The Kentucky Wildcats were stunned by underdog Oakland (Mich.) in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, and it's a safe bet that Big Blue Nation mourned.
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We have evidence of at least one upset member, with a female Wildcats fan being shown in the stands, seemingly about to cry. Her saddened look was displayed for all the world to see, on national TV, near the end of Kentucky's loss. The Internet mourned with her.
Or as the Internet can do at this time of year, turned the young lady into a social media celebrity. Unfortunately, her 15 minutes of fame will not go down as some who's happy. Just the opposite.
Watching kentucky lose all by yourself queen? https://t.co/HIeFwDwIMn pic.twitter.com/ql3emZQG2D
— Eddy 🎣🇺🇸 (@SteadyE69) March 22, 2024
Apparently, the girl is the sister of Kentucky freshman guard Reed Sheppard — with fans identifying her as Madison Sheppard Wigginton. If that's true, reports suggest she has no social media, or if she does, she uses an alias. Some reporters are, you know, obsessed with that sort of information. More than likely, though, the poor girl just wants to be left alone.
"I CAN tell you that she was an absolute stud in her own right with a basketball in her hands, playing for four years at Campbellsville University. Google tells me she finished with 344 points over three seasons, with 74 steals and 74 assists," wrote Zach Dean of Outkick.
Meanwhile, Kentucky coach John Calipari has a mess on his hands as he created a monster with these young teams year after year after year. He encourages his players to leave for the pros after a season or two, and it's been an endless cycle of freshman and sophomores losing early in the tournament.
Of this year's 15-man roster, eight were freshmen and eight were sophs. You could see that Oakland, a mid-major school from the Horizon League, wore them down with experience.
And it left one Wildcats fan ready to cry.
