UMBC’s legacy: No. 1 can mean one-and-done in March Madness

They are the five letters no No. 1 NCAA Tournament seed everwants to see: Upset.

Thursday marks the five-year anniversary of University ofMaryland-Baltimore County — the tiny school few fans had ever heardof, let alone picked in their bracket — pulling off the biggestupset in college basketball history by beating the tournament’s topseed in Virginia.

UMBC’s lasting legacy became this: If you don’t watch out, No. 1can mean one-and-done.

While there were some close calls before 2018, No. 1 seeds hadgone 135-0 before UMBC routed Virginia 75-54 at Charlotte’sSpectrum Center. Now they are 1-147. Like the men, the women’s sideof March Madness has seen only one 16 knock off a 1: Harvard overStanford in 1998.

On Thursday, three more No. 1 seeds — Alabama, Kansas andHouston — take the court looking to avoid what the Cavaliersendured five years ago, while their respective opponents TexasA&M-Corpus Christi, Howard and Northern Kentucky look tocapture that “One Shining Moment” and etch their name in historyalongside the Retrievers.

Ryan Odom, the Retrievers coach that season, said after the game“these are the moments that you dream of.” while his playerscelebrated in a cramped locker room after shocking the world.Diminutive 5-foot-8, 140-pound guard KJ, Maura and his teammatesjoked about there being “no more perfect brackets” and possiblybecoming the focal point of a future ESPN “30 for 30” episode.

Some players struggled to process the enormity of the moment,hugging each other long and hard.

“It felt like my soul left my body, man,” UMBC guard JourdanGrant said that day.

Odom, now the head coach at Utah State, a No. 10 seed in thisyear’s tourney, said Wednesday it was “a memory that will last alifetime.”

“Will a 16 ever beat a 1 again? I have no idea,” Odom said. “Ittakes a special group. It takes a lot of luck in order to have achance to win any game in the NCAA Tournament.”

Former UMBC guard Joe Sherburne said it remains the singlegreatest day of his life.

“You can measure my life by this: before that day, and afterthat day,” Sherburne said Wednesday. When friends introduce him topeople, the first thing they say is “Joe played for UMBC.”

Sherburne, who works as a financial adviser, remembers the daywell.

As UMBC’s lead over Virginia grew to double digits in the secondhalf he sensed something special, something miraculous washappening. He struggled to concentrate on the next play call whilesitting on the bench during TV timeouts: “I felt like I was inshock.”

Could this really be happening? Could a 20 1/2-point underdogreally beat the No. 1 team in the nation in the NCAATournament?

But it happened — and everyone suddenly wanted to know theirstory.

Sherburne stayed at the arena until 1 a.m. doing interviewsbefore returning to the team hotel where he was greeted byoverwhelmed fans, friends and family members. He and his teammateswatched “Sports Center” on repeat and ate pizza, basking in themoment.

“We were all still running on adrenaline,” Sherburne said. “Icouldn’t eat or drink. I can usually eat a whole Domino’s pizza bymyself, but I couldn’t that night. I might have had two or threeslices.”

Sherburne still wishes the celebration had gone on for dayslonger, but UMBC lost a close second round loss to Kansas State twodays later.

Still, there will always be the satisfaction of accomplishingsomething that had never been done before. Sherburne is hoping itstays that way for awhile.

After the final 16 seed lost in last year’s NCAA Tournament, hetoasted UMBC’s legacy with a shot of whiskey.

Two years ago, he attended Game 6 the 2016 NBA Finals where hewatched former Virginia big man Mamadi Diakite win a championshipring. Diakite was one of six Virginia players from that team toplay in the NBA; UMBC had none.

“I’m sitting in the arena that night, in the second row from thetop, thinking to myself, ’You know, just a couple of years ago Iwas making this guy and his teammates cry,’” Sherburne said.

UMBC players haven’t had an in-person reunion, but Sherburnesaid players remain in touch on group texts.

Last week, Odom opened one of those texts to find players andassistant coaches reminiscing about star guard Jairus Lyles’buzzer-beater to beat Vermont in the 2018 America East ConferenceTournament championship game — a dramatic win that earned theRetrievers an automatic bid to the Big Dance.

Odom’s eyes swelled up with tears as he scrolled through thecomments and pictures.

“Each team that we’re fortunate enough to coach has one life tolive,” Odom said. “That particular team lived a great life. The joythat that team experienced was unlike any other. Certainly thememories that we’ll all take from that particular season will lasta lifetime. This is what all coaches and players want: they want tobe a part of March Madness and the upset.”.