Of the 20-plus million March Madness brackets that were submitted across the major websites this week, only 192 of them outlasted Thursday's chaos, which featured four legitimate first-round upsets. But only one of the teams shocked the country, and that was 15th-seed Saint Peter's, which managed to defeat 2nd-seed Kentucky in overtime, 85-79, in the East Region.
The Peacocks became just the 10th program in NCAA Tournament history to pull off a 15th-seed upset of a 2nd-see. And according to ESPN Stats & Info, they entered as an 18.5-point underdog, tying the fourth-largest tournament upset since 1985. In his fourth season as coach, Shaheen Holloway helped deliver the school's first-ever March Madness win. And believe it or not, he almost missed out on the epic game in Indianapolis.
"I got food poisoning -- from Monday to yesterday, I was in bed. So, it's been a whirlwind," Holloway told The Zach Gelb Show on Friday. "I didn't even come down with the team. The team came down Tuesday, and I didn't get here until Wednesday morning. There was no way I wasn't coaching that game. My son was hungry, it was late. So, I took him to McDonald's to get a milkshake and a burger. You can't go without getting fries. I got some fries, and it tore me up."
Luckily for Holloway, he was on the sideline to watch his players make history. Peacocks senior guard Daryl Banks III scored a team-high 27 points on 9 of 19 shooting, and his pair of free throws with 1:54 left in overtime gave them the lead for good. Kentucky entered March Madness with Final Four aspirations, and the opening-round loss was its first under longtime coach John Calipari.
Saint Peter's -- which clinched an automatic bid to the dance by winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) tournament last week -- will face 7th-seed Murray State in the second round on Saturday night. According to FiveThirtyEight projections, the Peacocks have a 28-percent chance to win and advance to the Sweet 16.
The entire Saint Peter's hoops conversation between Holloway and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.