Eight years after delivering the ultimate upset in a tournament famous for them, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, again is preparing to take aim at the nation’s brackets.
The America East champions, based in Catonsville, were selected for the play-in round on Sunday when the NCAA selection committee revealed the field of 68 teams competing for the men’s basketball national championship.
UMBC will play Howard University in Dayton, Ohio, on Tuesday. The time of the game has yet to be announced. The winner will face Michigan, the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional.
Players and coaches, clad in gray Under Armour tracksuits over their conference champion T-shirts, joined hundreds of supporters at El Guapo restaurant on Frederick Road to watch the CBS’ Selection Sunday broadcast. Among the crowd were cheerleaders, toting black-and-yellow pompoms, and members of the band and drum line.
The room was ready to erupt at the mention of UMBC’s name on the telecast. But the announcement that the team was selected for the First Four drew a mix of surprise and disappointment, followed by muted applause.
Though UMBC hoped to avoid the play-in, coach Jim Ferry said the team would try to make the most of the opportunity.
“At this point in the season, we’re excited to be in there and we’re excited that we have an opportunity to go and win a game,” the fifth-year coach said.
The selection marks the Retrievers’ first March Madness appearance since their 2018 victory as a No. 16 seed over No. 1 Virginia, a win that upended decades of tournament precedent. Prior to that night, No. 16 seeds in the men’s tournament were 0-135 against No. 1 seeds.
The victory cemented the Western Baltimore County research university, with its gold jerseys and cuddly mascot, as the sport’s ultimate giant slayer. Though another No. 16 seed defeated a No. 1 seed in 2023 — that time, it was Fairleigh Dickinson over Purdue — UMBC forever stands as the first men’s team to accomplish the feat.
The players and coaches from the 2018 squad have long since moved on, but the memory endures. A banner commemorating the team’s achievement hangs in the Retrievers’ practice gym, and Ferry said his staff often references 2018 in recruiting.
“You draw some inspiration chasing that,” guard/forward DJ Armstrong Jr. said. “You always want to chase greatness, and that was a great moment for UMBC.”
“That was the first thing when I was getting recruited that was brought up. It was like, ‘Why can’t it be us?’” Armstrong continued. “So, now that it’s here, we want to just try and take advantage of the moment.”
The Retrievers haven’t won an NCAA tournament game since that historic night in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their 2018 tournament run ended with a narrow second-round loss to Kansas State. Then they failed to qualify for the tournament every year from 2019 to 2025. Last year’s team finished 13-19.
Expectations were low coming into this season. A preseason coaches poll selected UMBC to finish seventh out of nine teams in the America East. The roster featured nine newcomers, including five Division II transfers.
But UMBC defied predictions with the best regular season in school history. On Saturday, it earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with a 74-59 win over Vermont in the America East championship. Armstrong led the way with 33 points and seven 3-pointers.
A rejoicing, sold-out crowd of 4,753 at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena might have stormed the court were it not for a yellow chain held up by staffers around the arena. Instead, fans stomped and screamed from their seats, belting out Queen’s “We Are the Champions.”
Ferry was the final person to climb a ladder and triumphantly trim a piece of net, windmilling it over his head to the crowd’s delight.
The players celebrated by fastening nylon to their caps and signing autographs during a victory lap around the arena. Meanwhile, the school’s famously snarky X account bragged after the game about being the only men’s program in the state with a tournament team.
On the women’s side, the University of Maryland will return to March Madness for the 22nd time under coach Brenda Frese, following an injury-plagued 23-8 season. The Terrapins earned a No. 5 seed and will face No. 12 seed Murray State on Friday in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
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