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March Madness: UMBC Delivers Historic Upset Over No. 1 Virginia
They played loose and fearless, simply because they had nothing to lose. A No. 16 seed had never beaten a No. 1 seed in the N.C.A.A. men’s basketball tournament. Who would ever think that the tiny University of Maryland-Baltimore County would be the ones to break through?
Certainly not against Virginia, the top overall seed, a two-loss team that had handily won the nation’s toughest league — the Atlantic Coast Conference — and its conference tournament.
But the N.C.A.A. tournament is different. The Cavaliers carried all the pressure; the Retrievers none of it. And they rode that carefree wave of insouciance to what might have to be considered the greatest upset in college basketball history.
This one was for Princeton, East Tennessee State, Western Carolina — all the No. 16 seeds that had come close to upsets as the biggest underdogs on the biggest stage. Since 1985, No. 1 seeds had advanced at least to the second round 135 consecutive times. Virginia, playing only a few hours from home, would become the first to fail, 74-54, at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
“We did it. We did it. It’s a dream come true,” U.M.B.C.’s 5-foot-8 point guard K.J. Maura said.
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• Here’s the 2018 men’s N.C.A.A. tournament bracket.
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As the buzzer sounded, some Virginia players wept. Others wandered about in a pallid state of shock. Coach Tony Bennett held back tears when asked by CBS to try to make sense of what had happened.
“It stings,” he said. “This is life. It can’t define you.”
Before Friday, U.M.B.C. had never beaten an A.C.C. team. They had lost to teams such as Army, Stony Brook, and Albany this season. They got into the tournament on a miracle 3-pointer by their senior leader, Jairus Lyles, in the America East conference tournament championship game.
But there were the Retrievers, heading into halftime with a Final Four favorite and the game tied at 21.
“We hadn’t shot particularly well,” forward Joe Sherburne said. “We made some silly turnovers. We felt there’s no way we’re not going to win this game. All we have to do is start hitting shots.”
Out of the gate, U.M.B.C. went on an 8-1 run to establish a seven-point lead before the first media timeout.
“At that moment, we started believing more in ourselves,” Maura said. “That gave us confidence to keep getting the shot selection we needed.”
The Retrievers hit 5 of their first 8 shots, and with 15:52 remaining, they had already put Virginia in the largest deficit it has faced all season (13 points).
The lead would only grow from there. As time kept ticking, the Cavaliers kept pressing, their panic growing increasingly evident. They were never an offensively explosive team. And coming back from a sizable deficit was made even more difficult when shooting just 4 of 22 from beyond the arc.
“It starts with our defense,” U.M.B.C. Coach Ryan Odom said. “We were able to get stops, and when we’re able to get stops, our guys are able to run and push the ball.”
Virginia possessed the nation’s top statistical defense, featuring a scheme known as the Pack Line, which concentrates shots out toward the perimeter, effectively daring teams to shoot. So that’s exactly what the Retrievers did. They just so happened to go 12 of 24 from 3-point range.
“We had to dominate that stat right there in order to even have a chance,” Odom said. “And, you know, certainly that proved to be true.”
Virginia suffered a blow just before the tournament began: De’Andre Hunter, the conference’s Sixth Man of the Year award winner and one of the best defenders in the country, was ruled out with a wrist fracture suffered in the A.C.C. tournament.
How big a factor that was will remain a question for history. For now, U.M.B.C. gets to claim it was the one to finally slay the dragon of March.
U.M.B.C. joins the No. 16 Harvard women’s basketball team, which beat No. 1 seed Stanford in 1998, in the N.C.A.A. record books.
Here’s what else happened in the first round on Friday:
In a Much Smaller Upset, Syracuse Beats T.C.U.
Marek Dolezaj scored 17 points before fouling out and 11th-seeded Syracuse shut down sixth-seeded T.C.U. for a 57-52 victory in the Midwest Region of the N.C.A.A. tournament on Friday night.
The Orange (22-13) won for the second time in the tournament and advanced to face third-seeded Michigan State on Sunday by holding off the Horned Frogs with another impressive defensive effort. Both teams shot under 40 percent from the field.
T.C.U. (21-12) is still without an N.C.A.A. tournament victory since 1987, when coach Jamie Dixon was a player. This was the school’s first appearance since 1998, and it was short-lived.
Auburn Survives Upset Scare From Charleston
Auburn narrowly avoided being the third No. 4 seed to go down in a controversial finish in San Diego. The Tigers held on to beat College of Charleston, 62-58.
Charleston’s Grant Riller had a 3-point look to tie the game with 3.6 seconds remaining, but his shot fell well short. Replays appeared to show Auburn guard Bryce Brown make contact with Riller’s elbow on the shot, but the referees didn’t blow the whistle. Charleston Coach Earl Grant was understandably apoplectic, but to no avail.
It was a tight game throughout, with no team leading by more than 7. The Cougars threatened to be the third No. 13 seed to upset a No. 4 in the opening round, something that’s never happened before.
Michigan State Withstands Late Push for Victory Over Bucknell
It wasn’t always easy, but No. 3-seeded Michigan State got past a plucky Bucknell team, 82-78.
