The 2018–19 UMBC Retrievers men's basketball team represented the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a Public university, public research university in Catonsville, Maryland named after Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County. It had a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 un ...

in the

2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 6, 2018. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and the season concluded with the Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 8, 2019. Pract ...

. They played their home games at the UMBC Event Center in

Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland. The population was 44,701 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 US Census. The community is a streetcar suburb of Baltimore along the cit ...

, with one game being played at their former home, the

Retriever Activities Center Retriever Activities Center is a 4,024-seat multi-purpose arena in Catonsville, Maryland. The arena opened in 1973. It was home to the UMBC Retrievers basketball and volleyball teams, which represent the University of Maryland, Baltimore County i ...

, and were led by third-year head coach

Ryan Odom Ryan Odom (born July 11, 1974) is an American men's college basketball coach who is the head coach of the Virginia Cavaliers, Virginia Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball, Cavaliers men's basketball team since March 21, 2025. He has previously c ...

. They were members of the

America East Conference The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...

. They finished the season 21–13, 11–5 in America East play to finish in third place. They defeated Albany and

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

to advance to the championship game of the America East tournament where they lost to

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. Despite having 21 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

Previous season

The Retrievers finished the 2017–18 season 25–11, 12–4 in the America East Conference play to finish in second place. In the America East tournament, they beat

UMass Lowell The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a Public university, public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of M ...

and

to advance to the championship, where they defeated

. As a result, the Retrievers received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 16 seed in the South region, they defeated the No. 1 overall seed

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

by 20 points, becoming the first 16th-seeded team to beat a No. 1 seed. The win is considered either the biggest, or second-biggest, upset in NCAA Tournament history depending on seedings or point spreads. The Retrievers lost to

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public inst ...

in the second round.

Roster

Schedule and results

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2018-19 UMBC Retrievers men's basketball team UMBC Retrievers men's basketball seasons

UMBC Retrievers The UMBC Retrievers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, located in Catonsville, Maryland, in intercollegiate athletics as a member of the NCAA Division I, Division I level of the National Collegiate ...

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