What are the biggest long shots who have won the NCAA Tournament?
The lowest seed ever to win the NCAA Tournament was No. 8 Villanova, which stunned No. 1 Georgetown in 1985 in one of the most shocking upsets in college basketball history.
The Wildcats weren’t the biggest pretournament long shot to win the championship, however. That title belongs to 2014 Connecticut. The Huskies entered March Madness with 95-1 odds to win it all.
Here are the four biggest long shots to win the NCAA Tournament (odds courtesy of Sportsoddshistory.com).
2014 Connecticut, 95-1
One year after being banned from postseason play, the Huskies made an improbable run to the national championship as a No. 7 seed.
Connecticut lost to Louisville by 33 points in its final regular-season game. It lost a rematch by 10 points in the American Athletic Conference tournament title game before entering the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection.
The Huskies, led by point guard Shabazz Napier, knocked off a No. 2 seed, a No. 3 seed and a No. 4 seed to reach the Final Four. They beat No. 1 seed Florida 63-53 once there to end the Gators’ 30-game winning streak.
Connecticut ended its run by defeating No. 8 seed Kentucky 60-54 in the championship game as 2½-point underdogs.
The national title game featured the highest combined seeds in NCAA Tournament history.
1985 Villanova, 35-1
The Wildcats held off star center Patrick Ewing and the defending national champion Hoyas 66-64 in the title game as 8-point underdogs.
Villanova essentially played a perfect game against Georgetown. The Wildcats made 22 of their 28 shots from the field, including 9 of 10 in the second half. Harold Jensen made an 18-foot jumper with 2:37 left to give Villanova a 55-54 lead it did not relinquish.
The Wildcats, who lost twice to the Hoyas in the regular season, won their first three tournament games by a combined nine points.
It was the first year the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams. It was also the final year the tournament did not have a shot clock.
1983 North Carolina State, 25-1
It remains one of the most famous endings in college basketball history.
Lorenzo Charles grabbed Dereck Whittenburg’s air ball from 30 feet out and dunked it to beat the buzzer as the Wolfpack defeated Houston 54-52 in the national championship game. N.C. State coach Jim Valvano responded by running around the court in celebration.
The sixth-seeded Wolfpack were 7-point underdogs to the Cougars, who were dubbed “Phi Slama Jama” and featured future Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. N.C. State erased a 7-point deficit down the stretch in one of college basketball’s greatest upsets.
The Wolfpack were implored by Valvano to “survive and advance” throughout the postseason. They did just that in last-minute wins over Wake Forest, North Carolina and Virginia to claim the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title.
The thrill ride continued in the NCAA Tournament. N.C. State trailed Pepperdine by six with less than a minute remaining in overtime before rallying for a double-overtime win in the first round.
The Wolfpack beat UNLV 71-70 in the second round on Thurl Bailey’s fadeaway bank shot with four seconds left.
N.C. State escaped with a 63-62 victory over 7-foot-4 star center Ralph Sampson and Virginia to reach the Final Four.
2011 Connecticut, 25-1
The Huskies entered the year unranked and finished the Big East regular season tied for ninth place at 9-9.
Connecticut, thanks to point guard Kemba Walker, became the first school to win five conference tournament games in as many days to claim the Big East tournament title and an automatic NCAA Tournament berth.
The Huskies edged Arizona 65-63 to reach the Final Four. They clipped Kentucky 56-55 there before beating Butler 53-41 for the national championship.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.