14 vs 3 Seed History in March Madness: Unveiling some of the biggest upsets in NCAA tournament History

Every year, March Madness gives college basketball fans a countless number of unforgettable moments. Matchups between small programs and college hoops powerhouses can deliver some of the most shocking upsets in any sport. The first round pairing of 14 seeds with three seeds has delivered on these shocking upsets over the years.

This list will reveal a few of the biggest upsets by 14 seeds over three seeds in NCAA Tournament history. We will look at the most exciting moments from the history of these upsets as well as the moments where the underdogs ultimately fell just short of upset history.

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History of 14 seeds vs. 3 seeds upsets in March Madness

The modern March Madness 64-team bracket format that is used to this day was first introduced in 1985. It took only one year after it was first introduced before not one, but two 14-seeds took down a number-three seed in the tournament.

Since then, 22 total 14 seeds have done the unthinkable and defeated a three-seed in the opening round of March Madness. The total record in tournament history between these seeds currently sits at 22-130, which totals a 14.47 win percentage for the underdogs.

1986 saw the first upsets of a three-seed over a 14-seed when Cleveland State defeated Indiana 83-79 and Arkansas Little-Rock defeated Notre Dame 90-83. After that year, a 14-seed defeated a three-seed for seven consecutive years of March Madness until 1993.

1995 was the next time that two similar upsets occurred, when Old Dominion beat Villanova and Weber State overcame Michigan State. Additionally, Weber State is the only program that has upset a three-seed as a 14-seed twice, after they also defeated North Carolina in 1999.

There have been nine occasions after 1999 where a 14-seed upset a three-seed, with 2015 being the last season it happened twice in the same year. Three-seeds Iowa State and Baylor both fell by a single point to 14-seeds UAB and Georgia State that year.

The most recent upset between these two seeds took place in 2021, when March Madness returned after being canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abilene Christian shocked the world by narrowly defeating the Texas Longhorns 53-52. The Wildcats hit two free throws to take the lead with just 1.2 seconds remaining in the game. Texas attempted a long inbound pass down the court, but the pass was intercepted near mid-court to seal their first March Madness victory in program history.

In the 38-year history of the modern March Madness bracket, 19 of those years have seen at least one three-seed fall to a 14-seed. The biggest upset by a 14-seed is a 14-point differential, which has happened twice. First in 2010, when Ohio defeated Georgetown 97-83, and again in 2016, when Stephen F. Austin stunned West Virginia 70-56.

There has only been one occasion in March Madness history when a 14-3 seed upset required an extra overtime period. In 1995, the matchup between Old Dominion and Villanova took three overtimes for Old Dominion to emerge victorious by a score of 89-81.

Year	Result	Score
1986	Cleveland State def. Indiana	83-79
1986	Arkansas Little-Rock def. Notre Dame	90-83
1987	Austin Peay def. Illinois	68-67
1988	Murray State def. NC State	78-75
1989	Siena def. Stanford	80-78
1990	Northern Iowa def. Missouri	74-71
1991	Xavier def. Nebraska	89-84
1992	ETSU def. Arizona	87-80
1995	Old Dominion def. Villanova	89-81
1995	Weber State def. Michigan State	79-72
1997	Chattanooga def. Georgia	73-70
1998	Richmond def. South Carolina	62-61
1999	Weber State def. North Carolina	76-74
2005	Bucknell def. Kansas	64-63
2006	Northwestern State def. Iowa	64-63
2010	Ohio def. Georgetown	97-83
2013	Harvard def. New Mexico	68-62
2014	Mercer def. Duke	78-71
2015	UAB def. Iowa State	60-59
2015	Georgia Sate def. Baylor	57-56
2016	Stephen F. Austin def. West Virginia	70-56
2021	Abilene Christian def. Texas	53-52

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Almost upsets: 14 seeds vs. 3 seeds unforgettable moments

#3 Marquette vs. #14 Davidson (2013)

The 2013 March Madness first round matchup between three-seed Marquette and 14-seed Davidson came down to the final seconds after Vander Blue connected on a go-ahead layup for the Golden Eagles with one second remaining.

Marquette was saved from this near upset behind 16 points from Blue, along with 14 points from Jamil Wilson and 11 points and 11 boards from Chris Otule. Marquette shot extremely poorly from beyond the arc in this matchup, but their dominance in the rebounding department saved them from being on the wrong side of history in 2013.

With just a second remaining, Davidson had one more opportunity, but Marquette intercepted their pass down the court, giving the Golden Eagles the victory. Marquette advanced as far as the Elite 8 before falling to fourth-seeded Syracuse 55-39.

#3 Notre Dame vs. #14 Northeastern (2015)

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish went 30-5 in 2015 and had extremely high expectations heading into March Madness. This Notre Dame team contained future NBA players Jerian Grant and Pat Connaughton. It was Zach Auguste who led the Irish in scoring with 25 points. Connaughton also chipped in with a 17-point performance.

The Northeastern Huskies are a small program in the CAA Conference and went 23–12 that season. They were able to hang around all game with the Fighting Irish to give them a major scare in the first round of the tournament.

The Huskies controlled the boards throughout this game, but a late turnover on the final possession and Notre Dame's phenomenal shooting performance was enough to get them past the first round. Notre Dame ultimately fell to top-seeded Kentucky in the Elite Eight.

#3 Florida State vs. #14 St. Bonaventure

The third-seeded Florida State Seminoles found themselves behind the St. Bonaventure Bonnies by six points at halftime of this March Madness first-round matchup. Florida State bounced back in the second half, outscoring the Bonnies by nine to avoid the upset.

The Bonnies received over half their total points from the frontcourt pairing of Demitrius Conger and NBA prospect Andrew Nicholson. Florida State's Bernard James led the team in scoring, tallying 19 points on 8/11 shooting. Florida State seemed to run out of gas after this matchup, going on to lose to Cincinnati in the next round of the tournament.

After the game against St. Bonaventure, the Seminoles' Luke Loucks had this to say about their narrow escape from a historic upset:

"That was one of the toughest games we've played all season, and that's all credit to their team. They came out first swinging, and we really hit back until about 10 minutes to go in the second half. Again, all credit to them, we really, really had to fight to win that game."