CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Jairus Lyles couldn't suppress a smile, knowing that a school known more for chess than hoops had finally made it happen -- a 16 ousting a 1 in March Madness.

The University of Maryland-Baltimore County stunned the sports world by pulling off the most surprising upset in college basketball history, trouncing Virginia 74-54 on Friday night to become the first No. 16 seed ever to beat a No. 1 seed in the men's NCAA Tournament.

The Retrievers secured their underdog legacy in sports lore, alongside Buster Douglas, the 1980 United States Olympic hockey team and Joe Namath's Jets.

Virginia entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed after going 31-2 in the regular season, including 20-1 in ACC competition.

Frankly, the question wasn't whether the Cavaliers would win this game, but if they'd get to the Final Four and win it all.

But UMBC -- an afterthought for fans who filled out brackets -- didn't just beat Virginia, it dominated throughout the second half, dismantling the 20 1/2-point favorites by 20 points. UMBC scored 53 points in the second half -- 1 point shy of how many Virginia scored in the entire game.

Lyles scored 28, the Retrievers cruised and then raced off the floor together in their yellow-and-black uniforms, fingers pointed toward the ceiling to celebrate the victory.

"These are the moments that you dream of," Lyles said. "It's always exciting to make history."

In a chaotic UMBC locker room after the game, players shouted: "All brackets gone! No perfect brackets! Put that in the news!"

Others talked about the need for a 30 for 30 special.

UMBC's Jourdan Grant said it was hard to put his emotions into words.

"It felt like my soul left my body, man," Grant said. "When I walked over to the sideline and up in front of the sea of yellow of our fan section, they were going crazy with us. And to look back and see my teammates going crazy, too, man it's unbelievable."

A 77-72 stunner by NAIA team Chaminade over Ralph Sampson and No. 1-ranked Virginia in 1982 in Hawaii was generally considered the most remarkable upset in college basketball. But that was the regular season and almost nobody watched it as it actually played out.

This came when it mattered the most -- in the NCAA Tournament.

No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament were 135-0.

"Unbelievable -- it's really all you can say," said UMBC coach Ryan Odom, who grew up in Charlottesville, Virginia, and whose father Dave Odom was a former assistant coach at UVA.

Before Friday night, UMBC was better known for making runs at a different Final Four -- in college chess.

Its powerhouse program gives scholarships to players from around the world and competed in the President's Cup, informally known as the Final Four of chess, for 15 straight years before the streak ended in 2016.

On the other side of the floor, there were tears as some Cavaliers players walked off with their jerseys over their eyes.

Virginia's Ty Jerome, when asked if he knew that a No. 16 seed had never beaten a No. 1 before in men's play, said: "I think everyone is aware of that."

"Thanks for bringing that up again, but I was aware of it," he said.

Virginia, playing without ACC sixth man of the year De'Andre Hunter, couldn't get anything generated on offense and the nation's top-ranked defense -- allowing only 53.4 points per game coming in -- couldn't contain the American East Conference champions who won their conference tournament at the buzzer.

The 74 points were the most Virginia had allowed this year -- and they had played powerhouses like Duke and North Carolina.

But UMBC shredded it.

The Retrievers shot 67.9 percent from the field in the second half and held Virginia to 42 percent after intermission.

"We got thoroughly outplayed and that's the reality of it," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said.

Lyles was the catalyst.

He diced up Virginia's defense in the second half, getting to the hole easily six different times to convert layups. He also knocked down a pair of 3-pointers as UMBC built a 16-point lead.

"I always let him play," Odom said. "I never hold him back. When he gets going like that if breeds confidence in other guys."

The game was tied at halftime, but the Retrievers came out confident and motivated in the second half and built a double-digit lead that Virginia could never erase.

Joe Sherburne, who had 14 points, was huge early in the second half and made believers out of everyone. He scored on an and-1 drive and then knocked down a 3-pointer from the top of the key after a behind-the-back pass from KJ Maura. After Virginia made a foul shot, the shifty 5-foot-8, 140-pound Maura drove the lane for uncontested layup.

