2018 UMBC vs. Virginia men's basketball game

2018 UMBC vs. Virginia men's basketball game

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On March 16, 2018, during the First Round of the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, the University of Virginia (Virginia) Cavaliers played a college basketball game against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Retrievers at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Cavaliers, who were seeded first in the South regional bracket and first overall in the NCAA Tournament, faced the Retrievers, who were seeded 16th in the South regional bracket and ranked 63rd overall (out of a field of 68). Virginia and UMBC competed for the right to face ninth-seeded Kansas State, which had already won their first-round game against Creighton earlier in the day.

The Retrievers defeated the Cavaliers by a score of 74–54, thus becoming the first No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in the history of the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament. UMBC earned its first NCAA Tournament win in school history. With Virginia set as a 20.5 point favorite heading into the game, UMBC's victory was the second-biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history behind Norfolk State's defeat of Missouri in 2012 when Missouri was a 21.5 point favorite. Virginia finished their season at 31–3.

Background

At the start of this game, NCAA Tournament No. 16 seeds were 0–135 all-time against No. 1 seeds since the tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

UMBC

Main article: 2017–18 UMBC Retrievers men's basketball team

UMBC entered its 2017–18 season under second-year head coach Ryan Odom. A preseason America East Conference coaches' poll picked the Retrievers to finish third in their league, and incoming senior Jairus Lyles earned Preseason All-Conference honors. The team completed the regular season with a 25–10 record and a second-place finish in the America East. Senior guards Jairus Lyles, who averaged a team-high 20.3 points per game, and K. J. Maura were named First-Team and Third-Team All-Conference respectively, with the latter earning America East Defensive Player of the Year accolades.

On March 10, 2018, UMBC won the 2018 America East Tournament after Lyles made a three-pointer with 0.6 seconds left to defeat top-seeded Vermont in the championship game. The win handed the Retrievers an automatic NCAA Tournament berth, their second appearance ever and their first since 2008, when they suffered a 66–47 loss to Georgetown in their opening game. It also gave UMBC its 24th win of the season, tied for most in program history. Before the team's NCAA Tournament opener against Virginia, guard-forward Joe Sherburne said, "We know we can go out there and have fun and play hard, and we really don't have anything to lose, so it'll be we go out there and play loose."

Virginia

Main article: 2017–18 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

In a rebuilding year, Virginia had entered the season unranked but proceeded to win the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) regular season championship outright by four games over pre-season AP No. 1 Duke, finishing 17–1 in conference play including Bennett's first win at Cameron Indoor Stadium. They then capped an improbable ascendancy by defeating North Carolina in the ACC Tournament championship. Two days before NCAA tournament play, the Cavaliers lost the ACC Sixth Man of the Year, forward De'Andre Hunter, to a season-ending left wrist fracture. The injury led the New York Daily News to change their pick from Virginia winning the national championship to not advancing out of the Sweet Sixteen.

Venue

The game was played at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The attendance for the game was 17,943.

Broadcast

The game was broadcast on TBS.

Game summary

Kyle Guy (pictured) scored 15 points for Virginia, tied for most on his team.

The game started defensively with the first half having four separate ties. UMBC would not lead until just before the midpoint of the half before a Virginia steal would tie the game up for the second time. Virginia would go on a 7–1 run over a four minute period hold a six point lead late in the first half before UMBC managed to tie the game at 16–16 before the final TV timeout of the half. UMBC would take the lead twice before halftime, but Virginia was able to tie the game up at both points.

Coming out of halftime, the Retrievers would go on an early 7–2 run before Virginia would use their first timeout of the game. Despite the timeout, a 6–2 run before the first TV timeout of the half would give the Retrievers an 11-point lead. Another UMBC run of 10–4 would force the Cavaliers to use a second timeout to force the TV timeout. An 11–7 run by Virginia allowed for them to get within eight points before UMBC was forced to use their timeout to start another TV timeout. Both teams would stall as only eight points were scored by both teams combined before the Retrievers second timeout. A 5–0 run by UMBC within a minute forced Virginia to use their final timeout to receive a TV timeout. Despite the break, fouls by Virginia would contribute to UMBC making four free throws and scoring a layup on a missed free throw would allow the lead to be extended to 19 points. The final two minutes would see the Retrievers extend their lead by another point to finish with the game 74–54.

