It finally happened.
UMBC, as a 20.5-point underdog, beat Virginia late Friday in Charlotte to become the first No. 16 seed in NCAA Tournament history to defeat a No. 1 seed. Before that happened, No. 1 seeds were 135-0 all-time against No. 16 seeds. Now they're 135-1. So, obviously, we opened this episode of the Eye On College Basketball Podcast by discussing that historic development.
We spent more than 30 minutes on it.
After that, the conversation went like this:
- 32:51: There were buzzer-beaters (Loyola-Chicago) and big upsets (UMBC over Virginia), overtime games (Nevada over Texas) and terrific individual performances (Rob Gray!). Was this a great opening Thursday/Friday of the NCAA Tournament or the greatest opening Thursday/Friday in NCAA Tournament history?
- 37:06: John Calipari spent Sunday night complaining about Kentucky's draw. Now the Wildcats need to only beat Buffalo and the winner of Kansas State-UMBC to advance to the Elite Eight. What a world!
- 42:14: Before Virginia lost to UMBC, Arizona losing to Buffalo was the story of this NCAA Tournament. How crazy was that beatdown? And what's next for Sean Miller?
The latest Eye on College Basketball podcast is below. Give it a listen. And if you're not already subscribed, please subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts here. If you are already subscribed, thank you. And #ShoutsToDevanDowney.
