Every 14 seed to upset a 3 seed in March Madness history

When it comes to the NCAA Tournament, the No. 5 — No. 12 matchup might be the most well-known. The No. 2 — No. 15 is probably the apex. But the No. 14 over No. 3 has produced plenty of incredible moments over the years.

In the history of March Madness, we’ve seen a relatively big number of No. 14 seeds upset a No. 3 seed, including five in the past 10 years.

Let's take a look at the full total, which dwarfs the numbers for 15 and 16 seeds notching upsets, along with a deeper look at the last 10 years of 14-over-3 upsets in March Madness.

How many 14 seeds have upset a 3 seed in March Madness?

There have been 22 times in March Madness that a No. 14 seed has upset a No. 3 seed, with the most recent coming in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. That game was a big victory for Abilene Christian, so we'll take a look at that contest and the others in NCAA Tournament history.

2021— Abilene Christian over Texas — 53–52

Abilene Christian stole the win despite shooting just 3-of-18 from beyond the arc and having just two players score in double-figures. This Texas squad featured three future NBA draft picks — Kai Jones, Greg Brown and Jericho Sims.

2016 — Stephen F. Austin over West Virginia — 70–56

This is perhaps the most well-known upset in this category, with Thomas Walkup and his signature red beard living the way for SFA. Walkup finished with 33 points, including 19-of-20 from the free throw line.

2015 — Georgia State over Baylor — 57–56

Georgia State forced Baylor into 21 turnovers and were led by R.J. Hunter, the coach’s son, with 16 points in upsetting Baylor. Hunter hit a 3-pointer with 2.8 seconds remaining to gave Georgia State the win.

2015 — UAB over Iowa State — 60–59

UAB dominated Iowa State on the glass, finishing with a 52-37 edge on the glass, including 19-9 on offensive rebounds. That helped them overcome a tough shooting performance — 34.8 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from beyond the arc — to steal the win.

2014 — Mercer over Duke — 78–71

Mercer finished the game on a 20-11 run over the final five minutes to steal a win from a loaded Duke squad, featuring future NBA players Jabari Parker, Quinn Cook, Marshall Plumlee and Rodney Hood.

• 2013 — Harvard over New Mexico — 68–62
• 2010 — Ohio over Georgetown — 97–83
• 2006 — Northwestern State over Iowa — 64–63
• 2005 — Bucknell over Kansas — 64–63
• 1999 — Weber State over North Carolina — 76–74
• 1998 — Richmond over South Carolina — 62–61
• 1997 — Chattanooga over Georgia — 73–70
• 1995 — Old Dominion over Villanova — 89–81
• 1995 — Weber State over Michigan State — 79–72
• 1992 — East Tennessee State over Arizona — 87–80
• 1991 — Xavier over Nebraska — 89–84
• 1990 — Northern Iowa over Missouri — 74–71
• 1989 — Siena over Stanford — 80–78
• 1988 — Murray State over NC State — 78–75
• 1987 — Austin Peay over Illinois — 68–67
• 1986 — Cleveland State over Indiana — 83–79
• 1986 — Arkansas–Little Rock over Notre Dame — 90–83

What is the farthest a 14 seed has ever gone in March Madness?

Entering the 2024 NCAA Tournament, the farthest a 14 seed has gone in March Madness is the Sweet 16, which happened on two separate occasions in the 64 or 68 team field era that began in 1995. The first was the Cleveland State Vikings, who first upset Indiana in 1986 before turning around and knocking off St. Joseph's in the Round of 32. The Vikings narrowly missed an Elite Eight berth with a one-point loss to Navy.

Then, 11 years later in 1997, the Chattanooga Mocs upset the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs in a 73-70 First Round victory. They followed that up by taking down No. 6 seed Illinois to advance to the Sweet 16, where the Mocs also put up a spirited effort but came up short against No. 10 seed Providence.