The Moment Impossible Becomes Possible!!

Best. Tournament. EVER!!

This has been, without a doubt, the best NCAA Tournament in the history of college basketball. It’s had everything; buzzer-beaters, CINDERELLA STORIES, and unreal comebacks. Remember when I said Day 1 would be tough to top?? Let’s just say, if Day 1 was jumping off the high-dive at your local pool, Day 2 was jumping off an 80-foot waterfall without making a splash.

Cinderella

Apparently, the 136th time is the charm. Since the NCAA Tournament expanded from 32 to 64 teams in 1985, a 16-seed had never beaten a 1-seed. Friday night, the UMBC (University of Maryland Baltimore County) Retrievers changed sports’ history, forever. Some of the 135 teams came close with 1-point and overtime losses, but no David’s had ever slain Goliath.

Virginia was the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. They won the ACC regular season title and ACC Tournament, and held a record of 31-2 in a conference that sent 9 teams to the NCAA Tournament. UMBC, finished 2nd in the America East Conference.

This is the biggest upset in sports’ history.  

Bigger than Buster Douglas over Mike Tyson. Bigger than the United States over Russia in the 1980 Olympics. Bigger than any other upset you can think of.

And UMBC didn’t just squeak out a victory. They dismantled Virginia, 74-54. Of the six Retrievers to score, four finished in double figures. But this historic win was made possible by senior guard, Jairus Lyles’, 28 point effort. At halftime, the game was tied at 21. UMBC must have had some of “Michael’s Special Stuff”, because they shot out of their locker room like a cannonball and didn’t look back. Allow me to put UMBC’s 53 2nd-half points in perspective. Virginia held 16 of their 34 opponents this season to 53 points or less; FOR AN ENTIRE GAME!! Virginia also didn’t allow 70 points in a game prior to Friday night’s embarrassment.

Now That’s A Weekend

Nevada’s epic comeback. Michigan’s last second buzzer-beater. Loyola-Chicago is in the Sweet 16. Florida State took down Xavier. Syracuse outlasted Michigan State. Texas A&M’s ‘Texas Size’ beat down of UNC.

Did I leave any storylines out?? 

• With 10:49 left to play, Nevada trailed 65-43. Thanks to Cody Martin’s 25-points, Nevada completed one of the most epic comebacks in NCAA Tournament history, 75-73. Martin scored 11 points in the final 10:48 and played all 40 minutes. If you missed this game, I feel badly for you.

• Michigan Vs. Houston was a close, competitive game throughout. Houston led by as many as 5 points, while Michigan’s biggest lead was 6. A trip to the Sweet 16 came down to a last second 3-pointer by Michigan’s Jordan Poole to capture a 64-63 victory over Houston.

• 11-seed, Loyola-Chicago, has now beaten Miami and Tennessee to reach the Sweet 16. If only someone had predicted that….

• Saved By The Be..nch. Florida State’s bench outscored it’s starting lineup 46-29. Xavier would fail to score in the final 1:49 of the game. Florida State drilled a late 3-pointer and ended the game on a 7-0 run. That’s the long and the short of it. 75-70.

• According to many,Syracuse shouldn’t have been in the NCAA Tournament. Now, they’re in the Sweet 16. Honestly, they didn’t deserve to make the tournament, but it proves that parody is real in college basketball. It also proves their pesky zone defense is really freakin’ annoying!! The sounds of brackets ripping filled the nationas the final buzzer sounded. 55-53.

• Soooo, UNC forgot they had a game yesterday. UNC would jump out to a 20-13 lead, but it was all Texas A&M the rest of the way. A&M would outscore UNC 73 to 45 to capture an 86-65 victory. This isn’t the way Roy Williams’ squad wanted to go out, but someone should have reminded them what time their game started….

I don’t know how this tournament could get any better, but I also said that on Friday morning…..

 

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the best NCAA Tournament EVER!!

Teams will be back in action Thursday night for the start of the Sweet 16.

 

Is UMBC over Virginia the biggest upset in sports’ history?? Tell me if I’m crazy in the comment section below.

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