13 seeds to beat a 4: Yale upsets Auburn to join March Madness record books

Edward Sutelan

13 seeds to beat a 4: Yale upsets Auburn to join March Madness record books image

Yale men's basketball needed a buzzer-beater to beat 13-17 Brown in the Ivy League championship game. Less than a week later, the Bulldogs took down 27-8 Auburn with another down-to-the-wire win.

No. 13 seed Yale stunned No. 4 seed Auburn, a popular national champion pick, in a 78-76 victory Friday night. The win came one day after another No. 14 seed in Oakland managed an upset win against No. 3 Kentucky.

The Tigers missed several key late free throws and two chances at either tying the game or taking the lead with seconds left on the clock. They played an uncharacteristically sloppy game throughout, committing 14 turnovers, 25 fouls and making only 68.2% of their free-throw attempts. 

Still, Auburn had its chances late. K.D. Johnson made a layup with nine seconds left and was fouled on the play, which gave a chance to make it a one-point game — but he missed the free throw.

Auburn's Johni Broome grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled immediately, but he missed both of his free throws.

The Tigers received yet another chance when Broome claimed another rebound, but Jaylin Williams' layup attempt was blocked. Johnson had enough time for a Hail Mary 3-pointer, but it came up empty as Yale survived for the win.

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This year marks the second straight in which the Ivy League tournament champion made some early noise in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, Princeton entered as a No. 15 seed and stunned No. 2 seed Arizona in the first round. The Tigers then went on to beat No. 7 Missouri in the second round before falling to No. 6 Creighton in the Sweet Sixteen.

Auburn has been a reliable SEC team in the postseason in recent years. The 2024 loss marked the first time in Bruce Pearl's 10-year Auburn career — which includes five tournament appearances — that the Tigers were eliminated in the first round.

Here's a look at where Yale's win stands in history among No. 13 seeds.

History of 13 over 4 upsets in March Madness

Year Result Score
1985 Navy def. LSU 78-55
1987 Missouri State def. Clemson 65-60
1987 Xavier def. Missouri 70-69
1988 Richmond def. Indiana 72-69
1989 Middle Tennessee def. Florida State 97-83
1991 Penn State def. UCLA 74-69
1992 Southwestern Louisiana def. Oklahoma 87-83
1993 Southern def. Georgia Tech 93-78
1995 Manhattan def. Oklahoma 77-67
1996 Princeton def. UCLA 43-41
1998 Valparaiso def. Ole Miss 70-69
1999 Oklahoma def. Arizona 61-60
2001 Indiana State def. Oklahoma 70-68
2001 Kent State def. Indiana 77-73
2002 UNC Wilmington def. USC 93-89
2003 Tulsa def. Dayton 84-71
2005 Vermont def. Syracuse 60-57
2006 Bradley def. Kansas 77-73
2008 Siena def. Vanderbilt 83-62
2008 San Diego def. UConn 70-69
2009 Cleveland State def. Wake Forest 84-69
2010 Murray State def. Vanderbilt 66-65
2011 Morehead State def. Louisville 62-61
2012 Ohio def. Michigan 65-60
2013 La Salle def. Kansas State 63-61
2016 Hawaii def. California 77-66
2018 Buffalo def. Arizona 89-69
2018 Marshall def. Wichita State 81-75
2019 UC Irvine def. Kansas State 70-64
2021 North Texas def. Purdue 78-69 (OT)
2021 Ohio def. Virginia 62-58
2023 Furman def. Virginia 68-67
2024 Yale def. Auburn 78-76

No. 13 seeds don't have an extensive track record of success against No. 4 seeds. Those seeds have gone only 33-121 in NCAA Tournament history against their top-five seeded counterparts.

The 2024 tournament does mark the second straight year in which a No. 4 seed has fallen to a No. 13 seed. It's also the fourth time in the past three tournaments.

In 2023, No. 13 Furman topped No. 4 Virginia. Two years earlier, Ohio beat Virginia and North Texas took down Purdue.

HISTORY OF UPSETS BY SEED:
16 vs. 115 vs. 2 | 14 vs. 3 | 13 vs. 4 | 12 vs. 5

SEC record in March Madness

The defeat for the Tigers adds to what has been a brutal stretch for the SEC. On Thursday, No. 2 Tennessee stomped No. 15 Saint Peter's. Beyond that, it has been all losses for the conference, leading to a 1-5 record in March Madness so far.

No. 6 South Carolina was blown out by No. 11 Oregon 87-73; No. 8 Mississippi State was beat up by No. 9 Michigan State 69-51; No. 14 Oakland stunned No. 3 Kentucky 80-76; and No. 10 Colorado topped No. 7 Florida on a last-second basket 102-100.

Two SEC teams still have games to be played in the first round: No. 9 Texas A&M will face No. 8 Nebraska, while No. 4 Alabama will play No. 13 Charleston.

Edward Sutelan

Edward Sutelan Photo

Edward Sutelan joined The Sporting News in 2021 after covering high school sports for PennLive. Edward graduated from The Ohio State University in 2019, where he gained experience covering the baseball, football and basketball teams. Edward also spent time working for The Columbus Dispatch and Cape Cod Times.