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 shocking upset in college basketball history, hammering 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.
UMBC secured its underdog legacy in sports lore, alongside Buster Douglas, the 1980 United States Olympic hockey team, Appalachian State football 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.
The question wasn't whether they would win this game, but if they would get to the Final Four and win it all.
But UMBC — a team most glanced over when filling out their brackets — didn't just beat Virginia, it dominated throughout the second half, dismantling the 20 1/2-point favorites by 20 points in the other direction. To put things in perspective, UMBC scored 53 points in the second half — one shy of how many Virginia scored in the entire game.
In a chaotic UMBC locker room after the game, players shouted: "All brackets gone! No perfect brackets! Put that in the news!"
Lyles scored 23 of his 28 points in the second half and the Retrievers cruised to an easy victory before racing off the floor together in their yellow-and-black uniforms, fingers pointed toward the ceiling.
"These are the moments that you dream of," Lyles said. "It's always exciting to make history."
Chaminade's 77-72 stunner over Ralph Sampson and then No. 1-ranked Cavaliers in 1982 in Hawaii was generally considered the most remarkable upset in college basketball. But that was the regular season.
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," UMBC coach Ryan Odom said.
The Cavaliers couldn't get anything generated on offense and the nation's top-ranked defense 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 played teams like Duke and North Carolina. Virginia had allowed just 54.3 points per game this season, the fewest in the nation.
UMBC 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 and making easy 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.
Arkel Lamer made a 3-pointer from the corner with 3 1/2 minutes left to put UMBC up by 17, then backpedaled down the court with his tongue hanging out. You knew history was coming.
Chants of "UMBC" echoed through the arena.
"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.
EAST REGION
PURDUE 74, CAL STATE FULLERTON 48
DETROIT — Purdue center 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.
Kyle Allman scored 21 for the Titans (20-12).
MARSHALL 81, WICHITA STATE 75
SAN DIEGO — 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.
Conner Frankamp scored 27 points for Wichita State (25-8).
WEST VIRGINIA 85, MURRAY STATE 68
SAN DIEGO — 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.
Terrell Miller scored 27 points for Murray State (26-6).
BUTLER 79, ARKANSAS 62
DETROIT — 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.
Jaylen Barford scored 15 points for Arkansas (23-12).
SOUTH REGION
CINCINNATI 68, GEORGIA STATE 53
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jarron Cumberland set career highs of 27 points and 11 rebounds as Cincinnati recovered after blowing a 10-point lead in the second half.
The second-seeded Bearcats (31-4) advanced to play seventh-seeded Nevada.
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.
NEVADA 87, TEXAS 83, OT
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — 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.
Kerwin Roach II had a career-high 26 points for Texas (19-15).
KANSAS STATE 69, CREIGHTON 59
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — 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).
MIDWEST REGION
MICHIGAN STATE 82, BUCKNELL 78
DETROIT — 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.
AUBURN 62, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 58
SAN DIEGO — 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.
SYRACUSE 57, TCU 52
DETROIT — Marek Dolezaj scored 17 points before fouling out and 11th-seeded Syracuse shut down sixth-seeded TCU for a victory.
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.
CLEMSON 79, NEW MEXICO STATE 68
SAN DIEGO — 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.
It was an impressive showing for the Tigers after they stumbled over the final weeks of the regular season adjusting to the loss of Dante Grantham to a season-ending knee injury. They were just 7-6 after Grantham was injured.
Zach Lofton led New Mexico State (28-6) with 29 points.
WEST REGION
NORTH CAROLINA 84, LIPSCOMB 66
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — 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.
TEXAS A&M 73, PROVIDENCE 69
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — 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.
Rodney Bullock scored 22 points for the 10th-seeded Friars (21-14).
XAVIER 102, TEXAS SOUTHERN 83
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Xavier 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 routed No. 16 seed Texas Southern (16-20) in their tournament opener in the West Region.
The Musketeers (29-5) will play either No. 9 seed Florida State on Sunday for a berth in the Sweet 16.
Trevon Bluiett added 26 points, and Kerem Kanter had 24 for the Big East's regular season champs.
FLORIDA STATE 67, MISSOURI 54
The Florida State Seminoles might not have a flashy scorer. They do have plenty of Seminoles who can score.
Ninth-seeded Florida State beat No. 8 seed Missouri. A total of 10 different Seminoles scored at least two points —by halftime— as they wore out a Missouri team with only eight players available for this game.
Michael Porter Jr. came off the bench for his third game with Missouri. He finished with 16 points, scoring 13 in the second half as the Tigers tried to rally. But they got within 50-44 only to see the Seminoles reel off 15 straight points.
Florida State plays No. 1 seed Xavier on Sunday.