Ranking top 5 upsets so far in March Madness, from Iowa to High Point

Craig Meyer, USA TODAY NETWORKMon, March 23, 2026 at 10:06 AM UTC

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Ranking top 5 upsets so far in March Madness, from Iowa to High Point

Through two rounds of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, and for the second time in as many years, March has been missing some of its trademark madness.

There have been exciting moments, of course, from Otega Oweh’s buzzer-beater to send Kentucky to overtime against Santa Clara to Tyler Tanner’s 49-foot heave that rimmed out and nearly gave Vanderbilt a stunning win over Nebraska in what would have instantly been one of the most iconic shots in NCAA tournament history. There have been uplifting stories, too, from Miami (Ohio) continuing its magical season with a win over SMU in the First Four — the RedHawks’ first NCAA tournament victory since 1999 — to High Point picking up its first-ever NCAA tournament win.

For the most part, though, an event historically defined by upsets has had precious few of them, with favored teams with more talent and resources largely handling business.

REQUIRED READING: March Madness scores: Buzzer-beater, monster upset and more nail-biters. Round 2 highlights

How have the small handful of unexpected results stacked up?

Here’s a look at the top five upsets through the first two rounds of March Madness.

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A Texas Christian University Horned Frogs cheerleader practices before the game during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on March 19, 2026 in Greenville, SC.

NCAA tournament biggest upsets1. No. 9 Iowa over No. 1 Florida

Before the first week of the 2026 NCAA Tournament wrapped up, one of the four No. 1 seeds had already been bounced from the field — and it just so happened to be the reigning national champions.

After an emphatic end to the regular season, with a 22-3 record since Dec. 10, and just two days removed from the second-largest margin of victory ever in an NCAA tournament game, Florida seemed well-positioned to win back-to-back titles for the second time in program history. Iowa had other ideas. The Hawkeyes jumped ahead by as many as 12, but saw that lead evaporate before fighting back, with a 3-pointer from Robert Morris transfer Alvaro Folgueiras with 4.5 seconds remaining securing a stunning 73-72 win in a matchup in which Iowa was a 10.5-point underdog.

It marked the ninth time since 1979 that a No. 9 seed defeated a No. 1 seed. After winning four Division II national championships at Northwest Missouri State and leading Drake to 31 wins and a second-round tournament appearance last season, Ben McCollum has once again proved his wizardry, this time in his first season as a power-conference head coach. And with his latest win, he helped secure Iowa’s first Sweet 16 berth since 1999.

2. No. 12 High Point over No. 5 Wisconsin

In just the fourth game on the first full day of the tournament, we got what feels like the most emotionally resonant upset, with a mid-major program taking down a team from one of the sport’s biggest, most powerful conferences. High Point’s victory over Wisconsin wasn’t just notable, but thrilling, with the Panthers winning despite trailing for 34 of a possible 40 minutes. Chase Johnston finished it off with a transition layup with 11 seconds remaining, his first made 2-pointer of the season.

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For good measure, High Point coach Flynn Clayman provided the exclamation point, offering an impassioned rallying cry for mid-majors everywhere in his post-game interview with TBS.

“It looks pretty obvious to me that high-majors need to play mid-majors during the season,” he said. “They said we ain’t played nobody — we played somebody now.”

3. No. 11 Texas over No. 3 Gonzaga

By seed difference, this is technically tied for the biggest upset of the first four days of action, even if it doesn’t quite feel like it considering the Longhorns had the fourth-largest men’s basketball budget during the 2025 fiscal year.

Still a team that snuck into the tournament as one of the final four at-large selections wrapped up a run of three wins in five days by knocking off a Bulldogs squad that was ranked in the top 15 virtually the entire season (even if it was playing without No. 2 scorer Braden Huff).

Because of that, Texas will be the only double-digit seed in the Sweet 16.

4. No. 11 VCU over No. 6 North Carolina

Despite the difference of five seed lines, the Tar Heels were only a 2.5-point favorite over the Rams, but the way VCU’s victory unfolded made this an astonishing result. North Carolina led by as many as 19 in the second half and was up 14 with 6:15 remaining before getting outscored 19-5 in the final 6:12 and falling in overtime.

Terrence Hill Jr. was brilliant in leading the comeback, scoring 16 of his game-high 34 points in the final 12:02 of regulation, including a jumper that tied the game with 11 seconds remaining. He was instrumental in the extra period, as well, draining the game-winning 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in overtime.

Though the Rams are consistently one of the best programs nationally outside of the power conferences, they burnished their reputation as giant-killers. Over the past 20 years, they’ve knocked off Duke, Kansas and, now, North Carolina as a No. 11 seed.

5. No. 11 Texas over No. 6 BYU

The Longhorns make another appearance, this time for a win over a BYU team that was favored by 2.5. The result wasn’t a complete surprise, as the Cougars had gone 7-9 in their final 16 regular-season games, but Texas was able to withstand 35 points from AJ Dybantsa to pull off one of two 11-over-6 upsets in this year’s tournament.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: March Madness: Ranking the top 5 upsets from the first two rounds

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