March Madness: Impact of UMBC’s historic upset over Virginia

CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 16: The UMBC Retrievers bench reacts to their 74-54 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

The upset that we all have been waiting for involving a 16 over 1 seed finally happened with the UMBC Retrievers defeating top-seeded Virginia, 74-54. It was a shocker of epic proportions.

This was supposed to be a different year for Tony Bennett and Virginia when it comes to how they perform in the NCAA Tournament. They’ve always had good seeds, but one bad game has prevented the Cavaliers from going to the Final Four.

But after utterly dominating the regular season and conference tournament performances in the ACC made them one of, if not the favorite to win the 2018 National Championship. Their defense was not only statistically the best all season, but Virginia’s offensive efficiency was good enough to alleviate all doubts.

UNREAL.

UMBC becomes the first 16 seed to upset to beat a No. 1 seed!#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/iLdbVhNC0A
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 17, 2018

UMBC on the other hand, had to scratch and claw the team’s way to the NCAA Tournament, needing a buzzer-beating shot by Jairus Lyles to beat the Virginia of the America East Conference – the Vermont Catamounts.

Up to this point, Vermont had only lost one conference game in two seasons and was the very last team to lose in league play. But as previously mentioned, UMBC dramatically took them out to advance to March Madness. Already with experience taking out a heavyweight, the Retrievers looked to do the same. This time, making history.