The Cavaliers, who led the NCAA this season in scoring defense at 53.4 points per game, were outscored by the Retrievers 53–33 in the final twenty minutes. The twenty point loss was the largest deficit the Cavaliers suffered their entire season, as was the only time this season they allowed at least 70 points. UMBC's Jairus Lyles, who scored 28 points while battling through cramps late in the second half, was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

Box score

Source:

TNT

Friday, March 16 9:45 pm EST

No. 16 UMBC Retrievers 74, No. 1 Virginia Cavaliers 54
Scoring by half: 21–21, 53–33
Pts: J. Lyles – 28 Rebs: A. Lamar – 10 Asts: A. Lamar, J. Lyles, K. Maura – 3		Pts: K. Guy, T. Jerome – 15 Rebs: I. Wilkins – 5 Asts: T. Jerome – 2

Spectrum Center – Charlotte, NC Attendance: 17,943 Referees: Tim Nestor, Tony Greene, and Todd Austin

Legend
No.	Jersey number	Pos	Position	Min	Minutes played	FGM	Field goals made	FGA	Field goals attempted	3PM	Three-point field goal made	3PA	Three-point field goal attempted	FTM	Free throws made
FTA	Free throws attempted	OReb	Offensive rebounds	Reb	Rebounds	Ast	Assists	Blk	Blocks	Stl	Steals	PF	Personal fouls	Pts	Points

UMBC Retrievers

No.	Player	Pos	Min	FGM	FGA	FTM	FTA	Reb	Ast	Blk	Stl	PF	Pts
30	Daniel Akin	F	22	1	3	0	0	1	1	0	0	2	2
23	Max Curran	F	10	0	2	0	0	2	2	0	0	0	0
35	Nolan Gerrity	F/C	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
5	Jourdan Grant	G	27	3	6	0	0	4	2	0	0	1	8
33	Arkel Lamar	G/F	31	5	9	0	2	10	3	0	0	3	12
10	Jairus Lyles	G	39	9	11	7	9	4	3	0	0	2	28
11	K.J. Maura	G	40	3	6	2	3	3	3	0	2	2	10
13	Joe Sherburne	G	29	5	11	1	1	6	2	0	0	3	14
Team totals				26	48	10	14	31	16	0	2	13	74
Reference:

Virginia Cavaliers

No.	Player	Pos	Min	FGM	FGA	FTM	FTA	Reb	Ast	Blk	Stl	PF	Pts
25	Mamadi Diakite	F	24	2	2	2	3	3	0	1	0	2	6
5	Kyle Guy	G	40	7	11	1	2	4	1	0	2	2	15
0	Devon Hall	G	28	1	9	0	0	1	1	0	0	3	2
11	Ty Jerome	G	39	6	16	1	1	3	2	0	4	4	15
23	Nigel Johnson	G	24	4	10	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	9
33	Jack Salt	C	21	0	1	0	2	4	0	0	0	0	0
21	Isaiah Wilkins	F	24	3	7	0	0	5	1	0	1	5	7
Team totals				23	56	4	8	21	5	1	8	16	54
Reference:

Aftermath

File:Sports Illustrated UMBC Virginia cover.jpg

A special digital cover of Sports Illustrated published after the game.

Immediately after the game in an interview, Virginia coach Tony Bennett remarked,

"That was not even close. That’s first a credit to the job Ryan did, coach Odom. Their offense was very hard to guard. They shot it well. We kept getting broken down and did a poor job. ... We had a hard time with their mobile fours and their four guards. I don’t know what to say but that. That was a thorough butt whipping."

Shortly after that statement, Bennett said in the postgame press conference,

"...if you play this game and you step into the arena, this stuff can happen. And those who haven’t been in the arena or in the competition, maybe they don’t understand that. But there’s chances for wonderful things to happen, but when you’re in the arena, stuff like this can happen and all those who compete take that on. And so we’ll accept it. And again I want to congratulate the job that Ryan and his staff did. They played well and we did not."

After the game, UMBC received national attention and was featured in articles from The Washington Post to USA Today.

UMBC advanced to the Round of 32, in which they faced 9-seed Kansas State Wildcats on March 18, 2018. The game was competitive, with neither team having a lead greater than nine points throughout the game, and UMBC trailing by only three points with two minutes remaining in the game. The Wildcats won the game 50–43, thus ending UMBC's Cinderella run.

The first round losses by No. 1 seed Virginia and No. 4 seed Arizona, and second round losses by No. 2 seed Cincinnati and No. 3 seed Tennessee, led to the South Region becoming the first ever to not advance any of its top four seeds to the Sweet Sixteen. Another Cinderella, No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago, ended up winning the region and advancing to the Final Four.

See also

• 1998 Harvard vs. Stanford women's basketball game

External links

• Instant classic: Relive UMBC’s incredible win over Virginia in 8 minutes (via the NCAA March Madness TV YouTube channel)