History is made!!!

[xu koop scoop]

Since University Maryland Baltimore Co just achieved something that MAY happen again - at least once every 150 games or so - I thought they deserved their own thread. The fact they beat a #1 seed by a resounding 20 pts reminds me of nothing I've seen.
I woke up at noon today to see this headline. I've bee ill, waiting for surgery & saw no reason to stay up past our game.
UMBC has now won 25 games & at least has a chance to beat Kansas St before seeing Kentucky. Oh! That's right UK has to get past
Buffalo. UK fans have to be jumping at their road to Elite 8 now. In the South Bracket you have #16, #13 & #11 Loyola advancing.
When I saw headlines today, I was expecting to hear about a buzzer beater with the crowd going wild. UMBC throws a 20 Pt beatdown
on a #1 who doesn't even deserve their name mentioned right now. Wonder if any Top 10 or Top 25 wants to schedule UMBC now.
Again, University Maryland Baltimore Co deserves their own thread. Anybody who takes down a #1 seed would deserve it.

[XUBison]

Yes, stunning upset!! The NCAA Tourney is the most exciting sporting event going but it is a "one and done" format with too many teams. That said, it is flawed and open to crowning a "National Champion" that is not the BEST TEAM in the country. UK or UC will make the F4. And if they should win it all, would anyone, other than their fan base, recognize either as the best team nationally? Of course not, they would simply be winners of a tournament.

It is your thinking that is flawed, because your premise is all wrong. It has never been about who’s the best, it is about who wins. That’s what competition is and why it is so great. It doesn’t matter who you THINK is the best, period. Sixty-eight programs of all types and sizes compete with each other, and the win or go home format means they all have a real chance to win and advance. This is exactly why the NCAA Tournament is the most perfect sporting event in existence.

[stammina0721]

Yes, stunning upset!! The NCAA Tourney is the most exciting sporting event going but it is a "one and done" format with too many teams. That said, it is flawed and open to crowning a "National Champion" that is not the BEST TEAM in the country. UK or UC will make the F4. And if they should win it all, would anyone, other than their fan base, recognize either as the best team nationally? Of course not, they would simply be winners of a tournament.

I couldn't disagree more. The NCAA tournament is the ultimate grind in its own way. Yes, it is a one and done tournament where the best team does not always win, however, it really exposes teams and challenges them in ways series format dont.

Take Virginia. They got crushed in what some, including myself, call one of the greatest upsets in sports history. However, I think it is now safe to say they would not have gotten much further. That's what makes the tournament great. You can't hide.

You need to have the ability to meet any matchup challenge you face. One day you may need to hit 12 threes and another you may need to win by keeping a team off the glass all game. Virginia couldn't meet the challenge. Their offensive deficiencies just couldn't be overcome.

By the time you get to the finish line only four teams are left. Those four teams usually have the personnel to survive the grind and play any necessary style to survive and advance. By the time it is all said and done I think we do truly get the nation's best team and true national champion

[D-West & PO-Z]

When my friend sent me this last night I literally laughed out loud.

[sirthought]

Take Virginia. They got crushed in what some, including myself, call one of the greatest upsets in sports history. However, I think it is now safe to say they would not have gotten much further. That's what makes the tournament great. You can't hide.

Come on...you're saying that compared to their regular season dominance, this one game shows they would have struggled to advance in any case? I agree that any team can lose on any given day, but this team certainly had a formula for winning against some great programs this year. That's not showing it was "safe to say they would not have gotten much further."

[GIMMFD]

Eh, you can't really say how far Virginia was going to go, how many nights will they shoot 18% from the 3, they were short Hunter, which seemed to be a major problem, and once UMBC pulled out into a big lead and had to force Virginia to play quicker they were out of their comfort zone. Basketball is a game of runs, that's why Mack's war analogy is so damn great, win the wars, win the game. Take things small chunks at a time, after Virginia dug themselves into a hole, they couldn't recover.

I will also say Tony Bennett was very classy in his post game interview, he could have made a bunch of excuses, but instead complimented UMBC and tried to remind people this won't define UVA. Sure, they will be a walking meme until they do some March damage, but at the end of the day, his team was beaten by a hungier UMBC team, that basically became the perfect storm. It's very hard to beat anybody that shoots 54% from the field, and 50% from the three point line, there's a lot of parity in college basketball as talent is spread out more than say football, and also with college basketball one damn good player makes a whole helluva lot more impact than in football.

Also, favorite tweet of the night. "Worst loss for Virginia since they lost half of their state in 1863." West Virginia, Best Virginia.

[xu koop scoop]

Swore I started this earlier. Kudos to UMBC on historic win. Not only a win, BUT BLOWING OUT #1 TEAM IN COUNTRY.
Kentucky is probably salivating game vs Kansas St or UMBC. Oh - They have to beat Buffalo 1st.
Again, Kudos to UNIVERSITY MARYLAND BALTIMOR COUNTY whose game got no mention on Countdown to Tipoff on CBS between 230 and 245 this afternoon.

[xu koop scoop]

Just making sure not getting removed. Buff 56 KY 63 at moment. Go little guys.

[BandAid]

There's a thread called "History is Made" discussing UMBC's win. One of the mods may have merged your thread with that one.

[xu82]

There's a thread called "History is Made" discussing UMBC's win. One of the mods may have merged your thread with that one.

I left the arena early to go watch that at a restaurant bar. I met a nice guy and his (very nice but very drunk) wife who was watching it intently. He would turn around to the rest of the people there and marvel “how do these people have no idea that history is being made here????” We had a dandy time! I slept in today...