The game got chippy toward the end as frustration began to creep in for the No. 14-seeded Bison. After shooting well in the first half, Bucknell went ice cold in the second, going nearly 12 minutes without a field goal. This allowed Michigan State to pull away, led by Miles Bridges (29 points, 9 rebounds), who dominated the game both inside and out.
Zach Thomas (27 points) was practically Bucknell’s only offensive weapon, but he fouled out with six minutes left. The Spartans assisted on 21 of their 31 made field goals, blocked six shots, and outrebounded the Bison, 40-27.
Nevada Takes Down Texas in Overtime Comeback Win
Mo Bamba blocked the first shot. But one was not enough.
A drive by Nevada’s Jordan Caroline, trailing by one in the final seconds, brought the guard face-to-face with the 7-foot freshman center for No. 10-seeded Texas with the 7-9 wingspan. Advantage: Bamba. He blocked the first shot attempt, but the ball went back into Caroline’s hands and he went right back up. Bamba was called for the foul (his fifth) and Caroline made one of two free throws with 3.8 seconds left to tie the game.
After trailing by as much as 14 in the second half, No. 7- seeded Nevada was able to take Texas to overtime. And in the extra period, with Bamba on the bench, the Wolf Pack took advantage, winning 87-83, in a terrific game.
Caleb Martin hit three 3-pointers in overtime, finishing with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Though the Longhorns had a significant size advantage — they outrebounded Nevada, 42-34 — the Wolf Pack shot 50.8 percent from the field with 11 3-pointers.
Butler Retakes Blown Lead to Beat Arkansas
So Butler advances after a very strange game indeed.
The No. 10 seed Bulldogs had the 21-2 lead early in the first half and looked dominating — then the game spiraled out of control as momentum swung toward No. 7 Arkansas and Butler couldn’t make a bucket. Then the Razorbacks went cold to end the half trailing by five.
And in the second half, Butler shot 60 percent from the floor, including five more 3-pointers (11 total), and outrebounded Arkansas 20-5.
And there you have it. Butler has now won at least one N.C.A.A. tournament game in seven straight appearances.
Cincinnati’s Defense Smothers Georgia State
The nation’s second-best defense followed its formula for success in their first round win over No. 15 seed Georgia State, 68-53.
With 20 offensive rebounds, No. 2 seed Cincinnati made it tough for the Panthers to ever get the ball. And when they did, there was always tight, physical pressure on the ball. There will be questions about whether the Bearcats can score enough, but they are a difficult matchup for a lot of teams.
Marshall Stuns No. 4 Wichita State
We have our second No. 13 seed into the second round!
Following the incredible performance of Buffalo last night, Marshall has stunned the No. 4 seed Wichita State in San Diego, 81-75, in the Thundering Herd’s first N.C.A.A. tournament appearance in 31 years.
It was the Jon Elmore show on Friday. Not afraid to pull up from anywhere — at times, it looked like he might shoot from the scorer’s table — the junior guard scored 27 points with four rebounds and four assists to pull off an upset against a team that knows a thing or two about surprising March runs.
The final 35 seconds took about 10 minutes to finish, due to multiple lengthy referee reviews on balls knocked out of bounds. That sucked some of the drama out of the closing moments. But there was always the chance that Wichita’s Conner Frankamp was going to unload from deep and pull off a miracle. He made five 3-pointers and scored 24 points.
The Herd is known for its offense, but it also had 12 steals, forced 15 turnovers, and scored 26 points off those turnovers in this game. It’s the first time that two No. 13 seeds have won in the first round since 2008.
Purdue Rolls Over Cal-State Fullerton, but Loses Center
Carsen Edwards and Vincent Edwards scored 15 points apiece, and second-seeded Purdue shook off a slow start to roll past No. 15 Cal State Fullerton 74-48 in the NCAA East Region.
The win came at with a price. Coach Matt Painter announced senior center Isaac Haas will miss the remainder of the tournament with a fractured right elbow. Haas fell on the elbow midway through the second half while going for a rebound, He remained in the game but X-rays revealed after the contest a fracture in his elbow that will require surgery.
Haas is a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award given to the nation’s top center. He finishes the season averaging 14.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. He finished with nine points and 10 rebounds in Purdue’s win over the Titans on Thursday.
Providence Goes Cold Against Texas A&M
No. 10 Providence was a popular pick to advance in the N.C.A.A. tournament, based on how well the Friars played in the Big East tournament, taking Villanova to overtime in the title game. But it was always about whether or not they could shoot well enough. And they went cold at the wrong time.
No. 7 Texas A&M used a 9-0 run late to pull away from the Friars for the 73-69 victory.
Providence was one of the best teams in the country in tight games this season, going 8-0 in games decided by four points or less — 8-1 now.
An earlier version of this article misstated the score at halftime of Virginia’s loss to U.M.B.C. It was tied at 21, not 31. An earlier version of this article also misidentified Texas A&M’s conference. The Aggies are in the Southeastern Conference, not the Big 12. (Texas A&M left the Big 12 in 2012.)
How we handle corrections
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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