NCAA men's basketball tounemant
UMBC Retreevers vs UVA Cavaliers tonight
CHARLOTTE — The impossible has happened.
UMBC, a 16 seed from the America East Conference that needed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in its league title game just to make the NCAA Tournament, knocked off a No. 1 seed for the first time in the history of the sport.
Virginia went down, 74-54.
The scene at the Spectrum Center was, well, mostly chaos. Virginia fans were stunned. UMBC — that stands for University of Maryland-Baltimore County, by the way — were delirious. And fans of the other teams in this pod who stuck around mostly just watched the game with "Are we really seeing this?" looks on their faces.
Turns out, they really were watching history. Led by 28 points from Jairus Lyles, the Retrievers didn't just beat the top-seeded Cavaliers, they dominated them. Words, honestly, cannot adequately describe what happened.
The first half was methodical, and very much to Virginia's liking. Except for the part where the Cavaliers couldn't knock down open looks. The game was tied at 21 at halftime, but
UMBC came out of halftime like it was playing Delaware State, not the best team in the nation. Joe Sherburne drove to the rim, scored and was fouled. He made the free throw to put the Retrievers up, 24-21, and then he knocked down a 3-pointer.
26-21.
Layup by K.J. Maura. 3-pointer by Jarius Lyles.
32-24.
3-pointer by Sherburne. Three free throws from Lyles.
38-24.
Layup by Lyles. Another layup by Lyles.
45-29.
They were relentless. Confident. Aggressive. Undaunted.
The Retrievers believed they were going to win. It was obvious on the court, with their body language and their play. Virginia knew it was in trouble. That was obvious, too.
There was never a moment where UMBC started looking at the clock, begging for the minutes to roll away, like is common in most underdog attempts situations.
The Retrievers wanted more time, to enjoy the moment.
Virginia knocked down a couple 3-pointers, but that didn't matter. The Retrievers attacked the basket, over and over. They knocked down shots from deep, over and over.
They made history. They did the impossible.
UMBC, a 16 seed from the America East Conference that needed a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in its league title game just to make the NCAA Tournament, knocked off a No. 1 seed for the first time in the history of the sport.
The scene at the Spectrum Center was, well, mostly chaos. Virginia fans were stunned. UMBC — that stands for University of Maryland-Baltimore County, by the way — were delirious. And fans of the other teams in this pod who stuck around mostly just watched the game with "Are we really seeing this?" looks on their faces.
Turns out, they really were watching history. Led by 28 points from Jairus Lyles, the Retrievers didn't just beat the top-seeded Cavaliers, they dominated them. Words, honestly, cannot adequately describe what happened.
The first half was methodical, and very much to Virginia's liking. Except for the part where the Cavaliers couldn't knock down open looks. The game was tied at 21 at halftime, but
UMBC came out of halftime like it was playing Delaware State, not the best team in the nation. Joe Sherburne drove to the rim, scored and was fouled. He made the free throw to put the Retrievers up, 24-21, and then he knocked down a 3-pointer.
26-21.
Layup by K.J. Maura. 3-pointer by Jarius Lyles.
32-24.
3-pointer by Sherburne. Three free throws from Lyles.
38-24.
Layup by Lyles. Another layup by Lyles.
45-29.
They were relentless. Confident. Aggressive. Undaunted.
The Retrievers believed they were going to win. It was obvious on the court, with their body language and their play. Virginia knew it was in trouble. That was obvious, too.
There was never a moment where UMBC started looking at the clock, begging for the minutes to roll away, like is common in most underdog attempts situations.
The Retrievers wanted more time, to enjoy the moment.
Virginia knocked down a couple 3-pointers, but that didn't matter. The Retrievers attacked the basket, over and over. They knocked down shots from deep, over and over.
They made history. They did the impossible.
http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-basketball/news/march-madness-2018-ncaa-tournament-upset-virginia-umbc-retrievers-16-seed-1-seed/1g764z87bdhdh1vf2kde73ey45
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