The No. 12 over No. 5 upset has become a popular pick in March Madness brackets. James Madison upheld that notion with a win over Wisconsin, and then Grand Canyon followed suit by taking down Saint Mary's.
The Dukes and Lopes both came in as the lower seeds and underdogs, but there wasn't a moment they weren't in control over their higher-seeded opponents.
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James Madison upsets Wisconsin
James Madison held the edge wire-to-wire, leading by as much as 17 points. Wisconsin cut the deficit to as close as six points in the second half, but the Dukes always had an answer.
JMU's defense held the Badgers to 37.3% shooting from the field while forcing 19 turnovers. While the Dukes didn't have any breakout performances — junior guard Terrence Edwards Jr. was the leading scorer with 14 points — the team effort on the defensive end led them to victory.
Wisconsin's AJ Storr, who averaged almost 17 points per game this season, was held to an inefficient 13 points on 14 shots. Chucky Hepburn was carrying the momentum of back-to-back 20-point games in the Big Ten Tournament, but he was bottled for eight points on eight shots.
James Madison continuously put pressure on the rim, attacking Wisconsin's frontcourt to shoot 46.2% from 2-point range with 30 free throw attempts.
Even though the seeding says the Dukes' pulled off an upset, James Madison has owned one of the best records in the NCAA all season. After starting the year 14-0, JMU was ranked as high as 19th in the country. The team finished with a 31-3 overall record and won the Sun Belt Tournament before pulling off the first-round win over Wisconsin.
Grand Canyon upsets Saint Mary's
Grand Canyon's upset win wasn't all that different from James Madison's. Even though it was a tight one-point game going into halftime, the Lopes wasted no time in pulling away in the second half.
Grand Canyon led by as much as 17 points, completely shutting down the Gaels' offense. Saint Mary's shot 38.1% from the field and 28.6% from 3. Grand Canyon came up with nine blocks and eight steals, led by four blocks from Lok Wur and three steals and three blocks from Gabe McGlothan. On offense, Tyron Grant-Foster finished with a game-high 22 points.
Saint Mary's had a top-50 offense and the 14th-best defense in the country, but Grand Canyon's length and athleticism proved to be too much for the Gaels.
Take a look at the complete history of No. 12 over No. 5 seeds below.
How many 12 seeds beat a 5 seed in March Madness?
| Year | Result | Score |
| 1985 | Kentucky def. Washington | 66-58 |
| 1986 | DePaul def. Virginia | 72-68 |
| 1987 | Wyoming def. Virginia | 64-60 |
| 1989 | DePaul def. Memphis State | 66-63 |
| 1990 | Dayton def. Illinois | 88-86 |
| 1990 | Ball State def. Oregon State | 54-53 |
| 1991 | Eastern Michigan def. Mississippi State | 76-56 |
| 1992 | New Mexico State def. DePaul | 81-73 |
| 1993 | George Washington def. New Mexico | 82-68 |
| 1994 | UW-Green Bay def. California | 61-57 |
| 1994 | Tulsa def. UCLA | 112-102 |
| 1995 | Miami (Ohio) def. Arizona | 71-62 |
| 1996 | Drexel def. Memphis | 75-63 |
| 1996 | Arkansas def. Penn State | 86-80 |
| 1997 | College of Charleston def. Maryland | 75-66 |
| 1998 | Florida State def. TCU | 96-87 |
| 1999 | Detroit def. UCLA | 56-53 |
| 1999 | Missouri State def. TCU | 96-87 |
| 2001 | Utah State def. Ohio State | 77-68 (OT) |
| 2001 | Gonzaga def. Virginia | 86-85 |
| 2002 | Tulsa def. Marquette | 71-69 |
| 2002 | Missouri def. Miami (Fla.) | 93-80 |
| 2002 | Creighton def. Florida | 83-82 (2OT) |
| 2003 | Butler def. Mississippi State | 47-46 |
| 2004 | Pacific def. Providence | 66-58 |
| 2005 | Milwaukee def. Alabama | 83-73 |
| 2006 | Montana def. Nevada | 87-79 |
| 2006 | Texas A&M def. Syracuse | 66-58 |
| 2008 | Villanova def. Clemson | 75-69 |
| 2008 | Western Kentucky def. Drake | 101-99 (OT) |
| 2009 | Wisconsin def. Florida State | 61-59 (OT) |
| 2009 | Arizona def. Utah | 84-71 |
| 2009 | Western Kentucky def. Illinois | 76-72 |
| 2010 | Cornell def. Temple | 78-65 |
| 2011 | Richmond def. Vanderbilt | 69-66 |
| 2012 | South Florida def. Temple | 58-44 |
| 2012 | VCU def. Wichita State | 62-59 |
| 2013 | Ole Miss def. Wisconsin | 57-46 |
| 2013 | California def. UNLV | 64-61 |
| 2013 | Oregon def. Oklahoma State | 68-55 |
| 2014 | Harvard def. Cincinnati | 61-57 |
| 2014 | North Dakota State def. Oklahoma | 80-75 (OT) |
| 2014 | Stephen F. Austin def. VCU | 77-75 (OT) |
| 2016 | Little Rock def. Purdue | 85-83 (2OT) |
| 2016 | Yale def. Baylor | 79-75 |
| 2017 | Middle Tennessee def. Minnesota | 81-72 |
| 2019 | Oregon def. Wisconsin | 72-54 |
| 2019 | Liberty def. Mississippi State | 80-76 |
| 2019 | Murray State def. Marquette | 83-64 |
| 2021 | Oregon State def. Tennessee | 70-56 |
| 2022 | New Mexico State def. Connecticut | 70-63 |
| 2022 | Richmond def. Iowa | 67-63 |
| 2024 | James Madison def. Wisconsin | 72-61 |
| 2024 | Grand Canyon def. Saint Mary's | 75-66 |
MORE: Yale joins list of No. 13 seeds with first-round win after stunning Auburn
Outside of the closely seeded No. 8 vs. No. 9 first-round matchups, the No. 12 over No. 5 upset has historically been the most common in March Madness.
There have only been six years in the history of the NCAA Tournament that there was not a No. 12 over No. 5 upset — 1988, 2000, 2007, 2015, 2018 and 2023. There have been multiple No. 12 over No. 5 upsets in 16 (!) NCAA Tournaments, including this one.
James Madison's win over Wisconsin and Grand Canyon's win over Saint Mary's were the only two of their kind in 2024 March Madness. No. 5 seed San Diego State narrowly edged UAB, 69-65, in its first-round contest, while No. 5 seed Gonzaga routed McNeese State, 86-65.
