The University of Maryland-Baltimore County came into the NCAA tournament with nothing to lose. They were matched with the tournament’s top overall seed Virginia. A team who had won the ACC tournament easy, and only had two losses on the season. They were heavy favorites to win the National Championship. For UMBC, nobody thought they were going to win, except themselves. It was the most unexpected victory nobody could have predicted.
On March, 16th UMBC shocked the world, they had beaten No. 1 Virginia 74-54.
During the game, a star in Jairus Lyles was put on national display. A former graduate of DeMatha Catholic High School, a nation-wide powerhouse for high school basketball, decided to stay home and play his college basketball. Before the tournament nobody knew this kid, but now, he’ll be remembered for his raw heart, talent, and will to put the team on his back. In a performance where he recorded 28 points, there was a sense of, “there is no way I’m losing this game.”
Lyles performance wasn’t that out of the blue, as he scored 20 plus points in 16 games this season. The NCAA tournament is different though, it’s the biggest stage, and on top of that, all the odds were against him and his team.
So, with that, how did the upset happen?
UMBC played great all-around basketball. Their defense was solid throughout the game. They shot 54.2 percent from the field, and 50 percent from the three. Even when Virginia looked clean, UMBC answered right back. For a Virginia team who is known for good offense, they shot just 18.2 percent from three.
It wasn’t until about five minutes left in the game when Virginia realized what was happening, it was the moment they knew history would be made and they’d be on the wrong side of it.
UMBC’s historic run would be short lived, in the round of 34 they lost to Kansas State. After scoring 74 points against Virginia, and 53 of them coming in the second half. They were held to 43, losing 50-43.
They won’t be remembered for losing to Kansas State, they will be remembered as the first and only No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed. UMBC’s name will always be in the conversation when speaking of March Madness. It took 136 tries but UMBC pulled off arguably the greatest upset of all time in college sports.
It was. It is. It will forever be cemented into the history books as a moment that changed the NCAA tournament. Their run in the tournament was brief, but UMBC’s legacy will live forever. They stole the hearts of every tournament fan and then some. For all the future No. 16 seeds, it is possible and it can be done, it has been done.
Just believe!