A Tony Bennett timeout couldn't stop the bleeding, as Lyles hit two more 3's and Sherburne hit one more to extend UMBC's lead to 14 with about 15 minutes left.

And when Arkel Lamer made a 3-pointer from the corner with 3 1/2 minutes left to put UMBC up by 17 and backpedaled down the court with his tongue hanging out, you knew history was inevitable.

"We all wanted to be in the `One Shining Moment' video," Sherburne said.

It was yet another early exit for the Cavaliers in a season that seemed to hold so much promise. This was the fourth time in the last five seasons the Cavaliers have been either the No. 1 or 2 seed, but failed to reach the Final Four under Bennett.

Bennett said the Cavaliers had a historic season and then "a historic loss. That's life."

Instead of trying to chip away at the lead and pound the ball inside against the smaller Retrievers, Virginia repeatedly shot 3-pointers. Virginia missed 13 of its first 14 before getting hot for a brief stretch late in the game.

"Once we got down 8 or 10 we tried to make home run plays," Virginia's Kyle Guy said.

ONE OTHER TIME

In 1998, the No. 16 seed Harvard women beat top-seeded Stanford on the Cardinal's home floor.

UP NEXT

UMBC: Will face No. 9 seed Kansas State on Sunday in the second round.

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More AP college basketball: https://collegebasketball.ap.org ; https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 and https://www.podcastone.com/ap-sports-special-events</s>UMBC made sports history on Friday night by becoming the first No. 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The America East champions pulled off a shocking 74-54 upset over No. 1 seed Virginia in the South Region.

The Retrievers (25-10) not only made history by beating a No. 1 seed — they also knocked off the top overall seed in the NCAA tournament in dominating fashion. Tied at the half, UMBC jumped out to a double-digit lead and maintained its dominance throughout the second half by consistently knocking down three-pointers and keeping the pressure on.

Senior guard Jairus Lyle, the team’s hero in the America East title game, finished with 28 points to pace the Retrievers as he went 9-for-11 from the field. Joe Shurburne (14 points), Arkel Lamar (12 points) and K.J. Maura (10 points) also finished in double-figures for UMBC, as they extended its winning streak to six games.

Virginia (31-3) won the ACC regular season by four games. They took the league’s conference tournament as well. The Cavaliers were the most consistent team in college basketball this season. The Cavaliers lost sixth man DeAndre Hunter to the season with an injury earlier in the week. They were still a heavy favorite in this game.

But Virginia struggled to knock down three-pointers. It was clear Virginia started playing scared once the upset became apparent. And that’s how once of the biggest upsets in sports history went down. Sophomore guards Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome led Virginia with 15 points each.

Virginia shot only 41 percent (23-for-56) from the field and 19 percent (4-for-22) from three-point range as they couldn’t find consistent offense or a go-to player.

UMBC advances to battle No. 9 seed Kansas State in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats advanced earlier on Friday night with a balanced effort in a win over No. 8 seed Creighton.</s>Stevie Clark's three-pointer with 1.2 seconds left helped LSU Shreveport escape with a 70-67 victory over Dillard (La.) in the second round of the NAIA Division I Tournament on Friday at Municipal Auditorium.

Clark scored 27 points and had eight rebounds and seven assists for the Pilots (29-4), the No. 1 seed in the Liston Bracket.

LSU Shreveport was 1 of 18 from three-point range before Clark's game-winner.

No. 5 seed Dillard (21-10) tied the game at 67-67 with 17 seconds left on the clock.





Forward Joshua Simmons had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Bleu Devils, the No. 5 seed.

Graceland advanced to the quarterfinals in its first trip to the NAIA Division I Tournament.

The Yellowjackets (26-10), the No. 5 seed in the Duer Bracket, were led by LT Davis, who made six three-pointers and tied a season-high with 29 points.

Georgetown extended its annual stay in Kansas City with a second-round victory over Oklahoma City.

