Either Butler or VCU will be in the NCAA Tournament’s final game this year, raising the possibility of a historic upset and calling to mind these previous David-over-Goliath moments:
1966: Texas Western shocks the nation by becoming the first team with an all-black starting five to win the national championship, a result that, in retrospect, isn’t really all that surprising
1983: NC State wins the title, an impressive feat considering players have to dodge coach Jim Valvano, who spends the entire game running on the court trying to hug someone
1985: In the tournament’s final game, little Villanova knocks out the powerhouse Hoyas by invoking the new “Patrick Ewing Will Never Again Win a Championship at Any Level” rule
1986: Cleveland State’s “run and stun” style, combining fast breaks and pressure defense, is more than a match for Indiana’s style, which is getting yelled at constantly by its asshole coach
1992: Defeating the heavily favored Wolverines for the championship, Duke ruins everything by proving that team discipline outlasts swagger and bravado
2001: No. 2 seed Iowa State loses to some guy named Hampton
2005: Vermont defeats Syracuse 60-57 in the first round when Orange great Derrick Coleman turns out to be a nonfactor in the game, having gone to the NBA 15 years previously
2006: George Mason beats Wichita State, Michigan State, UConn, and UNC, an outcome some treat as so miraculous that the Patriots may as well be a festering sack of wet shit instead of a pretty good basketball team
2011: Though most would say everyone should take a step back before classifying Morehead State’s win over Louisville as one of the all-time great upsets ever, we have space to fill
