NCAA Basketball: Top 25 NCAA Tournament upsets since 2000
By Joey Loose
12. #12 Little Rock 85, #5 Purdue 83, 2 OT (2016 Round of 64)
In what would be his first and only season as the head coach of Little Rock, Chris Beard did some remarkable things.
The Trojans won their first 10 games, getting their first loss at the Texas Tech Red Raiders, before performing solidly in Sun Belt play, winning the conference tournament for just the second time. They avoided slip-ups for most of the season and were rewarded for their 29-4 record with a 12-seed and a date with the Purdue Boilermakers.
Matt Painter’s Boilermakers were very solid, having just loss the Big Ten title game to a potent (more on that later) Michigan State Spartans squad. AJ Hammons, Vince Edwards and Caleb Swanigan led this team that spent the entire season in the top 25. A deep tournament run was not out of the question for the Boilermakers, but first they had to get past the Trojans, a tougher task than imagined.
This was a tight game for the entire first half, with Purdue clinging to a three-point lead at the break. As the second half opened, the Boilermakers did exactly what many people expected, as they started to pull away.
They continued to build their lead, with an Edwards 3-pointer giving them a 14-point lead with five minutes left, but this game wasn’t over yet. A late 12-0 run got the Trojans within a point, but the Boilermakers would answer.
A pair of impossible 3-pointers tied this game and sent it to overtime, aided by confusion on Purdue’s side as the time ticked off the clock. The teams scored just three points apiece in overtime, but it was during the second overtime where Little Rock started hitting shots.
They gave Purdue plenty of chances with missed free throws, but the Boilermakers couldn’t take advantage. Little Rock pulled off the incredible upset.
Josh Hagins led the way for the Trojans with his 31 points, including his incredible shot to send the game to the first overtime. They shot just 57 percent from the free throw line, but took enough advantage of Purdue’s mistakes (18 turnovers) to get back into the game and win it late. Double-doubles from Edwards (24 points, 13 rebounds) and Hammons (16 points, 15 rebounds, six blocks) wasn’t enough.
Little Rock could not replicate their success a few days later against the Iowa State Cyclones and watched Chris Beard leave after just one season. The 30 wins that Little Rock accumulated was a program best. This moment truly cemented their place in March Madness history. For a Sun Belt squad to knock out such a large deficit late against a team like Purdue was truly incredible.