The Illini Might Be Responsible For The Dick Vitale We Now Know.
In 1987, an Illini team led by Ken Norman and Doug Altenberger received the No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament and were predicted to reach the Final Four by an up-and-coming broadcaster named Dick Vitale. In the first round, Illinois faced little-known Austin Peay, the champions of the Ohio Valley Conference and most famous for their fans' chant for 1970s player James "Fly" Williams: "The Fly Is Open ... Let s Go Peay!" Back then, early rounds of the NCAA tournament were shown on ESPN, and in the second half, with Peay down to the Illini by only three points, Vitale appeared in ESPN's studio and bellowed, "THERE S NO WAY ILLINOIS LOSES THIS GAME! IF ILLINOIS LOSES, I'LL STAND ON MY HEAD!" Sure enough, Austin Peay pulled off the 68-67 upset, and, months later, Vitale visited the school's Tennessee campus and successfully stood on his head for 10 seconds. The headstand caused an extreme rush of blood to Vitale's brain and reduced his mental acuity to that of a retarded dolphin. -- Will Leitch
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From the OVC history books:
Football wasn’t the only sport in which the OVC was quickly gaining respect. In 1955, the OVC became only the second six-member league nationally to earn an automatic bid to the prestigious NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, which, at that time, was limited to only 24 participants. The conference quickly proved worthy of that bid, as Morehead State defeated Marshall (107-92) and Wayne State (95-84) in the 1956 tournament.
Fifteen years later, former OVC member Western Kentucky became the first and only conference team to reach the Final Four. The Hilltoppers defeated Jacksonville, Kentucky and Ohio State before losing to Villanova in double overtime. WKU went on to finish in third place after beating Kansas 77-75 in the consolation game.
Since that time, the OVC has recorded some of the biggest upsets in the history of the NCAA Tournament. Perhaps the most famous moment came in 1987, when Austin Peay came from fourth place in the regular season to win the OVC Tournament and earn the league's automatic bid. The Governors drew powerful Illinois, and were such big underdogs, that ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale promised to stand on his head if APSU won the game. After a 68-67 victory over the Illini, and a narrow 90-87 overtime loss to eventual Final Four participant Providence in the second round, Vitale made good on his promise in a visit to Clarksville two months later.
Murray State added to the OVC's string of upsets in 1988 when it knocked off 14th-ranked North Carolina State, 78-75. The Racers' M&M Boys - Jeff Martin and Don Mann - combined for 39 points in the win. MSU nearly went on to the Sweet 16 that year, losing to eventual national champion Kansas, 61-58. A bank shot by Mann that would've given the Racers a one-point lead rolled off the rim with three seconds left. In recent years, Murray State has dominated the OVC Tournament, reaching the championship game every year in the 1990's and winning the title seven times.
(note: This article forgets to mention the Trifecta completed in 1989 by #13 seed MTSU which took out #4 seed Florida State in the first round of the NCAA's. 1987-1989 were the Glory Years in OVC basketball and we were there to see it.)
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From Time.com By TOM CALLAHAN
excerpt:
Last week, when the Austin Peay Governors came home to Clarksville, Tenn., overtime losers to Providence after conquering Illinois, the whole town met them at the interstate in a caravan complete with fire engine and mayor. Senior Forward Bob Thomas missed the foul shot that would have won the Providence game in regulation, and the anguished picture of him leaving the court is one of the tableaus of the tournament. Thomas was the last player to get up to speak to the caravan, but he never got anything out for all the cheering.
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