The Tigers (27-6) have been in the tournament for a record 37 consecutive seasons. Georgetown is the No. 3 seed in the Naismith Bracket, and Oklahoma City is the second seed.

Georgetown's Shadell Millinghaus led all scorers with 28 points and added eight rebounds and four steals.

Ridell Camidge hit four three-pointers and finished with 19 points for the Stars (24-9).

LSU Alexandria, the No. 4 seed in the Naismith Bracket, made 55 percent of its shots in its win over eight-seeded Peru State (Neb.).

The Generals (27-7) were led by Brandon Moss, who scored 26 points. Jordin Williams added 20 points for LSU Alexandria.

Wayland Baptist, the No. 7 seed in the Liston Bracket, allowed just 16 second-half points in its victory over sixth-seeded Life.

Ivan Benkovic came off the bench and led the Running Eagles (21-12) with nine points.

Montana Western closed out its victory over Campbellsville with a 6-0 run.

Brandon Jones scored 22 points for the Bulldogs (27-7), who are the No. 3 seed in the Duer Bracket.

Hagen Tyler had a game-high 23 points for the Tigers (24-10), the No. 7 seed.

It went to overtime, but William Penn, the No. 1 seed in the Cramer Bracket, managed to hold off No. 4 seed Dalton State.

Corbin Medley scored 14 points, and JC Washington added 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Statesmen (29-4).</s>On Friday night, UMBC became the first No. 16 seed to ever defeat a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

MORE: Most humiliating first-round chokes in NCAA Tournament history

Here are some fast facts to know about the UMBC program.

UMBC, or University of Maryland Baltimore County, is a public research university in Baltimore, Md. UMBC competes in the America East Conference.

UMBC's mascot is a Retriever, more specifically a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. Their student section is referred to as the Retriever Rowdies.

Ryan Odom is in his second year as head coach of the Retrievers. His father, Dave Odom, served as head coach of Wake Forest and South Carolina. Odom has lead UMBC to back-to-back 20-win seasons and its historic NCAA Tournament victory over Virginia.

2018 is UMBC's second tournament appearance, with its first coming in 2008. The No. 2 seed Retrievers fell 66-47 to No. 2 seed Georgetown.

The 2017-18 Retrievers feature four players that average double-digit scoring, including 2018 America East Defensive Player of the Year K.J. Maura, and First-Team All-America East guard Jairus Lyles.

At 20.2 points per game, Lyles is the Retrievers' leading scorer. Maura's 11.4 points per game is the team's second best.

UMBC sharpshooter Joe Sherburne (10.9 points per game) attended Brewster Academy (NH) from 2014-15, and played alongside Utah Jazz standout Donovan Mitchell.</s>For the first time in the history of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, a 16-seed team has defeated a top seed. No. 16 seed UMBC dominated No. 1 seed Virginia 74-54 on Friday.

Friday's upset marks the first time in 136 games that a No. 1 seed lost in the first round. Not only was Virginia considered one of four No. 1 seeds in this year's NCAA Tournament, the Cavaliers were considered the top overall seed after a 31-2 season.

The average 1 seed wins their first-round matchup by 25 points.

Virginia's basketball program is no stranger to being part of major upsets. In 1982, No. 1-ranked Virginia lost to Chaminade, then a member of the NAIA. The upset spurred the annual Thanksgiving-week Maui Invitational tournament, hosted by Chaminade.</s>For the first time ever, a #16 seed has defeated a #1 seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, busting brackets across the globe.

Senior guard Jairus Lyles scored 28 points, and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County pulled off the most shocking upset in NCAA Tournament history, defeating Virginia 74-54 on Saturday.

Virginia entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed after going 31-2 this season, including 20-1 in ACC competition.

But the Cavaliers couldn’t get anything generated on offense and the nation’s top-ranked defense couldn’t contain American East Conference champions. The 74 points were the most Virginia had allowed this year.

