It turns out one of college basketball's blue bloods was no match for blue feathers. No. 15 Saint Peter's stunned No. 2 Kentucky on Thursday in Indianapolis, capturing an 85-79 overtime victory to advance to the round of 32 for the first time. The Peacocks became just the 10th No. 15 seed in NCAA Tournament history to take down a No. 2 seed.
So, here's the question: Did the MAAC Tournament champions pull off the greatest March Madness upset of all time?
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In his subjective analysis, The Sporting News' Bill Bender considered Saint Peter's win the third-most shocking first-round upset college hoops fans have ever seen, placing that game behind Richmond vs. Syracuse in 1991 and UMBC vs. Virginia in 2018. If you want to go the gambling route, the Peacocks, an 18.5-point underdog, pulled off the fourth-largest upset in the NCAA Tournament since the bracket expanded to 64 teams in 1985.
| Year | Matchup | Line |
| 2012 | Norfolk State defeats Missouri | 21.5 |
| 2018 | UMBC defeats Virginia | 20.5 |
| 1993 | Santa Clara defeats Arizona | 20 |
| 2022 | Saint Peter's defeats Kentucky | 18.5 |
| 1997 | Coppin State defeats South Carolina | 18.5 |
Saint Peter's does have a strong argument for the top upset in one area, though: Money.
Peacocks coach Shaheen Holloway made $266,344 in 2019, per the school's federal tax documents. Wildcats coach John Calipari, meanwhile, had a base pay of $8.5 million this season. Kentucky also has four assistant coaches who make more than Holloway.
And then there's the program budgets. Figures obtained by Sportico show Saint Peter's win over Kentucky was the biggest financial March Madness upset since at least 2007 — and likely the biggest of all time.
| Year | Matchup | Budget ratio | Winner's budget | Loser's budget |
| 2022 | Saint Peter's defeats Kentucky | 11.7 | $1.6 million | $18.3 million |
| 2012 | Lehigh defeats Duke | 11.5 | $1.4 million | $15.9 million |
| 2011 | Morehead State defeats Louisville | 10.8 | $1.2 million | $13.3 million |
| 2014 | Mercer defeats Duke | 9.1 | $1.6 million | $14.2 million |
| 2010 | Cornell defeats Wisconsin | 7.8 | $967,000 | $7.5 million |
Any way you break it down, Saint Peter's is, at the very least, part of the greatest upset conversation.
Saint Peter's will have the opportunity to build off its upset over Kentucky when it faces No. 7 Murray State on Saturday. The Peacocks are currently 8.5-point underdogs.