UMBC's Joe Sherburne Is NCAA Hero From Wisconsin

CHARLOTTE, NC — The University of Maryland, Baltimore County Retrievers upset of the Virginia Cavaliers in the opening round of the 2018 NCAA tournament is less than 24 hours old, yet it is being considered one of the greatest upsets in sports history. That's because UMBC has become first-ever 16-seed in the tournament to upset a #1 in the NCAA men’s tournament by beating Virginia 74-54 late Friday.

One of those players for UMBC, three-point-shooting guard/forward Joe Sherburne, is a Whitefish Bay High School graduate who went on to have a starring role in that game. Sherburne made 5 of 11 shots, including 3 of 8 three-pointers. He collected 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 14 points in 29 minutes of floor time against the Cavaliers.

In the locker room before the game, Sherburne said his team wanted to be this year's Cinderella team - an improbable outsider that takes center stage - only to have their wish come true.

"We kind of all wanted to be a part of the One Shining Moment video," he said during a jubilant postgame press conference. "In the locker room we were all singing the last line, because it's all we know, but I think we're going to have to learn the rest of the song."

Starred At Whitefish Bay

Sherburne graduated from Whitefish Bay High School in 2014. He moved on to Brewster Academy in New Hampshire before enrolling at UMBC.

He was a Whitefish Bay NOW All Suburban selection during the 2013-14 basketball season, and also earned Honorable Mention All-State and Academic All-State honors. Sherburne earned a U.S. Army Reserve National Scholar-Athlete Award, and was selected to play in the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches’ Association Division 2 All-Star game as a high-schooler. Sherburne finished his high school career with 120 3-pointers. During his three full years on varsity, the Blue Dukes were a combined 51-20.

Biggest Upset Ever

Before Friday night's game, 16-seeds were 0-135 against 1-seeds in the men's tournament.

Virginia came into the tournament as the number-one overall seed after going 31-2 in the regular season playing college basketball's sixth-toughest schedule, including a 20-1 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

According to Ken Pomeroy - a leading college basketball analyst - the game looked like an easy win for Virginia just based on the numbers.

Virginia had the country's best defense and one of the most dominant defenses of all-time to go along with a top-30 offense. UMBC, on the other hand, was by far the worst team in this year's tournament - even at 25-10.

Photo Credit: CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 16: Jourdan Grant #5 and teammate Arkel Lamar #33 of the UMBC Retrievers react after a score against the Virginia Cavaliers during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)