March Madness 2010: An Homage to 10 All-Time Tournament Upsets

It is officially March and the conference tournaments are well under way to determine the field of 64.

I know that most analysts are saying that this year is a down one for the at-large and bubble teams but that doesn't mean we aren't in for some classic upsets.

In anticipation of the upcoming Big Dance, we at Bleacher Report thought it would be a good idea to look back at some of the great upsets in tournament history.

Here is my take on the Top 10 NCAA Tournament upsets of all time.

No. 10- 1993 Santa Clara beats Arizona

We start our countdown with two familiar faces; Arizona which was a National Contender in 1993 and Santa Clara which had Steve Nash.

The second seeded Wildcats were upended by the 15 seeded Broncos 64-61. It was only the second time in tournament history that a No. 2 seed had lost to a No. 15 seed.

No. 9- 1998 Valparaiso knocks off Mississippi

Who can forget Bryce Drew knocking down the game winner as a proud papa watched from the sidelines?

For most of America it was their introduction into the little school for Indiana which came to be known simply as Valpo.

They made a name for themselves knocking off higher seeded Florida State and Mississippi which included a breath taking buzzer beater to make it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Cinderellas and last second buzzer beaters is what March Madness is all about.

No. 8- 1999 Weber State upends North Carolina

A name which will go down in infamy for Tar Heel fans; Harold Arceneaux pretty much single-handedly took down UNC.

Arceneaux scored at will from just about everywhere totaling 36 points for the Wildcats who ended up winning 76-74.

No. 7- 1977 Marquette downs North Carolina in Title Game

A classic before the days of 64. While perhaps not seen widely as a major upset, the little school from Wisconsin with Al McGuire defeated the powerhouse from North Carolina coached by another legendary coach Dean Smith.

McGuire was a great coach, great commentator, and perhaps a better person who is often forgotten these days.

No. 6- 2001 George Mason takes down No. 1 UConn

Perhaps one of the most improbable Final Four runs in tournament history came in 2006. George Mason upended Michigan State, North Carolina, and Wichita State before their show down with the tournament's top seed UConn in the Elite Eight.

Despite having already beaten three higher-seeded teams they weren't given much of a chance against the Huskies. That didn't stop them from pulling off the upset once again, edging UConn 86-84.

No. 5- 1991 Richmond defeats Syracuse

While the tournament still awaits a top seed to be upset in the first round, the second seed has had its fair share of difficulties.

Richmond was the first 15 seed to beat a No. 2 seed in NCAA tournament history in 1991.

The Spiders pulled off the unheard of by beating the then Orangemen 73-69.

No. 4- 2001 Hampton shocks Iowa State

One can not easily forget Pirates coach Steve Merfeld emotional reaction after his team knocked off the No. 2 seeded Cyclones.

Hampton spoiled one of Iowa State's most successful seasons in recent memory with their 58-57 win.

No. 3- 1991 Duke ends UNLV's Dominance

Just a year prior, the same UNLV squad had beat the Blue Devils by the largest margin in the history of the NCAA Championship game.

They were the top seed, they were undefeated, and were poised for the first back-to-back titles since UCLA.

That was before an older and more experienced Duke team led by Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley, and lanky freshman Grant Hill pulled off one of my favorite upsets of all time winning 79-77.

No. 2- 1985 Villanova beats Georgetown

Georgetown had many disappointments in the 1980s, but none may have stung as bad as the loss to Villanova.

They were heavily favored against their conference foe from the Big East.

Not many had given the Wildcats a chance at winning the game, but the scrappy team from Philly pulled off one of the most memorable championship game upsets, winning 66-64.

No. 1- 1983 NC State surpises Houston

Whether or not Derek Wittenberg was shooting or passing the ball to Lorenzo Charles is still up for debate. What can't be debated is the end result ended up being arguably the biggest upset in tournament history.

The Wolf Pack were lucky to be in the tournament in the first place. If it wasn't for winning the ACC Tournament just a few weeks earlier they wouldn't have even had the chance.

In the end the Cardiac Pack shocked Phi Slamma Jama, featuring Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon, 54-52, in the last second.

It left everyone except Houston and its fans celebrating. It also left the NCAA tournament with the iconic scene of NC State Coach Jim Valvano running around looking for someone to hug.

In the end that is what tournament upsets are all about.

Too Many Good Ones

There are so many upsets that you can easily add to this list.
There is UConn's defeat of Duke in 1999, or Cal featuring Jason Kidd who ended Bobby Hurley's career early in 1993.

You just can't name them all, but in most cases this list has lower seeded teams beating higher seeded teams. At the very least the teams that won were underdogs.

In the end that is what tournament upsets are about: underdogs taking down the top dogs.

This list is sure to be debated and I expect some to disagree but that is what is fun about this time of year leading up to the tournament when anything can happen.