Men's Basketball 3/15/2026 1:44:00 PM

Men's Basketball Draws Howard In the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament "First Four" Play-In; Retrievers Head to Dayton on Tuesday Night

The wInner will face top-seeded Michigan in Buffalo on Thursday at 7:10 p.m.

No. 16 UMBC vs. No. 16 Howard (Winner plays #1 Michigan in Buffalo, N.Y. on Thursday | | The 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament "First Four" Play-In | Tuesday, March 17, 6:40 p.m. | Dayton, Ohio
Tournament Bracket

HOW WE GOT HERE

For the first time since 2018, the UMBC Retrievers are going dancing! UMBC closed out the America East Championship game on a monster run, outscoring Vermont 28-10 over the final 7:21 to clinch its third America East title with a 74-59 victory on Saturday afternoon inside a sold-out Chesapeake Arena crowd of 4,753 fans.
DJ Armstrong Jr., the America East Tournament Most Outstanding Player, scored a career high 33 points on 9-11 shooting, including 20 second-half points to push the Retrievers to victory. Armstrong Jr.'s 33 points were the most scored by a player in the America East Championship Game since Jameel Warney scored 43 for Stony Brook in an 80-74 victory over Vermont in 2016.
Armstrong Jr.'s hot run for the Retrievers started late in the first half as he scored eight points in the final 3:04, including a jumper just before the shot clock sounded with five seconds left in the half to send UMBC into the locker room with a 30-28 lead.
The Retrievers (24-8), predicted to finish seventh in the preseason, quickly built a seven-point lead in the second half, getting a triple from Armstrong Jr. and a pair of free throws from Ace Valentine at the 16:57 mark to put UMBC ahead 37-30. The lead reached eight at the 15:25 mark as Josh Odunowo finished inside to make it 41-33 Retrievers.
The Catamounts (22-12) would use a 12-3 run to take their first lead of the second half with 9:19 on the clock as TJ Hurley finished at the rim, but Caden Diggs responded to put UMBC back ahead by one with 8:39 to play. Vermont would retake the lead and push it to three on a dunk from Noah Barnett, but Armstrong Jr. drilled a triple to tie the contest with 6:04 to play, and the Retrievers didn't let up from there.
A Valentine jumper, plus the foul, put the Retrievers back ahead for good with 5:22 to play. Armstrong Jr. gave UMBC a 61-54 advantage with 2:26 on the clock as he connected on his fifth three of the game, drawing a foul in the process to send the packed house into a frenzy. After converting on the four-point play, he lined it up from distance again, pushing UMBC ahead by eight as the clock read 1:51.
The Retrievers, who have won a program record 12 straight games, were a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe over the final 1:29 to close out the championship.
Valentine chipped in with 13 points, four assists, and three rebounds in the victory with Jose Roberto Tanchyn and Odunowo combining for 15 points, 15 rebounds, and three blocks inside for UMBC. America East Sixth Man of the Year Caden Diggs added seven points, six rebounds, and two steals in 26 minutes off the bench.

UMBC vs. HOWARD

UMBC trails the all-time series, 5-2.
The Retrievers and Bison met last season in Baltimore with the Retrievers coming up with a 95-77 victory. It was the first time the squads had met since the 2015-16 season.
Senior guard Bryce Johnson scored 26 of his game-high 28 points in the second half as the host Retrievers pulled away from the Howard Bison, 95-77, at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena on November, 25. 2024.
Johnson, who came off the bench for the first time this season and played 27 minutes, buried 10-of-15 field goal attempts, including 4-of-7 from behind the arc.
Senior guard Marcus Banks Jr. recorded 17 points and added six rebounds and three steals, sophomore guard Ace Valentine contributed 16 points and distributed a game-high seven assists, and forward Josh Odunowo registered 16 points.
Blake Harper had 20 points for the Bison.

UMBC vs. MICHIGAN

UMBC dropped a 66-54 decision to the Wolverines in their lone meeting during the 2006-07 season (Nov. 25).
The Retrievers went 12-19 that season.

RETRIEVER HISTORY

The Retrievers are competing in their 59th season and their 40th season of D1 hoops in Baltimore.
UMBC has a record of 697-959 (.420) all-time.
The Retrievers are 502-676 (.425) at the DI level (40th season).
UMBC has competed in the East Coast Conference, Big South, NEC, and America East
The Dawgs have now won four regular-season championships at the Division I level (3 AE, 2 outright, 1 NEC ) and three AE Tournament titles.
UMBC has now recorded its 6th 20-win season as a DI member and its first since 2018-19. The program's win record was set in 2017-18 with 25. The 2007-08 squad also won 24 games.
The Retrievers went 17-3 (.850) in league play as a member of the Northeast Conference in 1998-99 under Tom Sullivan. That squad won a previous DI program-best 11 straight games

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The Dawgs are making their third appearance in the NCAA Tournament (2008, 2018).
The Retrievers dropped an opening round game to Georgetown in Raleigh in 2008.