He diced up Virginia’s defense in the second half, getting the hole easily on six different occasions and making easy layups. He also knocked down a pair of 3-pointers as UMBC built a 16-point lead.

Lyles finished with 23 of his points in the second half and Joe Sherburne finished with 14 points.

The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach tweeted, “Excuse the language, but this is unf***ingbelievable. Congrats to UMBC!”

All three Australians playing on Saturday bowed out of the tournament.

In TCU’s 57-52 loss to Syracuse, Kouat Noi finished with seven points and two rebounds.

Jacob Epperson and the Creighton Bluejays were knocked out of the NCAA Tournament with a 69-59 loss to Kansas State. Epperson posted two points and one rebounds off the bench.

Gabe Hadley didn’t get on the floor, in New Mexico State’s 79-68 loss to Clemson. He and his Aggies bow out of the tournament.

Admon Gilder scored 18 points to help Texas A&M hold off Providence.

Robert Williams and Tyler Davis both had double-doubles for the seventh-seeded Aggies (21-12). The teams were tied at 50 with about 9 minutes left but Texas A&M responded with a 12-2.

Purdue centre Isaac Haas broke his right elbow during a win over Cal State Fullerton and will miss the rest of the NCAA Tournament.

The 7-foot-2, 290-pound senior went down while taking a hard foul midway through the second half. Haas, who averaged 14.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, had nine points and 10 rebounds in the first-round victory.

The second-seeded Boilermakers (29-6) will play Butler on Sunday.

Jon Elmore scored 27 points and 13th-seeded Marshall toppled fourth-seeded Wichita State for its first NCAA Tournament victory.

The Thundering Herd (25-10) had been 0-5 in the tourney, with its last appearance in 1987.

Marshall became the second No. 13 seed to win this week. Buffalo did it Thursday night, beating Arizona.

Jarron Cumberland set career highs of 27 points and 11 rebounds as Cincinnati recovered after blowing a 10-point lead in the second half.

After trailing 42-32 early in the second half, 15th-seeded Georgia State (24-11) rallied to take a pair of one-point leads, its last one coming on a driving bank shot from D’Marcus Simonds with 9:30 left.

Kenny Williams scored 18 points and defending national champion North Carolina took its time before opening up to beat Lipscomb.

Theo Pinson had 15 points and flirted with a triple-double for the second-seeded Tar Heels (26-10). North Carolina next plays Texas A&M.

Playing for the first time in the NCAA tourney, the 15th-seeded Bisons (23-10) held an early six-point edge. They led 33-31 with under four minutes left in the first half before North Carolina went on a 12-1 run to take control by the break.

Kelan Martin scored 27 points and Kamar Baldwin added 24 to lift 10th-seeded Butler over seventh-seeded Arkansas.

The Bulldogs (21-13) raced to a 21-2 lead in the opening minutes. Although Arkansas wiped out that entire deficit before halftime, Butler took control again early in the second.

The Bulldogs now play an in-state rival, second-seeded Purdue.

Jevon Carter scored 21 points, had eight assists and six steals as No. 5 seed West Virginia overwhelmed 12th-seeded Murray State.

The Mountaineers (25-10) advanced to the round of 32 for the third time in the past four seasons. Next up for West Virginia is a Mountain State showdown with 13th-seeded Marshall far away from home.

Caleb Martin scored 18 points and made two huge 3-pointers in overtime as seventh-seeded Nevada rallied for its first NCAA Tournament victory since 2007.

Nevada (28-7) erased a 14-point, second-half deficit and tied it at 68 when Jordan Caroline hit one of two free throws with 3.8 seconds left in regulation. The Wolf Pack trailed by four early in an overtime period that featured 34 total points.

Barry Brown scored 18 points and ninth-seeded Kansas State never trailed despite playing without top scorer Dean Wade.

Mike McGuirl added 17 points for the Wildcats (23-11). Wade had been expected to play after suffering a stress fracture in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament, but never got on the floor.

