College Basketball

McNeese Becomes 56th No. 12 Seed To Beat No. 5 Seed In March Madness

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By
Dan Girolamo
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Dan Girolamo Sports Editor

Dan is a multifaceted content creator who specializes in sports, pop culture, and entertainment. His entertainment work has been featured on Digital Trends, where he has interviewed Brendan Fraser, Jamie Lee Curtis, Alison Brie, Adam DeVine, Sadie Sink, Chris O'Dowd, Machine Gun Kelly, and Frank Grillo. Dan's entertainment work has also been featured on Coming Soon, Hidden Remote, and WatchMojo. Dan's other passion in life revolves around sports, graduating from Marist College with a degree in Sports Communication and Journalism. From columns about the latest in New York sports to gambling predictions, Dan continues to find success in written and broadcast journalism. Previous written work can be found at Unafraid Show, while broadcast clips can be seen on WAVE.tv and CBS Sports.

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Published20 Mar 2025

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McNeese players put hands up.

The first major upset of the 2025 NCAA Tournament came in a 12-seed vs. 5-seed matchup. No. 12 McNeese defeated No. 5 Clemson in the opening round of March Madness 2025.

No. 12 McNeese Defeats No. 5 Clemson

The first brackets have been busted.

McNeese pulled off the 69-67 victory over Clemson. Despite the two-point victory, the game was never close until the end.

McNeese jumped out to a 24-point advantage in the first half and went into halftime with a 31-13 lead.

Per ESPN, Clemson’s 13-point first-half performance was the third-worst scoring half for a team seeded No. 5 or better.

Will Wade, who already accepted the head coaching position at NC State, gives McNeese its first NCAA Tournament victory.

McNeese’s Brandon Murray had a team-high 21 points, including 14 at halftime. Quadir Copeland finished with 16 points, while Christian Shumate added 13.

Clemson’s Jaeden Zackery had a game-high 24 points, while Chase Hunter finished with 21 points.

Clemson will turn to their first-half struggles as to why things got out of hand. Clemson only made 5 of 24 field goal attempts in the first half, including 1 of 15 from 3-point range.

McNeese now moves on to play No. 4 Purdue on Saturday.

McNeese The Latest No. 12 Seed To Beat A No. 5 Seed

With the McNeese’s win, it’s the 56th time a No. 12 seed has beat a No. 5 seed since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

Two No. 12 seeds defeated No. 5 seeds in the 2024 Tournament: No. 12 James Madison over No. 5 Wisconsin and No. 12 Grand Canyon over No. 5 Saint Mary’s.

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 Manhattan def. Florida 75-60
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 Liberty def. Mississippi State 80-76
2019 Murray State def. Marquette 83-64
2019 Oregon def. Wisconsin 72-54
2021 Oregon State def. Tennessee 70-56
2022 Richmond def. Iowa 67-63
2022 New Mexico State def. UConn 70-63
2024 James Madison def. Wisconsin 72-61
2024 Grand Canyon def. Saint Mary’s 75-66