Besides being a great upset, it was the game that transformed Dick Vitalea balding, one-eyed, washout of an ex-coachinto Dickie V, the cacophonous ESPN commentator, motivational speaker and human cottage industry we know today. In the second half, with Clarksville, Tenn. based Austin Peay leading the Illini by three points, Vitale told a national audience that he’d stand on his head if the Governors won. When they did, Vitale visited Austin Peay and went bald-side down for 10 seconds.
Top 10 NCAA Tournament First Round Upsets
The bands. The buzzer-beaters. The unproductive offices. Must be the start of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. To mark this year's edition, we scoured the record books to select the 10 best first round upsets in tournament history
(14) Austin Peay 68, (3) Illinois 67, 1987
Full List
March Madness
- (13) Princeton 43, (4) UCLA 41, 1996
- (15) Richmond 73, (2) Syracuse 69, 1991
- (15) Hampton 58, (2) Iowa State 57, 2001
- (14) Cleveland State 83, (3) Indiana 79, 1986
- (13) Valparaiso 70, (4) Mississippi 69, 1998
- (15) Santa Clara 64, (2) Arizona 61, 1993
- (14) Northwestern State 64, (3) Iowa 63, 2006
- (13) Vermont 60, (4) Syracuse 57, 2005
- (14) Bucknell 64, (3) Kansas 63, 2005
- (14) Austin Peay 68, (3) Illinois 67, 1987