#14 Little Rock vs #3 Notre Dame
The biggest upset in the NCAA tournament since it expanded to 64 teams was in 1986 when #14-seed Little Rock upset #3-seed Notre Dame. Then, little Rock was a 17.5-point underdog; this was their first-ever game in the NCAA tournament.
Quotes
The only way you can improve your program is by improving it. So I upgraded the teams we play against. The problem is, with a school like ours, the big schools don't like to come here. How would it look if they got beaten in Little Rock? So we have to play them on the road.
Mike Newell
References
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COLLEGE BASKETBALL '86: ARKANSAS-LITTLE ROCK; NEWELL PUTS THE IRISH AWAY AND HIS SCHOOL ON THE MAP
They didn't even bring along their cheerleaders, but the chancellor is here, along with a few dozen fans and a basketball team named the University of Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans. In their sudden spurt to the national scene, and in their very first appearance in the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament, they unseated nationally ranked Notre Dame by 90-83 on Friday night.
The New York Times
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Midwest Regional : Notre Dame Is Upset by Arkansas Little Rock, 90-83
No matter what they tried, Notre Dame’s 10th-ranked Irish could not fight off an upset loss to the Trojans of Arkansas Little Rock in the first round of the NCAA Midwest Regionals Friday at Minneapolis.
Los Angeles Times
