No. 16 UMBC Defeats No. 1 Virginia In Biggest Upset In Men's NCAA Tourney History
For the first time in the history of the men’s NCAA tournament, a No. 16 seed has defeated a No. 1 seed.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County stunned the University of Virginia, 74-54, in the biggest upset in tournament history. The Retrievers were 22.5-point underdogs. Before this loss, Virginia was 31-2 on the season. But the top overall seed went into the tournament missing star freshman guard DeAndre Hunter.
For many March Madness fans, the upset also breaks their brackets. Virginia was the most popular pick to win the tournament in ESPN’s Tournament Challenge.
You get a busted bracket ... you get a busted bracket .... you get a busted bracket .... you get a busted bracket .... and you get a busted bracket!! #UMBC pic.twitter.com/vYfUQbopEF
— ⛈ Derrick Jackson (@djacksonweather) March 17, 2018
ok i'm legitimately nervous about this UMBC game and i honestly didn't even know that UMBC existed before two minutes ago lol march madness is dope
— Shea Serrano (@SheaSerrano) March 17, 2018
The Maryland school, which was relatively unknown before the tournament and lost to teams such as Colgate, Army and Towson this year, relished the attention. In the final minutes of the game, thousands of people flocked to its Twitter account, doubling its follower count.
RESPECT. US.
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) March 17, 2018
PUT SOME RESPECK ON IT! WE HAVE DEFEATED NO.1 OVERALL SEED VIRGINIA 74-54
— UMBC Athletics (@UMBCAthletics) March 17, 2018
For more on the shocking upset, head over to Yahoo Sports.
For more on UMBC retrievers, scroll down.
When a 16 seed appears in the second round #Retrievers pic.twitter.com/fsnc4LOouK
— rubie edmondson (@rubieeliz) March 17, 2018
America RN: pic.twitter.com/oQ7A0BBRNn
— Hardwood Paroxysm (@HPbasketball) March 17, 2018
The UMBC Retrievers have officially torn up all the brackets. They feel kinda guilty about it but IT WAS SO FUN pic.twitter.com/Uoo3qFwMLB
— Rodger Sherman (@rodger_sherman) March 17, 2018
Retrievers rooting on the UMBC Retrievers (📷 by @rubesss91) pic.twitter.com/1KR5Q6SU3r
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) March 17, 2018
Clarification: Language in this story has been amended to clarify that UMBC had relatively low prominence before the tournament, but is not a small school.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.