SWEET VIRGINIA

Final Score: UMBC 74, Virginia 54 (Charlotte, NC).
Halftime Score: The game was tied 21-21 at halftime before UMBC dominated the second half 53-33.
Star Performer: Jairus Lyles led the Retrievers with 28 points.
Historical Significance: Before this game, No. 16 seeds were 0-135 against No. 1 seeds in NCAA tournament history.
Virginia's Defense: The Cavaliers led the nation in scoring defense (53.4 points allowed per game) but allowed 74, the only time that season they allowed 70 or more points.
The Dawgs dropped a 50-43 decision to Kansas State in the round of 32.

TWITTER HYSTERIA

@UMBCAthletics (now X) exploded during the massive upset by going all-in on fun and fearless.
The account added 35,000 followers in one night.

HISTORIC SEASON CONTINUES

The Dawgs accomplished their best DI conference winning percentage in program history this season (14-2, .875) and their fewest losses.
UMBC has won 12 straight contests, the second-longest current streak in the country. (High Point, 14).
The Retrievers are 36th in the country with a .750 winning percentage.
UMBC is tied for the third-best single-season conference win improvement (+8) in league history after winning just five AE games last season.
Head Coach Jim Ferry recorded his 400th career win at Maine. He is the first coach in program history to reach that mark. He's now 83-76 in five years at UMBC.
Ferry has won at least 18 games in three of his five seasons at UMBC and has recorded his first 20-win season as a Retriever in 25-26. It's the 7th 20-win season of his career.
The Retrievers went 15-2 at home this season and were a perfect 8-0 in America East regular season games at the 'Peake + three more in the AE Tournament. It's the first time the Retrievers have gone undefeated in the league on their home floor. The 15 wins equals a program record (2007-08).
UMBC is 2nd in the country in fewest fouls allowed per game (13.3).
The Retrievers lead the league with a +9.2 scoring margin and are 46th in the country in the category.
UMBC is 28th in the NCAA in scoring defense (67.3 ppg.), which is tops in the AE. Last season, the Dawgs yielded 78.8 ppg.
UMBC leads the league with 27.3 defensive rebounds per game (21st NCAA).
The Dawgs are 24th in the country with just 9.6 turnovers per game.
The Retrievers outscored their 16 America East opponents by a combined total of 255-150 from the free-throw line during the regular season. (5.9 more makes per game).
The Retrievers are 47th in the NCAA in free-throw shooting at 76.2 percent.
UMBC led the America East in the following categories: Points Per Game, Points Per Game Allowed, Scoring Margin, FT Percentage, Field Goal Percentage, 3-Point Field Goal Percentage, and Turnover Margin.

INDIVIDUAL SUPERLATIVES

Junior guard Jah'Likai King is 7th in the league in scoring at 13.9 ppg. and graduate student guard DJ Armstrong Jr is 10th (13.2 ppg.).
Armstrong leads the conference in 3-point shooting accuracy (.420, 37th in NCAA) and 3's per game (2.6, 88th in NCAA). He drilled his 200th career triple at Bryant on Jan. 15.
DJ's 87 treys are the fourth most in UMBC single-season history.
Armstrong Jr. made his first 22 free throw attempts in conference play before missing two straight in the 2nd half at Vermont. Those were his only two misses in the conference as he went 33-for-35 (.943) during the regular season.
Junior guard Ace Valentine leads the conference with a 2.95 assist/turnover ratio (31st NCAA) and is third in assists per game (4.0).
Graduate student forward Josh Odunowo, a career 60 percent foul shooter, has converted 44-of-53 (.830) attempts over the last 13 games. He's finished 10th in the league from the stripe in AE contests (.764).
Odunowo hit 1,000 career points in the AE semifinals and become the third Retriever to hit the mark this season (Armstrong Jr., King).
Jose Tanchyn has posted double-figure rebound totals in nine of his last 14 contests and is averaging 8.4 points and 9.4 boards during the Retrievers current 12-game winning streak.

AMERICA EAST POSTSEASON AWARDS

Three Retrievers earned America East All-Conference Team accolades. Jah'Likai King (First Team), DJ Armstrong Jr (Second Team), Ace Valentine (Second Team). It's the first time the Retrievers have had three honorees since the 2021-22 season.
Caden Diggs was named the 6th Man of the Year. He is just the second Retriever to win the award and the first since Keondre Kennedy in 2020-21.
Jim Ferry was named the Coach of the Year. It's the third time a UMBC coach has won the award and the first since Ryan Odom (2020-21).
Josh Odunowo made the All-Defensive Team.
Armstrong Jr. and Valentine both made the All-Academic Team.