Marcus Foster, thrown off the Kansas State team after the 2015 season for multiple violations of team rules, finished with five points on 2-of-11 shooting for Creighton (21-12).

Miles Bridges outlasted Zach Thomas, scoring 29 points and grabbing nine rebounds to help third-seeded Michigan State beat Bucknell.

Thomas fouled out on a technical with 6:06 left and finished with 27 points. He put on a show in the first half, scoring 20 points and making all three of his shots beyond the 3-point arc.

The Spartans (30-4) made the most of playing about 75 miles from campus.

Leading by 15 points with 2 minutes left, Michigan State won by a slim margin after Bucknell (25-10) made a late flurry of long-range shots.

The Xavier Musketeers survived a choppy game with more stops than starts thanks to too many fouls and free throws.

At the end, the Musketeers looked every bit like a No. 1 seed their first time around in the role at an NCAA Tournament.

J.P. Macura scored 18 of his career-high 29 points in the first half, and Xavier beat 16th-seeded Texas Southern 102-83 Friday night in their tournament opener in the West Region.

“It wasn’t aesthetically pleasing by any means, but we will play on Sunday,” Xavier coach Chris Mack said.

The Musketeers (29-5) will play either No. 9 seed Florida State or eighth-seeded Missouri on Sunday for a berth in the Sweet 16.

Trevon Bluiett added 26 points, and Kerem Kanter tied his career-high with 24 for the Big East’s regular season champs.



Jared Harper made a clutch 3-pointer with 1:17 to go — his only basket of the game — and Auburn held off No. 13 College of Charleston.

The Tigers (26-7) avoided being the second No. 4 seed to be upset at Viejas Arena. Marshall beat fourth-seeded Wichita State earlier in the day.

Auburn, playing under the cloud of a federal investigation, survived a poor shooting performance to win in its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2003.

Jarrell Brantley scored 24 for the Cougars (26-8), the CAA champs who made their first NCAA Tournament since 1999.

Marek Dolezaj scored 17 points before fouling out and 11th-seeded Syracuse shut down sixth-seeded TCU for a 57-52 victory in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.

The Orange (22-13) won for the second time in the tournament and advanced to face third-seeded Michigan State on Sunday by holding off the Horned Frogs with another impressive defensive effort. Both teams shot under 40 percent from the field.

TCU (21-12) is still without an NCAA Tournament victory since 1987, when coach Jamie Dixon was a player. This was the school’s first appearance since 1998, and it was short-lived.

Ninth-seeded Florida State has lots of guys who can score, and the Seminoles used that depth to win their fourth straight NCAA Tournament opener.

Mfiondu Kabengele scored 14 points, and Florida State beat No. 8 seed Missouri 67-54 on Friday night in the West Region.

Florida State (21-11) will play No. 1 seed Xavier in the second round on Sunday.

PJ Savoy had 12 points and Phil Cofer scored 11. A total of 10 Seminoles scored at least two points apiece -- by halftime -- as they wore out Missouri, which had only eight healthy players available.

Shelton Mitchell scored a season-high 23 points, Gabe DeVoe had 22 and Clemson beat New Mexico State 79-68 on Friday night, closing out a perfect first round for No. 5 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.

The 5-12 line is usually one of the top spots for March Madness upsets, but Clemson (24-9) shot 56 percent from the field while advancing out of the first round for the first time since 1997. It was the Tigers’ first win in the NCAA tourney since the First Four in 2011.

Clemson was nearly flawless at the offensive end against the 12th-seeded champions of the WAC. It made 9 of 11 shots during one stretch on its way to a 12-point lead at halftime.

Zach Lofton led New Mexico State (28-6) with 29 points and Jemerrio Jones had 13 points and 14 rebounds, but the Aggies had too many inconsistent stretches while the Tigers were so good at the offensive end.</s>Virginia was the pick to win the NCAA Tournament. An overwhelming number of people chose the Cavaliers to win it all. Both pundits and the everyday fan had them as their favorite.

But instead of becoming national champions, the Cavaliers became punchlines by becoming the first No. 1 seed in NCAA history to lose to a No. 16 seed in March Madness.

