They said it could not be done. They said that about the Chicago Cubs beating the goat that jinxed the team for over a hundred years.  It’s never been done. No 16th seed has ever beaten a number one seed until yesterday. Yes, UMBC took down number one Virginia. Who or what the hell is UMBC? I had to google this because to me it sounds like an office for the government. University of Maryland Baltimore County. I’m thinking the Wire first thing, when I think of Baltimore. They are nicknamed the Retrievers. Yes, picture a yellowish golden dog panting after it fetched the Frisbee in the back yard. Not a Michael Vick junk yard dog sent out to fight other dogs in the Thunder-dome.

UMBC has only been around since 1966. They have made three appearances in the tournament prior to this year. Last time coming in 2008. Before that, back to back years in 1979 and 1980. They were a 20.5 underdog.

UMBC came in with a 21-13 record. They won the America East Tournament to punch their ticket into the NCAA tournament. They were not one of those play-in teams in the first round as they pulled off this shocker. It was not a buzzer beater, they literally kicked Virginia’s arse up and down the court. It was 74-54 final. Senior guard Jarius Lyles will have something to tell his grandchildren. Even if he does not do anything else in life, he came up big with 28 points.

Everyone loves the Cinderella story. That’s what March madness is all about. I always wondered about these schools that came in the tournament, obviously they come in on a winning streak as they punched their ticket from their conference tournament.  They come in red hot, so to see them just upset teams all the way to the championship would be amazing. It reminds of that Loyola Marymont team that went really far. They were on a mission because they lost Hank Gathers Jr who passed away. They dedicated that tournament to him and played with high emotions. That made an awesome story. I would love to see a 16th seed continue to wreck havoc against all sorts of foes that get in the way.

How would feel if you were in Virginia’s shoes? To be a part of history in a bad way. These are some stats I found from CBS.COM regarding people’s brackets.

99.4 % of people had Virginia over UMBC

95.1% had Virginia advancing to the sweet 16

55.6% had Virginia in the final four

41.1% had Virginia in the championship game

23.4 had Virginia winning it all.

Lets hope UMBC continues their march through the brackets and become bracket busters the rest of the way.

THE BEST SHOT OF THE TOURNAMENT IN ROUND TWO

Donte Ingram’s shot sank number six seed Miami as Loyola advanced to the round.

Loyola Chicago has not been to the tournament since 1985. They came in number 11 seed and they wiped out the Hurricanes. I love this story partly because I live in Chicago. It’s hard to believe the state of Illinois and Chicago never have multiple teams in the tournament each year. The murder capital of the world, we are labeled. Besides all the killings and slayings, we are known for manufacturing basketball talent. Obviously it leaves town and goes to other states. For years and I’m talking years, the State of Illinois does not get one college in the tournament. Last year Northwestern shocked us. That was fun. Look at Loyola, their last time in this tournament, 1985. That’s insane. Loyola won it back in 1963 when they beat Mississippi State which was a game known at the time that had racist intentions from Mississippi because Loyola had four black players starting. How the world has changed. However 1963 seems long ago, but truly it is not that long ago.

The Buffalo Bulls is another great story of the first round. They came in a 13th seed and they took down Arizona who came in as a 4 seed. Arizona was a popular pick by the people to get to the final four. It’s a big time program. They have some future NBA players. Plus they have some big men down low. However the Wildcats find themselves in a little trouble before they even tipped off against the Bulls. According to reports, Coach Sean Miller was recorded offering a recruit money to play for his program. Besides that incident, Arizona came in as the favorite. They came in expecting to get deep in the tournament but No Bull about it they came in and got their butts handed to them by the University of Buffalo.

It was a first for the Bulls as in first win ever in the big tournament. Their quickness as their three guard attack was able to maneuver around the Wild Cat big men like a turnstile. Then Buffalo threw lots of big bodies after the Wild Cat big men on defense. Reminded me of hack a Shaq. When Coach Phil Jackson was coaching the Chicago Bulls and  just sent out bodies to foul Shaquille O’Neal to put in on the line in a playoff match up. But the Buffalo defenders had some game in them against the Wild Cat big men. They fouled them and also played some great defense. This resulted in a close first half. However then the Bulls went on a run shooting threes and attacking the rim and playing stellar defense to move on to next round with a match up against Kentucky. Love to see them take down that questionable school in Kentucky.