TIPPING OFF: UMBC upset puts underdogs in NCAA spotlight
The University of Maryland-Baltimore County proved that anything can happen in the NCAA Tournament.
After pulling off the upset of all NCAA upsets, the 16th-seeded Retrievers get a day to rest and recharge following their history-making win over No. 1 seed Virginia.
No. 11 seed Loyola-Chicago and No. 13 seed Buffalo return to the floor when the second round opens Saturday, hoping to keep the underdog mojo going.
Though maybe don't call them "Cinderella" teams.
''I feel like the way - not only the game last night but the way we won, showed everybody that it wasn't a fluke,'' guard CJ Massinburg said Friday, referring to the Bulls' 89-68 blowout of fourth-seeded Arizona in the first round.
Buffalo advanced to face Kentucky - another NCAA blue blood - in Boise, Idaho, in a South Region matchup.
''If I were on their team I'd feel very confident, too,'' Wildcats coach John Calipari said, and that was hours before UMBC's victory. The Retrievers set a new bar for what might be considered an ''upset.''
In Dallas, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt will be saying her prayers again for Loyola-Chicago. The 98-year-old nun is an unlikely social media star for being the Ramblers' biggest fan. She's the team chaplain who prays with the players before games and gives them scouting reports the next day.
Look out, Tennessee. The Volunteers are up next for the Ramblers in the South, and even Tennessee forward Grant Williams can't help but take a liking to his opponent's feel-good story.
''You like teams like these, the ones that fight all odds and compete, and that's something that you love,'' Williams said.
His tune might change if Tennessee becomes the latest high seed to fall.
PERFECT BIG TEN
This might be considered a down year for the Big Ten with just four teams in the NCAA Tournament.
At least all four made it to the second round.
The Big Ten was the only power conference with a perfect record during the first two days of the tourney. Michigan State and Purdue won on Friday.
Ohio State and Michigan will try to keep the streak going on Saturday.
The fifth-seeded Buckeyes face a challenge from fourth-seeded Gonzaga in front of what could be a Bulldogs-friendly crowd in Boise, Idaho, in the West Region. It's a rematch of a game played in the PK80 Invitational in November, won by Gonzaga 86-59.
Third-seeded Michigan faces sixth-seeded Houston in the Midwest Region in Wichita, Kansas. After slogging through an opening-round win over Montana, the Wolverines will try to get to their fourth Sweet 16 under coach John Beilein.
CONFERENCE SCORECARD:
The breakdown by conference after the first round, for leagues with at least three entries.
SEC: 6-2
ACC: 6-4
Big Ten: 4-0
Big East: 4-2
Big 12: 4-3
Atlantic 10: 2-2
Pac-12: 0-3
THEY FEEL VIRGINIA'S PAIN
This will be one tough offseason for the Cavaliers.
The No. 1 overall seed made history in the men's NCAA Tournament for the wrong reason, losing to UMBC by 20 points.
''Yeah, I saw that score. This tournament just breaks your heart,'' Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said after the Orange defeated TCU 57-52 in the first round.
He has an idea of what Virginia coach Tony Bennett might be going through. The Orange became the first No. 2 seed to lose to a 15th seed in the NCAAs, falling to Richmond in 1991.
Now that's just an asterisk in the record book, overtaken by Virginia's shocking loss.
''I've been there,'' Boeheim said. ''It's a heartbreaking tournament. That's the only way to describe it.''
Stanford women's coach Tara VanDerveer can relate, too.
The only other time that a No. 1 seed lost in the first round was in 1998 when Stanford fell to Harvard on the Cardinal's home court of Maples Pavilion.
VanDerveer says Virginia coach Tony Bennett and his team should be ''exceedingly proud of their season'' and that one game doesn't define them.
''Coach Bennett is a class act. He will only get better,'' she said. ''Pain is a great motivator!''
BIG GUY GOES DOWN
Purdue's Final Four hopes took a blow when big man Isaac Haas went down with a season-ending injury in an otherwise easy win over Cal State Fullerton.
Haas broke his right elbow after taking a hard foul midway through the second half of the 74-48 win over Cal State Fullerton when forward Dominik Heinzl pulled him down while trying to defend him. Haas hurt the same elbow in November.
The second-seeded Boilermakers will have a day to figure out how to adjust without Haas before returning to the floor on Sunday against Butler. Matt Haarms, a 7-foot-3 freshman, will likely replace Haas, a senior who averaged 14.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
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This story has been corrected to show that the Pac-12 is 0-3, not 0-4, in the tournament.
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AP Sports Writers Janie McCauley and Larry Lage contributed to this report.
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