Virginia fell to UMBC 74-54 Friday bringing its season to an end. No. 1 seeds were 135-0 against No. 16 seeds coming into Friday. They're now 135-1.

That wasn't all the madness that took place Friday. Yet another No. 13 seed knocked off a No. 4 as Marshall handed Wichita State an 81-75 loss.

In Marshall's first appearance since 1987, Marshall sealed the deal with 36.2 remaining as they were up 78-75 with possession of the ball. They scored right off a time out taking the lead up to five and Wichita State wasn't able to recover.

The Thundering Herd had a strong 3-point game that simply couldn't be stopped by Wichita State's defense. Marshall shot 39 percent from the 3-point line compared to just 28 percent from Wichita State.

While Wichita State is out of the tournament, No. 7 seed Nevada just barely stayed alive and it wasn't without a big fight from No. 10 seed Texas as the game went into overtime.

Nevada walked away with an 87-83 victory after trailing much of the game and bounced back from a 14-point deficit in the second half. The overtime win came in large part due to senior guard Kendall Stephens who kept the Wolf Pack in the game with 22 points making all three of his free-throw attempts. Teammate Caleb Martin was unstoppable in overtime draining three triples.

The win marks the first time Nevada has won in the NCAA Tournament since 2007 (it was only its fifth tournament win in school history) while Texas has not won an NCAA Tournament game since 2014. The game also marks the first NCAA Tournament win for the Mountain West Conference since 2015.

Around the tournament, there were not any other big upsets early in the day as No. 7 seed Texas A&M defeated No. 10 seed Providence 73-69 while No. 2 Purdue took down CSU Fullerton in a 74-48 blowout. No. 2 Cincinnati stayed alive beating No. 15 seed Georgia State 68-53. No. 2 North Carolina beat No. 15 Lipscomb 84-66 while No. 5 West Virginia blew away No. 12 Murray State 85-68.

Kamar Baldwin and Kelan Martin helped lead No. 10 Butler to a 79-62 win over No. 7 Arkansas. Baldwin scored 24 points with nine rebounds and five assists, while Martin added 27 points and nine more rebounds. The Bulldogs also caught a break when next round's opponent, Purdue, lost center Isaac Haas for the remainder of the tournament with a fractured elbow.

Witchita State sophomore guard Landry Shamet finished with 11 points, but he was 0 of 7 from behind the 3-point line. In a game where Marshall overwhelmed with 3-pointers, Shamet not being able to sink them in proved to hurt the Shockers.

No. 7 seed Texas A&M closed out a 73-69 win over No. 10 seed Providence with one of the best dunks the tournament has seen yet. Sophomore forward Robert Williams pulled out all the stops with a windmill dunk in the last 40 seconds, securing the win and making the SEC 5-0 to begin the tournament.

After the game Williams told reporters, "I actually wanted to go through my legs with that one, but I didn't want coach to take me out."

Houston (27-7) vs. Michigan (29-17) 9:40 p.m. ET — The Wolverines are playing as good of basketball as anyone in the tournament right now, but Rob Gray is playingn like a man on fire for Houston. Who will be the one to come out on top? The hottest team or the man who simply can't miss?</s>You feel the frenzy building, rising, the hysteria of 135 failed versions finally bubbling over.

No. 16 seed UMBC was going to beat No. 1 seed Virginia, the first such occasion in the history of men’s college basketball.

That sentence has to be typed, just to make sure it actually happened. This was no far-fetched dream. It was no longer some hypothetical what-if scenario.

No – what happened inside Charlotte’s Spectrum Center on Friday night, a 74-54 Retrievers victory, will live forever.

“Historic game,” UMBC coach Ryan Odom said. “Unbelievable. So proud of these kids.”

But how did it happen? How did the best team in all of college basketball, the team with the glitzy seed and the drooling Vegas oddsmakers, succumb like this? No other No. 1 seed had ever lost to a No. 16 seed, and the team that spoiled that streak was one that needed a buzzer-beater to even qualify for this game?

