Little Caesars gives away free pizza Monday after historic March Madness upset

Lunch is on UMBC Monday.

Pizza chain Little Caesars promised free lunch to everyone in America if a No. 16 seed beat a No. 1 seed in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Well, the bracket-busting crazy upset actually happened when the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) beat overall No. 1 seed Virginia 74-54 in the first round of the tournament. Before UMBC's win, No. 16 seeds were 0 and 135 in matchups with No. 1 seeds since the tournament expanded to 64 team in 1985.

With UMBC's win, Little Caesars will give away free Hot-N-Ready lunch combos consisting of four slices of DEEP DEEP Dish pepperoni pizza and a 20-ounce Pepsi product.

The offer is limited to one per family, the rules on the pizza chain's website say. To get the free food, you must be in line and place an order between 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. at participating stores. Orders placed after 1 p.m., even by customers in line before 1 p.m., will not be filled, the pizza chain said.

Last month, the St. Paul Saints gave away $10,000 to a fan in a Twitter promotion because of the upset.

Where are the Little Caesar's locations in the Twin Cities? Here's a map.

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768