After missing out on last season's tournament, the basketball gods are rewarding us with complete chaos this year. The 2021 NCAA Tournament had the most upset-laden opening two rounds ever by nearly every metric, and it's on pace to have the most upsets for any tournament by the time it's finished on April 5.
The NCAA defines an upset as a victory by a team seeded at least five spots lower than its opponent (i.e. a 6-over-1, 7-over-2, etc.). In the first two rounds there were 12 such upsets, breaking the previous record of 10, and the Sweet 16 features double-digit seeds Oral Roberts (15), Oregon State (12), Syracuse (11) and UCLA (11). The record for most in an entire tournament is 13, which seems likely to fall.
But what does that insanity mean for the national champion? Does an upset-filled Big Dance mean Cinderella cuts down the nets, or does chaos reign supreme for everyone except the ultimate favorite? The answer, history shows us, lies somewhere in the middle. Here are the eight tournaments with the most upsets ever, and who wound up winning those events:
1985: The Sweet 16 featured two 11's and a 12-seed, but Cinderella was mostly snuffed out in the regional semis. The Elite 8 went 1-versus-2, 1-versus-2, 1-versus-3... and then 8-versus-2. Villanova stunned the top-seed Michigan in the second round, helping vault the Wildcats to one of the most memorable runs in NCAA Tournament history. Wins over Maryland and North Carolina put 'Nova in the Final Four, where they dispatched of Memphis State. Then, in one of the most famous upsets of all-time, they shocked the top-seeded and Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown Hoyas 66-64.
1986: The early craziness in '85 carried over to '86. The East regional saw the 7-seed (Navy), 12-seed (DePaul) and first-ever 14-seed (Cleveland St) advance to the Sweet 16. In the Southeast the 11-seed (LSU) went on to beat the top two seeds and go to the Final Four.
The Tigers were obviously Cinderella, but the other Final Four teams were not, all being either one or two seeds. And Louisville beat LSU, then Duke to win the title.
1990: The opening round saw a pair of 12's, an 11 and a 14-seed all advance, with a couple going even further into the Madness. The 12-seed in the West, Ball State, went to the Sweet 16 and lost to UNLV by two. Loyola-Marymount (11-seed) scored 111 and 149 points in its first two games, edged Alabama by two in the Sweet 16 and lost to UNLV in the Elite 8. In the Midwest, the 10-seed Texas also made an Elite 8 run, losing to Arkansas.
Though none of them made the Final Four, it wasn't entirely chalk, as four-seeds Arkansas and Georgia Tech advanced to Denver. However, it was mighty UNLV, the top overall seed, that cruised to a national title.
2002: Though the first round saw three 12's, an 11 and a 13 all pull upsets, there were only two Cinderellas to truly emerge. Missouri, the 12-seed in the West, went all the way to the Elite 8 before losing to second-seeded Oklahoma. And in the South, the 10-seed Kent State beat the two and three seeds before falling in the Elite 8 to Indiana.
Ultimately, though, it was a one-seed that cut down the nets, as Maryland won its first championship.
2006: Most famous for being the year of George Mason, the 12th-seeded Patriots snuck into the field as an at-large and made a miracle run to the Final Four, upsetting March staples Michigan State, North Carolina and top-seeded UConn in its run. The only other run of note came from Bradley, a 13-seed who made it to the Sweet 16.
There weren't too many long runs by low-seeded teams, but the Final Four featured no 1's, a 2, a 3, a 4 and an 11, with Florida (the three-seed) winning the first of back-to-back championships.
2013: Another mid-major made a run to the Final Four, this time in the nine-seed Wichita State, who upset top-seeded Gonzaga in the second round. That year also featured the Shockers playing 13th-seeded La Salle in the Sweet 16, and it was the first time ever a 15-seed advanced to the second weekend, as Florida Gulf Coast's "Dunk City" took college basketball by storm.
It wound up being a one-seed, however, to win it all, with Louisville outlasting Michigan in the national championship game.
2014: Though the national championship featured two of the six schools with the most titles - UConn and Kentucky - the Huskies were a seven-seed, and the Wildcats an eight before both marched through their regions. Shabazz Napier and Connecticut beat the two-, three- and four-seeds to get to the Final Four, then beat No. 1 Florida. Kentucky, meanwhile, upset No. 1 Wichita State in the second round, fourth-seeded Louisville, second-seeded Michigan and another two-seed in Wisconsin.
There were some double-digit seeds to advance, as well, with Stanford (10), Dayton (11) and Tennessee (11) all moving on to the second weekend, and the Flyers going to the Elite 8.
2018: The most recent bracket-busting field before this year, this is best remembered as the first time a 16 beat a 1, with UMBC running away from Virginia to shock the world. But that's the same region in which the other story from that tourney made a Final Four run in 11th-seeded Loyola-Chicago, who beat the nine seed Kansas State in the Elite 8.
Elsewhere in the bracket another nine-seed also made the regional final in Florida State, who lost to Michigan. And, like 2021, Syracuse made the Sweet 16 as an 11-seed as well. Ultimately, though, it was the tournament's top overall seed, Villanova, who won it all in convincing fashion.