If you opened your ESPN app on Saturday the 16th and saw “16 UMBC” in bold with the word “final” written next to it, you probably would have assumed it was a mistake. After all, a No. 16 seed hasn’t defeated a No. 1 seed in the mens NCAA March Madness tournament ever. Not once.
Arguably one of the weakest 16 seed teams in recent memory, UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore Country) was the team to do what many experts said may happen, but never actually believed would. In just his second year as head coach, Ryan Odom’s UMBC squad, which most of you probably had to Google, scored 53 points in the second half to end a halftime tie and take down the best team in the country. This victory makes No.16 seeds 1-135 against No.1 seeds.
Stories and kids that get shadowed by big names saw the spotlight and will remain a part of March Madness history forever.
Although they lost to Kansas State in the second round by just 7 points, UMBC proved that anything can happen in March. A team no one knew existed will never be forgotten.
History has been made.#UMBC defeats #Virginia 74-54, as the No. 16 seed knocks off a No. 1 seed for the first time in the history of #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/GDIzXBA6nP
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 17, 2018