CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – Jairus Lyles couldn’t suppress a smile, knowing that a school known more for chess than hoops had finally made it happen – a 16 ousting a 1 in March Madness.
The University of Maryland-Baltimore County stunned the sports world by pulling off the most surprising upset in college basketball history, trouncing Virginia 74-54 on Friday night to become the first No. 16 seed ever to beat a No. 1 seed in the men’s NCAA Tournament.
The Retrievers secured their underdog legacy in sports lore, alongside Buster Douglas, the 1980 United States Olympic hockey team and Joe Namath’s Jets.
Virginia entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed after going 31-2 in the regular season, including 20-1 in ACC competition.
Frankly, the question wasn’t whether the Cavaliers would win this game, but if they’d get to the Final Four and win it all.
But UMBC – an afterthought for fans who filled out brackets – didn’t just beat Virginia, it dominated throughout the second half, dismantling the 20 1/2-point favorites by 20 points. UMBC scored 53 points in the second half – 1 point shy of how many Virginia scored in the entire game.
Lyles scored 28, the Retrievers cruised and then raced off the floor together in their yellow-and-black uniforms, fingers pointed toward the ceiling to celebrate the victory.
“These are the moments that you dream of,’’ Lyles said. “It’s always exciting to make history.’’
In a chaotic UMBC locker room after the game, players shouted: “All brackets gone! No perfect brackets! Put that in the news!’’
Others talked about the need for a 30 for 30 special.
UMBC’s Jourdan Grant said it was hard to put his emotions into words.
“It felt like my soul left my body, man,’’ Grant said. “When I walked over to the sideline and up in front of the sea of yellow of our fan section, they were going crazy with us. And to look back and see my teammates going crazy, too, man it’s unbelievable.’’
A 77-72 stunner by NAIA team Chaminade over Ralph Sampson and No. 1-ranked Virginia in 1982 in Hawaii was generally considered the most remarkable upset in college basketball. But that was the regular season and almost nobody watched it as it actually played out.
This came when it mattered the most – in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament were 135-0.
