UMBC's 16-1 upset of Virginia remains epitome of March Madness

It doesn't matter how many years it has been -- UMBC's men's basketball team on an NCAA Tournament court will always remind of one memory.

You know the one. It's 16-seed UMBC, 1-seed Virginia, and most March Madness of all upsets. Never before had that matchup resulted in anything but a win for a No. 1 seed. UMBC had other ideas.

Since then, Fairleigh Dickinson has pulled off the same feat, but there will only ever be one UMBC.

The Retrievers are back in the NCAA Tournament in 2026 as America East champs, and they'll play in the First Four, hoping to earn a 16-seed into the Round of 64 and hey, maybe they'll make magic again.

Even if they don't, though, their history isn't going anywhere.

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How 16-seed UMBC upset 1-seed Virginia

It was March 16, 2018, at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

In the first half, UMBC was spunky, hanging around in a low-scoring 21-21 game at the intermission, one of those, sure let's pay attention while this is still close kind of games.

And then the game became very not close -- in favor of the 16-seed.

UMBC ran away with it, winning 74-54.

Their upset has been ranked No. 122 on Sporting News' list of the 140 Greatest Sports Moments of all time.

"It will stand forever as the author of the greatest upset in NCAA March Madness history," writes SN's Mike Decourcy.

Before UMBC, 16-seeds were 0-135 in these matchups.

UMBC was the one.

More March Madness news:

• Why Miami (Ohio) ended up in the First Four
• Michigan has a fascinating path in the Midwest Region
• We now know how Duke can get to the Final Four
• Using a 28-year streak to pick a bracket national champion