UMBC's Retrievers Put Virginia In A Hole, Then Buried Every Single Bracket
Jairus Lyles, left, and teammate Jourdan Grant of the UMBC Retrievers react Friday night to their 74-54 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers in Charlotte, N.C. Streeter Lecka/Getty Images hide caption
Jairus Lyles, left, and teammate Jourdan Grant of the UMBC Retrievers react Friday night to their 74-54 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers in Charlotte, N.C.
Streeter Lecka/Getty ImagesThe NCAA men's basketball tournament has included 64 teams every year since 1985, split into four quadrants and seeded 1-16. In all those years — in 135 tries — no 16 seed had ever beaten a top-seeded team.
Sports
UMBC's President Talks About His School's Historic Basketball Win
Until the University of Maryland, Baltimore County beat the stuffing out of Virginia, the best team in the country, 74-54 on Friday night.
All of which is to say, if anyone claims they picked against Virginia in their tournament pool, you should feel comfortable not believing them.
The Retrievers — who made half their three-point shots against easily the best defensive team in the country — were led by 28 points from senior guard Jairus Lyles, and also presumably every four-leaf clover along the shoulders of I-95.
UMBC outscored Virginia 53-33 in the second half, and also outrebounded the Cavaliers despite giving up a lot of height.
Virginia entered today allowing 53.4 PPG.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) March 17, 2018
It allowed 53 points in the 2nd half to UMBC. pic.twitter.com/8RW2cxuzei
University of Maryland, Baltimore County advances to play ninth-seeded Kansas State on Sunday.
The Virginia Cavaliers advance to wincing at trivia questions for the rest of their lives.
"I told our guys we had a historic season," coach Tony Bennett said after the game. "And then we go and make history as the first top seed to lose."