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20 most shocking NCAA Tournament upsets that put the ‘madness’ in March

By Mike Phillips

CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 16: K.J. Maura #11 and Jairus Lyles #10 of the UMBC Retrievers talk during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Virginia Cavaliers at the Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Retrievers won 74-54. Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** K.J. Macura;Jairus Lyles
CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 16: K.J. Maura #11 and Jairus Lyles #10 of the UMBC Retrievers talk during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Virginia Cavaliers at the Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Retrievers won 74-54. Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** K.J. Macura;Jairus Lyles /
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7. No. 15 Lehigh over No. 2 Duke – 2012

  • Lehigh wins 75-70

The third time’s a charm for Duke fans, who have surely slammed their laptops in anger at this point. The Blue Devils are back again on this list, this time for getting knocked out as a 2-seed by Lehigh in 2012.

Mike Krzyzewski had a vintage Duke team in 2012, loaded with future pros like Mason and Miles Plumlee, Austin Rivers and Seth Curry. The Blue Devils cruised through the ACC’s regular season, going 27-6 to earn a 2-seed in March Madness.

The first round offered a matchup with 15-seed Lehigh, the Patriot League champions who would have to play a de facto road game with the matchup in Greensboro. That didn’t faze the Mountain Hawks, who had the best player on the floor in future NBA star C.J. McCollum.

Few around the country knew how good McCollum was at that point, so he used this matchup against Duke as his coming out party. McCollum torched the Blue Devils for 30 points, six rebounds and six assists in 39 minutes to lead Lehigh past Duke and into the second round.

This contest was also notable for an extremely poor three-point shooting performance from Duke, which hit just 6 of its 26 3-point attempts. Even an average day from beyond the arc would have gotten Duke through, but it was not meant to be.

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