You could tell from the outset that this wouldn’t be your run-of-the-mill beatdown of a lowly, lesser seed.

It all started with Virginia’s first possession.

But then there was a second miss. And then a third.

The Cavaliers eventually bullied their way into the paint for their first layup of the game, but that early going proved prescient – Virginia shot just 39.1 percent from the floor in the first half, not to mention 11.1 percent from 3-point range.

“I don't think there was any point in the game that we thought we couldn't play with them,” Retrievers senior Jairus Lyles said.

At the same time, UMBC wasn’t ceding to Virginia’s top-ranked defense. The Retrievers drove into the paint not recklessly but forcefully. Just enough to establish their will, to prove that they were serious about this upset bid (even if you’ll never hear them call it that).

In doing so, they found the cracks in Virginia’s pack-line.

And after halftime, they exploited the Cavaliers.

“When we were tied at 21 and we hadn't shot particularly well,” junior Joe Sherburne said, “we made some silly turnovers, then we felt there's no way we're not going to win this game. All we have to do is start hitting shots.”

UMBC built a quick seven-point advantage coming out of the intermission, at which point this was no normal underdog story. This was the stuff of legends, and that is in no way an exaggeration.

“We were up seven right away in the second half, and we were getting real excited on the bench but there was still like 16 minutes left in the second half,” Sherburne said. “I personally was trying to stay really level-headed and you know that they can come right back right away real quick because they're the No. 1 team in the country for a reason.”

But the whispers in the crowd had picked up a bit. The Virginia fans quieted. The UMBC fans did the opposite.

Suddenly that seven-point lead ballooned to 11, and eventually all the way up to 14. It was Virginia’s largest deficit in any game this season. The Retrievers were penetrating Virginia’s supposedly impenetrable defense, somehow avoiding those unavoidable double teams. Then they were knocking down shots, 67.9 percent of them in the second half, each more unexpected than the last.

The UMBC band played louder. Faster. It’s pace quickened to match the magnitude of the event – let’s just call it history, all right? – unfolding in front of thousands of pairs of eyes.

Spearheading it all was the same man who punched UMBC’s tournament ticket in the first place, Lyles. He knocked down 3-pointers, finished layups through contact. Even his floaters were falling, each one a tiny bit more of the sand escaping Virginia’s hourglass. He would finish with a game-high 28 points.

Virginia took some strides to come back, but they were all in vain. The Cavaliers we’ve watched dominate all season weren’t the same Cavaliers on the court Friday night.

“You feel for [Virginia],” Odom said. “But, certainly doesn't take away the happiness that I have for these guys right here. These guys have worked extremely hard to earn a moment like this.

“Just to go toe to toe with the No. 1 team in the country, I mean … unbelievable is all you can say.”

Give UMBC more credit than just for their play, too. The composure that takes not to panic, and to buckle, and to screw everything up? That might be more difficult than winning the game.

But still, there was doubt. Surely this can’t happen. Surely UMBC cannot be the team that will be written about for the rest of time, or at least as long as college basketball survives.

It was. It is. It will forever be.</s>CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Senior guard Jairus Lyles scored 28 points, and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County pulled off the most shocking upset in NCAA Tournament history, defeating Virginia 75-54 on Friday night to become the first No. 16 seed ever to beat a No. 1 seed.

Virginia entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed after going 31-2 this season, including 20-1 in ACC competition.

But the Cavaliers couldn’t get anything generated on offense and the nation’s top-ranked defense couldn’t contain American East Conference champions.

The 74 points were the most Virginia had allowed this year.</s>JayhawkSlant.com is sitting courtside for today's Midwest Region opener between No. 1 seed Kansas and No. 16 seed Penn.

To participate in today's "Live Game Chat", click here.
For the first time in the history of the Division I men's tournament, a #16 seed defeats a #1 seed, as UMBC shocks top overall seed Virginia 74–54.