UMBC almost had another upset but ran out of gas against Kansas State

UMBC’s incredible, one-game Cinderella run in the NCAA tournament ended Sunday night. In a game defined by poor shooting, Kansas State beat the 16th-seeded Retrievers in Charlotte, 50-43. K-State will play Kentucky in the Sweet 16 next weekend in Atlanta, where none of the top four seeds in the South Region will play for a Final Four berth. It’s the first time in history that all four top seeds from a region lost on the opening weekend.

The game was a brick fight. During one 10-minute period in the middle of the second half, the teams combined to score 17 points. Both struggled to get the ball through the hoop, and UMBC’s struggles from the field were especially striking given how well they shot the rock two nights earlier in their historic upset of No. 1 Virginia. That was UMBC’s second-best shooting game of the season by effective field goal percentage, and it came against the best defense in college basketball. Points came harder against an inferior K-State.

All told, UMBC shot 30 percent from the field. It’s hard to win that way.

UMBC will always be remembered for what it pulled off on Friday. The Retrievers didn’t just become the first 16th seed to win a men’s NCAA tournament game. They did it by absolutely shattering the top overall seed in the field. And they became the most famous basketball team in the world for one glorious weekend on Twitter.

Kansas State got to the round of 32 in less memorable fashion, by beating No. 8 Creighton in a standard 8-versus-9 affair that unfolds without incident four times a year. The Wildcats didn’t expect to be put in the position of needing to slay Cinderella this soon in the tournament, but UMBC was plucky even on a night when it didn’t sink every shot. K-State’s lead wasn’t at all safe until the last minute, when it finally pulled away.