After 136 tries, a No. 16 seed has finally defeated a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
In its first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade and just the second in program history, the No. 16 seed University of Maryland, Baltimore County defeated top-seeded Virginia on Friday night. The Retrievers did so in convincing fashion, 74-54 in Charlotte, North Carolina in a first-round tournament game.
Not only were the Virginia Cavaliers a 1 seed in this year's tourney; they were the No. 1 overall seed among all 68 teams in this year's Big Dance, and the No. 1 ranked team in all of college basketball. It also marked the largest victory by an unranked team over a No. 1 team in the history of college hoops.
Senior guard Jairus Lyles scored 28 points to lead UMBC past Virginia, which was 31-2 during the 2017-18 season before Friday's game. UMBC's 20-point win was the most lopsided in NCAA Tournament history by a 14, 15 or 16 seed.
The Retrievers will become the first-ever 16 seed to play in a second-round game when they face No. 9 seed Kansas State on Sunday.
THE RETRIEVERS CAN DO NO WRONG!!! 🔥🔥🔥#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/LkiHTw2Fpt
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 17, 2018
1-135
A 16-seed has broken through. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/oTcShfMVA5
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 17, 2018
WOW.#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/IPxoiNpLPk
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 17, 2018
ADVANCE THE BRACKET pic.twitter.com/v7GhTZMDWy
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) March 17, 2018
