UMBC cuts short its celebration
As the sun rose on the Saturday morning celebration of their unprecedented NCAA tournament upset, Ryan Odom implored his suddenly-famous basketball team to get some sleep.
It was time for family and friends of UMBC to leave the hotel and for the Retrievers to return to their rooms in Charlotte, North Carolina.
UMBC had made history as the first No. 16 seed in NCAA men’s tournament history to knock off a No. 1 seed and the texts and the calls never stopped buzzing. And it wouldn’t take more than a quick scroll to find out they were trending.
Up next, UMBC plays No. 9 seed Kansas State (23-11) on Sunday with a Sweet 16 berth at stake.
UMBC is a commuter school in Baltimore one in which the chess team reigns supreme.
Joe Sherburne, who drained three big 3-pointers against Virginia, spent his newfound time in the spotlight hoping NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers will notice him. Sherburne is a Wisconsin native who wasn’t recruited by anyone but UMBC.
He made his next plea a brief one.
He didn’t pack enough clean underwear for two rounds of the tournament, and could use another pair. And he’d appreciate it if people would learn UMBC’s correct mascot.
“We’re the Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, not the Golden Retrievers,” he said. “They are dark brown. They have a thick waterproof coat of fur.”
COULD HAAS RETURN? >> A day after Isaac Haas’ season was declared over, there’s now a bit of mystery surrounding the status of Purdue’s star center.
That could be encouraging news for the secondseeded Boilermakers, who announced Friday that Haas would miss the rest of the NCAA tournament with a broken elbow. On Saturday, a CBS reporter tweeted that Haas had practiced with the team, although coach Matt Painter tried to keep expectations low for a possible return.
“He ran up and down today, did a few things and worked out,” Painter said. “I don’t see him playing.”
Still, Painter said he thought Haas would dress and go to warmups for Sunday’s game against 10thseeded Butler.
“I would think he wants to do that to stay connected and stuff,” he said.
Haas fell to the floor during Purdue’s victory over Cal State Fullerton on Friday and appeared in a good deal of pain, but he left the game only briefly before returning. So it was a surprise afterward when the Boilermakers ruled him out.
Painter said Saturday that Haas will need surgery at some point.
RIVALS >> Marshall coach Dan D’Antoni has a strong opinion about whether the Thundering Herd is worthy of playing West Virginia annually.
The annual in-state rivalry ended a few years ago, making it all that more juicy that the Thundering Herd will face the Mountaineers on Sunday night in San Diego in the East Region second round.
Asked if the Thundering Herd would go for a 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 to resume the series, D’Antoni said: “No, we’re a Division I school. You’ve got to treat us like one. I would love to play . ... I’m not going to just play at Morgantown, so after that, ask West Virginia. I think it should be played. You play one time at their place, one time at our place, one time at a neutral place, whatever.”
West Virginia coach Bob Huggins downplayed the controversy, saying the schools are on opposite sides of the state.
“We don’t really cross,” Huggins said. “You don’t want to make it out to be Duke-North Carolina. It’s not that at all.”
REMATCH >> Xavier, as an 11th seed, knocked off third-seeded Florida State last year 91-66 in the second round to advance to the Elite Eight. They meet again today.