Week 7 Bottom 10: The Biggest Upsets

December 23, 2025 0 By Neill White

Week 7: December 15 – December 22, 2025
College basketball served up 1 non-Division I upset this week, reminding us that nothing is guaranteed on the hardwood. Let’s count down this week’s ten most surprising results.

#9: South Alabama @ Texas State

Final Score: Texas State 67, South Alabama 65
Date: December 20, 2025
Venue: South Alabama @ Texas State
Favorite: South Alabama (Ranked #191)
Underdog: Texas State (Ranked #264)
Predicted Score: South Alabama 75.8 – 72.2 (3.6 points)
Upset Rating: 5.2

Key Factors:

Free throws: Texas State 20-22 (91%), South Alabama 14-22 (64%)
Foul trouble: South Alabama had 2 players with 4+ fouls
Rebounding: Texas State 40, South Alabama 25 (15-rebound advantage, 17 offensive)
Bench scoring: Texas State 23 points, South Alabama 8 points (15-point advantage)

#8: Santa Clara vs. Loyola-Chicago

Final Score: Loyola-Chicago 80, Santa Clara 78
Date: December 20, 2025
Venue: Santa Clara vs. Loyola-Chicago (neutral site)
Favorite: Santa Clara (Ranked #115)
Underdog: Loyola-Chicago (Ranked #297)
Predicted Score: Santa Clara 78.2 – 74.8 (3.4 points)
Upset Rating: 7.7

Key Factors:

Foul trouble: Santa Clara had 2 players with 4+ fouls, 1 fouled out
Two-point shooting: Loyola-Chicago 16-26 (62%), Santa Clara 17-37 (46%)
Three-point shooting: Loyola-Chicago 10-27 (37%), Santa Clara 10-31 (32%)

#7: Fairfield @ Cent Conn St

Final Score: Fairfield 84, Cent Conn St 70
Date: December 18, 2025
Venue: Fairfield @ Cent Conn St
Favorite: Cent Conn St (Ranked #195)
Underdog: Fairfield (Ranked #238)
Predicted Score: Cent Conn St 75.3 – 65.9 (9.3 points)
Upset Rating: 11.8

Key Factors:

Two-point shooting: Fairfield 19-33 (58%), Cent Conn St 16-35 (46%)
Three-point shooting: Fairfield 12-28 (43%), Cent Conn St 9-28 (32%)

#6: Winthrop @ North Dakota

Final Score: North Dakota 90, Winthrop 88
Date: December 18, 2025
Venue: Winthrop @ North Dakota
Favorite: Winthrop (Ranked #170)
Underdog: North Dakota (Ranked #324)
Predicted Score: Winthrop 87.1 – 79.7 (7.4 points)
Upset Rating: 14.9

Key Factors:

Foul trouble: Winthrop had 2 players with 4+ fouls, 2 fouled out
Turnovers: Winthrop 11, North Dakota 6 (5-turnover disparity)

#5: Texas Tech vs. Duke

Final Score: Texas Tech 82, Duke 81
Date: December 20, 2025
Venue: Texas Tech vs. Duke (neutral site)
Favorite: Duke (Ranked #3)
Underdog: Texas Tech (Ranked #45)
Predicted Score: Duke 82.3 – 72.5 (9.9 points)
Upset Rating: 19.6

Key Factors:

Foul trouble: Duke had 2 players with 4+ fouls
Two-point shooting: Texas Tech 25-36 (69%), Duke 17-25 (68%)

#4: Denver @ N Colorado

Final Score: Denver 86, N Colorado 79
Date: December 20, 2025
Venue: Denver @ N Colorado
Favorite: N Colorado (Ranked #161)
Underdog: Denver (Ranked #296)
Predicted Score: N Colorado 82.6 – 70.6 (12.0 points)
Upset Rating: 22.6

Key Factors:

Free throws: Denver 18-20 (90%), N Colorado 4-10 (40%)
Three-point shooting: Denver 8-15 (53%), N Colorado 5-25 (20%)
Foul trouble: N Colorado had 1 players with 4+ fouls, 1 fouled out

#3: Howard @ UNC Wilmington

Final Score: Howard 67, UNC Wilmington 66
Date: December 20, 2025
Venue: Howard @ UNC Wilmington
Favorite: UNC Wilmington (Ranked #96)
Underdog: Howard (Ranked #227)
Predicted Score: UNC Wilmington 86.9 – 70.8 (16.0 points)
Upset Rating: 28.4

Key Factors:

Three-point shooting: Howard 7-16 (44%), UNC Wilmington 4-20 (20%)

#2: San Diego @ UC San Diego

Final Score: San Diego 82, UC San Diego 80
Date: December 19, 2025
Venue: San Diego @ UC San Diego
Favorite: UC San Diego (Ranked #83)
Underdog: San Diego (Ranked #304)
Predicted Score: UC San Diego 86.7 – 63.4 (23.4 points)
Upset Rating: 60.3

Key Factors:

Three-point shooting: San Diego 12-33 (36%), UC San Diego 8-26 (31%)

#1: Montana Tech @ Montana

Final Score: Montana Tech 82, Montana 75
Date: December 17, 2025
Venue: Montana Tech @ Montana
Type: Non-Division I Upset
Favorite: Montana (Ranked #216)
Underdog: Montana Tech (non-D1, unranked)
Margin of Defeat: 7 points
Upset Rating: 36.8