any of that in the matchup with South Carolina. For what it’s worth, the Gamecocks were highly touted coming into this game, more so than their record would suggest. Led by a trio of Larry Davis, Melvin Watson and B.J. McKie, this team looked primed to make a run in March, which obviously didn’t happen.

A big reason for Coppin State’s success in this matchup was the defense they played on Davis. While McKie and Watson combined for 29 points, Davis shot just 1-of-8 from the field and managed just two points on the day. On top of that, the Gamecocks as a team shot just 4-of-20 on their 3-point attempts.

The Eagles didn’t play particularly well offensively themselves, shooting only 42.4 percent from the floor and 2-of-13 from deep. However, Reggie Welch and Terquin Mott were monsters on the offensive glass, creating extra possessions and keeping the ball out of the hands of the Gamecocks. That allowed them to pull away from a close game late in the second half and secure a massive victory.