Winners and Losers from #15 Saint Peter’s Win over Kentucky in March Madness Round 1
Three #1 seeds got easy wins in their NCAA Tournament 1st round matchups to kick off March Madness on Thursday, March 17th. There was a #2 seed that was not so lucky, though, with Kentucky almost inexplicably falling 85-79 to the unheard-of Saint Peter’s, blowing up brackets immediately on day one, a result that would’ve gone down as a Vegas Odds March Madness upset for the ages.
When there are these types of lopsided upsets in the 1st round of March Madness, the affects can ripple for weekends to come. Kentucky not only lost as a -18.5 favorite on Thursday, but they were also +850 to win the National Championship Here are the winners and losers from this shocking upset.
Winners: Saint Peters
Who knows how far the Peacocks will advance in 2022 March Madness, but their tournament run has already been considered a success. At 16-11 and in 2nd place in the Metro Atlantic conference during the regular season, Saint Peter’s had to win their conference tournament to even get to the NCAAs. That’s what they did going 3-0 last weekend and getting their first NCAA win in their fourth career appearance.
Losers: Kentucky
UK was the only non #1 seed to be favored to win their region, with experts having them get past #3 Purdue and even #1 Baylor en route to the Final 4. The Wildcats finished 26-8 and got a 16th straight double-double from Oscar Tschiebwe with 30 points and 16 rebounds. Now the Wildcats have to be left asking, “what else could we have done?”
Winners: Purdue, Baylor, UCLA, North Carolina
Kentucky’s loss really opened up the East Region. Even though the top seeds had a good chance of advancing out of it anyway, it never hurts when you don’t have to go through a #2 seed to get to the Final 4. Purdue gets a big break as they are in Kentucky’s half of the region, but it’s a breath of fresh air for all remaining teams that UK is eliminated.
Losers: Teams That Have Beat Kentucky
The Wildcats were #7 in the AP Top 25 and didn’t have a ‘bad loss’ all season. Kentucky’s defeats came against Duke, Notre Dame, LSU, Auburn, Tennessee, and Arkansas – all teams that made the tournament. Each one of those squads also considered their win over UK as a “quality win,” so the fact that Kentucky was knocked out in the first round might be sending some doubt through their minds as they move through March Madness.
Winners: #15 Seeds
Every time a #14, #15, or #16 wins in the first round of the tournament, it’s a win for parity and a confidence builder for the future. Saint Peter’s win was the second straight year a #15 took down a #2 after Oral Roberts beat Ohio State last year, but also just the 10th time in history the #2 has lost in the first round. Either way, whichever teams get #15 seeds next March will know that losing is not inevitable.