Harvard pulled off the biggest shocker of the NCAA tournament Thursday by knocking out No. 3 seed New Mexico, 68-62. Then No. 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast claimed that distinction Friday with a convincing 78-68 win against Georgetown.
Florida Gulf Coast became the seventh No. 15 seed to win bump off a No. 2 seed, and the third in the past two seasons. The first time that a No. 15 seed beat a No. 2 was 1991 when Richmond derailed Syracuse. Florida Gulf Coast didn't exist as a school until 1997.
Harvard's win was the 17th time that a No. 14 seed has beaten a No. 3 seed since the tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, so an upset coming from this part of the bracket is hardly an unprecedented development.
But sometimes the upset is about more than strictly the number of the seed. It has about the perception of the two teams, and Harvard brings plenty of decidedly non-basketball stereotypes to the table, Jeremy Lin notwithstanding.
Here's a look at notable first-round upsets in which second, third and fourth seeds went down in stunning fashion.
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The No. 15 seed Eagles were making their first appearance in the NCAA tournament. It has been eligible for the tourney for just two years and lost 20 games in 2010-11. The Eagles led by as many as 19 points and ousted No. 2 seed Georgetown 78-68.
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This was the first time that a No. 15 seed beat a No. 2 seed, but given Richmond's track record in the tournament, maybe it wasn't an absolute stunner. With coach Dick Tarrant, the Spiders had knocked off an Auburn team with Charles Barkley in 1984 and beat defending national champion Indiana in 1988.
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This is the game that made Harold (The Show) Arceneaux a March Madness legend. Arceneaux finished with 36 points and made the winning free throws in a 76-74 win for No. 14 seed Weber State. It was the first time the Tar Heels lost their tourney opener since 1980.
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No. 14 seed Cleveland State stunned the Hoosiers 83-79 and then kept going. It beat St. Joe's in the next round before losing to Navy and David Robinson, 71-70, in the regional semifinals. Indiana recovered to win the national title the next season.
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The No. 13 seed Tigers had come close to toppling a giant before, but they finally broke through against UCLA, the defending national champions, 43-41. Gabe Lewullis scored the winning basket on a signature Princeton backdoor play with 3.9 seconds left
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