Written By: Avery Wooden

Full of cheering, wild upsets, and amazing plays, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, commonly referred to as March Madness, is one of the largest events in college sports. People all across the United States fill out brackets and enter pools, predicting the outcome of the games. When it comes to a sixteen seed versus a one seed, everyone undoubtedly assumes the sixteen seed will win by a blowout. However, this year many people’s brackets were incorrect after the first round of play. Never before has a sixteen seed beat a one seed in the history of March Madness and hardly anybody had heard of the small team from Baltimore, Maryland.  Fans across the country sat before their televisions, watching the game in awe and complete shock. Not only did the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Retrievers beat the Virginia Cavaliers by a few points, but by a whooping twenty with a total score of 74-54.

The first half was intense and a very close game, but during the second half, UMBC gave their best effort and blew Virginia away. Holding back the flood of tears, Virginia players admit that they were outplayed and that it was tough to lose in this type of situation, especially in the first round. While the Cavaliers were definitely on the wrong side of history, UMBC received the majority of attention, as they were the first team to beat a sixteen seed in the first round. Even fans who don’t root for UMBC or Virginia have been talking about this game for days on end and the chatter will not stop anytime soon. UMBC will forever be remembered as the team that slaughtered the one seed, Virginia, for the first time in history in the NCAA March Madness Tournament. The UMBC vs. Virginia game is one people will never forget.