Can the Oregon State Women’s Basketball Team Upset North Carolina?
In the history of the NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament, there are plenty of astounding statistics to provide joy for mathematically-inclined basketball fans.
Before Scott Rueck’s Oregon State women’s basketball team begins Saturday’s opening round matchup with North Carolina, my mind is stuck on one particular stat: 0.
That’s the number of times a 14 seed has beaten a 3 seed. Zero. It’s never happened. What are the odds that the 14 seed Beavers make history Saturday in Chapel Hill?
Below, read recaps of the 3 closest 14v3 games in women’s NCAA tournament history:
2-point margin — (14) Creighton vs (3) St. John's in 2012
St John’s led early, 19-9 with 12:12 left in the opening half. Then Creighton rallied; the Blue Jays took their first lead of the game at 29-28 thanks to clutch jumpers and perfect free throw shooting. A late run soared St John ahead 34-32 at halftime, and the margin remained razor-thin the rest of the way.
Trailing by 1 with less than 6 seconds left, St John’s put its hopes in the hands of Nadirah McKenith. The then-Junior floor general raced down the court and floated a buzzer-beater through the netting. St Johns finished their season with a Sweet Sixteen run, and McKenith later played two seasons in the WNBA.
2-point margin — (14) Eastern Michigan vs. (3) Boston College in 2004
If the opening 5 minutes were any indication, this game was not supposed to be close. Boston College began with a 22-4 run during that span. At halftime, the heavily favored BC Eagles led their opposing EMU Eagles by 10.
Trailing 42-29 with 15 minutes left in regulation, Eastern Michigan roared back with a 10-0 run. Later, they took the lead 52-51, and each side would trade buckets the rest of the way. After Eastern hit a game-tying shot with 40 seconds left, a BC backdoor pass and lay-in with 15 seconds left scored the winning basket.
Following a second round victory, Boston College's season came to an end in the Sweet Sixteen.
2-point margin — (14) Austin Peay vs (3) North Carolina in 2003
Perhaps this game will offer an omen for Beaver fans. 3 seed North Carolina hosted Austin Peay in 2003, and the visitors fought well above their weight class. At halftime, the Tar Heels only led by 3. At the conclusion of a back-and-forth 2nd half, they narrowly escaped with a 72-70 win. After the game, then-North Carolina coach offered an honest post-mortem on the close call, “We are happy to survive and move on”.
In the following round, Colorado routed North Carolina 86-67.
More Reading Material From Oregon State Beavers On SI
Matt fell in love with radio during his college days at Oregon Tech, and pursued a nine year career in sports broadcasting with Klamath Falls' and Medford's highest-rated sports radio stations. He currently lives in McMinnville wine country and is excited to talk about the Beavers again.