With March quickly approaching, we can soon expect the unexpected during March Madness. It’s where mid-majors with a roster full of names your average fan wouldn’t recognize, etch themselves in NCAA Tournament glory forever. Here’s the five biggest upsets in modern NCAA Tournament history:

5. George Mason shocks Connecticut (2006)

George Mason’s magical run in the 2006 NCAA Tournament is one of the most improbable runs in NCAA Tournament memory. As an 11 seed, they beat the likes of Michigan State, North Carolina and Connecticut on the way to the Final Four. In the regional final against top-seeded Connecticut, Jai Lewis scored 20 points and 7 rebounds as the Patriots stunned Jim Calhoun’s Huskies. Future NBA-star Rudy Gay played well, scoring 20 points and six rebounds, but UCONN’s defense could not stop the efficiency and sharp-shooting of George Mason.

The Patriots would go on to lose to the eventual National Champions in the Florida Gators in the Final Four.

4. Villanova stuns Georgetown (1985)

Villanova’s historic upset of Georgetown in the 1985 NCAA title game is one of the all time shockers. The Hoyas, under the direction of John Thompson Jr., were coming off a Big East crown and 35-2 record entering the game. Villanova had finished 9-7 in conference play, having fallen to the Hoyas twice in the regular season. As many sports fan knows, beating a team three times in one season is something that is rarely achieved.

Georgetown star Patrick Ewing was held to 14 points and was hampered with foul trouble throughout the contest. The Wildcats’ Dwayne McClain led the way, scoring 17 points en route to a stunning upset that many will discuss, and will continue to do so, for years to come.

3. Mercer upsets Duke (2014)

Not many predicted a Duke team, with two future first-round draft picks, would fall to the Mercer Bears. But they did, and their lack of scorers on their roster was apparent. Quinn Cook came off the bench, totaling 23 points for the Blue Devils, but it wasn’t enough as Mercer pulled away in the second half. Mercer looked like the more experienced team, thanks to Jakob Gollon’s 20 points in the upset win.

An interesting note about the game was that Duke made 15 three-point field goals and still lost by seven. The 14th seeded Mercer would fall to 11 seed Tennessee in the following round.

2. Middle Tennessee State over Michigan State (2016)

In what was considered to be the biggest upset in March Madness history, Middle Tennessee State simply looked better. Which is odd, considering the Spartans were a 2 seed, coming off of a Big Ten tournament title and ready for another Final Four run, as Izzo’s teams were so accustomed to. They were deep, too, and led by three seniors in Denzel Valentine, Matt Costello and Bryn Forbes. Valentine and Forbes were held to a combined 27 points as

The Blue Raiders hung 90 points on the Spartans. Reggie Upshaw Jr. led the way with 21 points, four assists, four rebounds and three blocks in the upset. Middle Tennessee was walloped by 25 points to 10 seed Syracuse in the 2nd round.

1. UMBC dominates Virginia (2018)

The impossible that no one thought would never happen, finally happened. It’s a game that you will forever remember where you were as you were witnessing this historic event take place. And it was so incredibly odd. Virginia had just run through the ACC, finishing 17-1 in the regular season, ultimately winning another ACC tournament crown and 1 seed in the Big Dance.

UMBC didn’t care.

In one of the most shocking scenes in college basketball, Virginia could do nothing to stop the Retrievers of UMBC. Everything they seemed to put up, went in. And they were disrupting the Cavaliers’ offense, too, holding them to 54 points on 18 percent shooting from three-point land. Jairus Lyles put on a show, scoring 28 points on 9/11 shooting as UMBC did what many said would never be done.

With March quickly approaching, it’s only a matter of time until a mid-major like UMBC in ’18 or George Mason in ’06 are busting brackets.

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