March Madness upsets are not only celebrated by fans of the respective winners, but by supporters of the losing side's rivals, too.
This year's biggest upset occurred when the No. 14-seed Oakland Golden Grizzlies defeated the No. 3-seed Kentucky Wildcats 80-76 in the first round of the men's NCAA tournament. It was Oakland's second-ever win in March Madness. The Golden Grizzlies also became the second-lowest seed to defeat Kentucky in the tournament, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Though the Golden Grizzlies' run ended in the round of 32, their win against the Wildcats was appreciated by a fan of the Louisville Cardinals, one of Kentucky's biggest rivals.
A Louisville native and fan sent the school a check with a note, according to Oakland head coach Greg Kampe, who posted about it on Friday on X. Kampe wrote that the fan sends a check every year to the school that knocks Kentucky out of the tournament. The amount was not specified.
A Louisville resident and obvious fan sent Oakland a check with a nice note. He says he normally sends a certain amount each year to the school that knocks Kentucky out of the tournament. This year because of OUr story he doubled the amount. Truly the definition of March Madness
— Greg Kampe (@KampeOU) March 29, 2024
The Wildcats and Cardinals have met 56 times since 1913. Kentucky leads the all-time series 39-17. The Wildcats defeated the Cardinals 95-76 in December 2023.
Their last postseason meeting happened in the 2014 Sweet 16, with No. 8 seed Kentucky upsetting No. 4 seed Louisville.