In the world of sports, upsets are nothing new, yet always exciting to experience. That is, unless your team is the one losing in the end. Unfortunately for Kentucky enthusiasts, that loss happened last night and fan reactions are all over the place after Saint Peter’s defeated them.
In a devastating upset, the No. 15 Peacocks beat the No. 2 Wildcats last night 85-79. The Wildcats haven’t experienced an NCAA loss in the first round since 2008 after falling to Marquette. Further, Kentucky hasn’t lost to a seed lower than 11 in NCAA tournament history since the 1980s, Sports Illustrated reports, As one might expect, Kentucky fans were not expecting this and are upset, to say the least. Social media platforms are blowing up with fan reactions to the upset.
“Oscar Tshiebwe is the only one who bothered to show up today. Everyone else should be ashamed of this. Complete meltdown. #bbn,” one fan wrote. “Wheeler and Oscar trying to will this team away from the upset.. #BBN,” tweeted another. While the praise for Oscar Tshiebwe is abundant, most are upset the loss even happened at all.
As seen above, much of the fire is directed toward John Calipari and some of his decisions last night. Though he is an incredibly successful head coach, he doesn’t seem to have many people behind him after Kentucky’s performance.
“Kentucky just achieved their worst loss of the Calipari era if not program history. The regression we saw from the Wildcats on both sides of the ball as well as the backcourt to waste Tshiebwe’s performance tonight and season as a whole is unbelievable. Stunned doesn’t cover it.,” another fan stated on Twitter.
With such a surprising victory, the sky may be the limit for the Peacocks now.
How did Saint Peter’s End up Defeating Kentucky?
The Kentucky loss caught most off guard and the fan reactions illustrate that well, but how exactly did Saint Peter’s clutch a victory from the high-seeded Bobcats?
As a few fans so accurately stated, one factor is Daryl Banks III for the Peacocks came to play. Scoring 27 points on five 3-pointers definitely contributed to the victory. The latter part of the game continued to be a back-and-forth between the two teams until Doub Edbert tied the game at 71, forcing overtime. It didn’t help that TyTy Washington missed a potential game-winning shot.
Oscar Tshiebwe led the extra period strong with four-straight points, but the Peacocks didn’t relent and after tying the game later on with two free throws, Saint Peter’s pulled ahead.
So, what happens now? The Peacocks will play the winner of Murray State and San Francisco in the second round. After a start like this, the sky is the limit, right?
