Thursday, March 16 marks the five-year anniversary of the only win by a men’s 16th seed in a non-play-in NCAA tournament game.
The University of Maryland’s Baltimore County not only upset top-seeded Virginia, but disposed of the Cavs in a way that most of the previous 132 seeds had eliminated 16 seeds. The game was tied 21-21 at halftime, but UMBC, behind 23 second-half points from Jairus Lyles, dominated the final 20 minutes in a 74-54 rout, Virginia’s widest loss of the season.
The Retrievers almost didn’t make it to the tournament at all, needing a last-second 3-pointer by Lyles to defeat Vermont in the America East championship game. UMBC would fall to Kansas State in the second round of the Dance 50-43. The Retrievers remain the only 16 seed to win a non-play-in tournament game.
There have been a handful of top-seeded first-round upsets, most notably in 1989, when Princeton and East Tennessee State lost by one point in the first round, to Georgetown and Oklahoma, respectively. A year later, Murray State pushed Michigan State into overtime, ultimately losing 75-71.
The 15th seed has enjoyed a bit more first-round luck since the tournament went to a 64-team field in 1985, winning nine times, most recently last year when St. Peter’s beat Kentucky 85-79. .
UMBC was not the first 16 seed to win an NCAA tournament game. In 1998, the Harvard women’s basketball team shocked Stanford 71-67 in the first round. The Crimson remain the only women’s team to win 16-1.
