Robert Morris shocked basketball fans and broke March Madness brackets in a stunning 59-57 upset win over defending NCAA national champion Kentucky in the opening round of the National Invitational Tournament on Tuesday.

A year after the defending national champions cut down basketball nets in New Orleans, The Wildcats were defeated in their coach's hometown by Robert Morris, who let a 13-point second-half lead disappear before pulling out victory. Kentucky was one of the favorites to take home the NIT title after a poor regular season booted them out of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

"This is humbling," Kentucky head coach John Calipari said. "They think we're supposed to win 30 a year, 35 a year, go to the Final Four, win a national title."

Mike McFadden hit two free throws with 8.7 seconds remaining in the game and Kyle Wiltjer's 3-pointer bounced off the rim, sending students to explode onto the court in the biggest victory in the school's history.

"This is a shot in the arm for them and they deserve to win the game," Kentucky coach John Calipari said. "If we'd have won at the buzzer, it would have been a shame."

Lucky Jones led Robert Morris with 15 points but was ejected for a flagrant foul on Archie Goodwin with 3:41 left in the second half. Kentucky, which trailed by 13 in the second half, managed to tie the game twice but never took a lead.

Goodwin scored 18 points for the Wildcats but wasn't enough for his team to advance to the second round.

"We wanted to show we had no fear that we was playing Kentucky," Robert Morris guard Velton Jones said. "Going into the game, we knew we could be physical with them. They were tall, but not physically big. We just wanted to pressure them, let'em know we wasn't going anywhere the whole game."

Robert Morris advanced to the Northeastern Conference title but lost to Mount St. Mary's in the conference tournament.

"I know they were disappointed not to get to the NCAA tournament," Robert Morris coach Andy Toole said. "This is a memory they'll get for the rest of their lives."