UMBC basketball is dancing for the first time since 2018, when they became the first 16 seed to ever beat a 1 seed. Can they somehow do that again?
Everyone’s favorite Cinderella is back for the first time since they famously took down Virginia. Of course, that team was coached by Ryan Odom, who is now the head coach of the 3-seed Cavaliers. But Jim Ferry has rebuilt this program quickly, guiding them to 24 wins – one shy of the 25 they had in 2018. They’ll play in the First Four on Tuesday against Howard, looking to match that total.
How they got there:
UMBC basketball entered the America East Tournament as the top seed, but with a conference dynasty in Vermont right there as the two seed. That didn’t faze the Retrievers, as they took down the Catamounts, 74-59, to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
In fact, it was a dominant run for UMBC, winning all three conference tournament games by at least 15 points, including a 22-point win over 4-seed UMass Lowell.
In regular season conference play, it was the same deal, with 10 of their 14 wins coming by double-digits. The Retrievers were pretty clearly the top team in the America East all season long, and now they get to represent their conference in Dayton in the First Four.
General information:
Team: UMBC
Location: Baltimore, MD
Record: 24-8 (14-2)
Head Coach: Jim Ferry (5th season at UMBC, 21st overall)
What to know about UMBC basketball:
For a program that used to be one of the worst in college basketball, it’s been a nice turnaround for UMBC hoops. The Retrievers once only had 41 total wins over a seven-year span from 2009-10 to 2015-16. That’s an average of about six wins per season.
But immediately after Odom took over, the win total jumped from 7, to 21, to 25, and the first round upset of Virginia. Odom stayed for three more seasons, but when he departed, Ferry took over and had back-to-back 18-win seasons, before a couple of under .500 years. It seemed like a make-or-break year, and they made the most of it, the best conference winning percentage in program history (87.5%).
In terms of team makeup, DJ Armstrong received a lot of praise for his play in the America East Championship, exploding for 33 points and 7 made threes. However, he was just beat out by Jah’Likai King as the team’s leading scorer on the year, with King averaging 13.9 points per game and Armstrong at 13.2.
Ace Valentine isn’t too far behind at 12.0 PPG and also leads UMBC basketball with 4.0 assists per game.
In terms of rebounding, it isn’t a very big team, but 6-foot-10 Jose Roberto Tanchyn does pull down 5.7 boards per game.
As a team, UMBC basketball is an above average three-point shooting team, which is probably their most dangerous part of the game if an upset were to happen. They also foul the second least per game, at just 13.3, so don’t think you’ll be a free throw merchant against the Retrievers. Plus, they rarely turn the ball over, so it’s a team that won’t get rattled easily.
However, this team ranks sub-300 in steals per game and blocks per game, so think of the Retrievers as a team that isn’t going to pick of ticky-tacky fouls, but might allow for more open shots to the opponent.
Overall, UMBC has some good qualities, especially for a low-major team, but for a 16 seed, it’s about what you’d expect.
NCAA Tournament prediction for UMBC basketball: Round of 64 Exit
Seed: 16
On Tuesday, UMBC will play Howard, and only 33 miles separate the two DMV area schools.
Our George Bagwell picked Howard to win, but with UMBC’s momentum and fresh legs from the way the America East Tournament works, I’m liking their chances. Plus, after Armstrong’s big game, UMBC’s offense should be playing well enough to compete on that end.
Both teams are evenly matched, so it should be a great First Four matchup. Unfortunately, I’m not going to call an upset over 1 seed Michigan, but where has UMBC heard that before?