Upset-Minded UMBC Focuses Attention To Kansas State
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP/97.1 The Ticket) - Manycasual college basketball fans had no idea what UMBC stood for before Friday night. Now, the whole country knows.
University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
No. 16-seed UMBC became the story of the NCAA Tournament when it stunned No. 1 Virginia on Friday night, routing the nation's top-ranked team 74-54 in the biggest upset in college basketball history. The Retrievers, a 20 1/2-point underdog coming into the game, became the first 16 seed to beat a 1 in the March Madness history.
They will face a ninth-seeded Kansas State team that never trailed against Creighton, earning a wire-to-wire victory to reach the round of 32 for the first time since 2012. Tip-off is set for 7:45 p.m. on TruTV on Sunday.
The UMBC Twitter page became a fan favorite overnight, thanks to witty, unapologetic tweets that brought a spike in their social media following.
5k before the game 43k now https://t.co/4FgEYIish0
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) March 17, 2018
The dictionary defines: a large aggregate of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory......5K is a large amount, dude https://t.co/f0lmPFw64i
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) March 17, 2018
Ahh we remember this game at Maryland in December....hopefully you enjoyed our game from your couch dude! pic.twitter.com/qwRC9zSQuE
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) March 17, 2018
Sup, @ESPN pic.twitter.com/ISHem7E57R
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) March 17, 2018
CBS Sports analyst Seth Davis "sharpied in" the Cavaliers for the win before the game even started -- as did most of America.
We are up 19 with 1:40 left. Seth Davis called game at tip
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) March 17, 2018
C'MON GUYS, you crashed our dang website, our IT people wanna watch the game too, please form an orderly line
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) March 17, 2018
WOOOO, NEW BULDINGS! https://t.co/lg6aAj7Cc6
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) March 17, 2018
WHAT ARE THE ODDS: Apparently Las Vegas is expecting a letdown from the America East Conference champions, who enter the game as a 10-point underdog against the Wildcats.
INURY UPDATE: Dean Wade, Kansas State's leading scorer, did not play in the first round game because of a stress fracture. It's possible, although not necessarily likely, that he could see limited time against UMBC if he feels well enough to play, according to coach Bruce Weber.
STOPPING LYLES: The Wildcats will have their hands full trying to stop Jairus Lyles, who scored 23 of his 28 points against Virginia in a near flawless second half. Lyles was 9 of 11 from the field after halftime with three 3-pointers and was 7 of 9 from the foul line. He sliced and diced his way through the nation's top-ranked defense with ease, getting to the basket six times for layups. Lyles also hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer against Vermont in the America East Conference championship game.
THE DEFENDER: Look for Kansas State to put Barry Brown, one of the nation's top on-ball defenders, on Lyles. Brown held Creighton's leading scorer Marcus Foster to five points on 2 of 11 shooting in the first round. Foster came in average 20.3 points per game but didn't score until the 10:30 mark of the second half.
© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.