CHARLOTTE, N.C. — 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. On any other night, they’d have started a “Fortnite” video game battle to unwind.
The gamers sat this one out.
The only devices the Retrievers were tethered to were their phones.
UMBC had made history as the first No. 16 seed in NCAA Men’s Tournament history to knock off a No. 1 seed, the University of Virginia, and the texts and the calls never stopped buzzing.
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.
