The 16-seed UMBC Retrievers had their magical NCAA Tournament showing come to an abrupt halt on Sunday night when they lost, 50-43, to Kansas State in the second round.
After a stunning 74-54 upset of overall No. 1 seed Virginia,the University of Maryland-Baltimore County instantly became the darlings of the dance, the underdog of all underdogs.
Steph Curry laced the squad with limited edition Under Armour Curry V kicks for Sunday’s second round game and the official Twitter feed for UMBC Athletics jumped from 5,000 to over 109,000 followers in the span of less than two days.
They were hoping to put together a magical run, but despite their loss to No. 9 seed Kansas State, they’ll forever remain a part of March Madness lore as the author of the most historic upset in NCAA tournament history.
Kansas State ends UMBC’s cinderella run in hard-fought battle
Watch the Game Highlights from Kansas State Wildcats vs. UMBC Retrievers Watch highlights, game recaps, and much more from the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament on the official NCAA March Madness YouTube channel.
UMBC’s style and relentlessness easily stifled Virginia, but Kansas State had the guards that could handle the Retrievers’ four-guard lineup. But it wasn’t easy. The Wildcats didn’t score during the game’s first six minutes, but the closed the first half on a 17-8 run, taking a 25-20 lead at halftime.
The Wildcats’ Barry Brown scored 18 points as the Retrievers seemed to run out of gas down the homestretch. UMBC had only had two field goals in the final six minutes and shot just 29.8 percent for the game. Their dynamic senior backcourt of Jarius Lyles and K.J. Maura, who led them in scoring with 12 and 10 points respectively, kept them in the game but could never quite get them over the hump.
The Wildcats, 24-11, are headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time in eight years where they’ll have their hands full with a young, surging Kentucky crew on Thursday night in Atlanta.
The Retrievers’ dream might have ended, but no one will ever forget their historical achievement.
UMBC vs. Virginia: Retrievers become first 16-seed to knock off a No. 1
HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE! UMBC knocks off Virginia 74-54! Watch highlights, game recaps, and much more from the 2018 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament on the official NCAA March Madness YouTube channel.
No matter who wins the national title, whenever the 2018 NCAA Tournament is mentioned, people will always talk about UMBC.