'PEAK CAPACITY

The Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena ('The Peak) drew a capacity record crowd of 4,753 rowdy fans for the America East Championship game versus Vermont this past Saturday morning.
It was UMBC's first championship in the sport of basketball, won on the "Peake floor.

INSIDE THE 12-GAME WIN STREAK

The Retrievers have won 10 of the 12 games by double figures.
UMBC owns a 16.9 ppg. margin of victory (78.8 - 61.9).
UMBC is holding opponents to a combined .394 field goal percentage.
Opponents are shooting .293 percent (86-for-294) from behind the arc.
UMBC is shooting .811 from the foul line (197-for-243).
The Dawgs are outrebounding opponents by an average of 5.8 rebounds per game.
Six Retrievers are averaging at least 8.4 ppg. (Valentine (13.9), Armstron Jr. (13.2), King (12.8), Odunowo (10.2), Diggs (9.7), and Tanchyn (8.4)
Tanchyn is also averaging 9.4 rebounds per game.
Valentine is netting a team-best 13.9 ppg. and is shooting .528 overall (57-for-108) and .410 (18-for-43). He also has a team-best 14 steals and 43 helpers.
UMBC is shooting .374 from behind the arc (98-for-261).

WOULDN'T IT BE GRAND

Three Retrievers have reached the 1,000th career point mark during the current season.
Jah'Likai King went over the mark at George Washington on Nov. 19.
DJ Armstrong Jr reached the plateau at home against UAlbany on February 21.
Josh Odunowo entered the club against UMass Lowell in the AE semifinals.

THANKS FOR THE CHARITY

The Retrievers outscored their 16 America East opponents by a combined total of 255-150 from the free-throw line. (5.9 more makes per game) during the regular season.
The Retrievers are 47th in the NCAA in free-throw shooting at 76.2 percent.
UMBC shot a league-best .799 percent in the AE play while its foes went a league-worst .636 percent.

PLAY THAT HIT AGAIN, MR. DJ

Armstrong Jr. earned Second Team America East honors and was named to the AE All-Academic Team.
The son of former NBA great Darrell Armstrong was named the America East Tournament MVP after his 33-point (AE title game record 7 treys) performance in the championship game.
He's 10th in the America East in scoring (13.2 ppg.) and is 1st in 3s per game (2.7) and 3-point field goal percentage (.420). He's swished at least two treys in 23-of-32 contests this season.
Armstrong's trey against Morgan State (11/11) was the first time UMBC hit a game-winner in the final five seconds since Craig Beaudion II. (11/20/22 vs. Central Conn.).
Armstrong Jr. followed that up with a buzzer-beater to defeat Wagner in overtime on Nov. 16.
Armstrong Jr. was named the America East Co-Player of the Week on Nov. 17.
Armstrong Jr. was featured on #SCTop10 twice. Teammate Jah'Likai King also made the list after his crossover move and hoop against Penn State York.
He also came up clutch by hitting two free throws in a one-and-one situation with 0.9 on the clock in the 75-74 win over UNH (1/10).
DJ also enjoyed a then career-high game at Coppin State, scoring 31 points on 10-of-16 shooting. He drilled a career-best eight treys in 14 tries. The eight makes are tied for the third-most in program history,

THE KING OF BALTIMORE

King was named to the America East All-Conference First Team.
Currently, King leads the team in scoring with an average of 13.9 points per game, ranking 7th in the league. He is also 19th in steals (0.9). Additionally, King is 4th in free-throw percentage at .828.
King has scored 20 or more points a team-high eight times this season and has been in double-figures in a team-best 24-of-31 games played.
King went over the 1,000-pt mark for his career at GW on November 18. King scored 934 points in his first two seasons at New Haven (DII) before coming to Baltimore this season. He currently has a team-high 1,364 career points.
King was named AE Player of the Week on December 8. The Newburg, New York native averaged 19.5 points while shooting an impressive 54% from the field during two road games against Georgetown and Bucknell.
King also recorded his 300th career rebound at Vermont.
UMBC is 8-2 when King records UMBC's first bucket of the game.

ACE IN THE HOLE

Guard Ace Valentine continues to play a key role on both ends of the floor and earned his first America East All-Conference selection as he was named to the Second Team. He also earned All-Academic Team honors. Valentine was named to the AE All-Tournament Team after the Dawgs were victorious on Saturday.
Valentinel leads the conference and is 31st in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (2.95) and is fourth in the AE in assists per game (4.0).
Valentine is averaging a team-high 13.9 ppg. during UMBC's current 12-game winning streak and is shooting .528 percent during the stretch. He's reached double-figures in scoring in 11 of the 12 games.
The junior is fourth in the league overall in field goal percentage (.506) and also ranked sixth in conference games (.522).
Valentine surpassed 300 career assists in the AE quarterfinal win against UNH.
He needs just nine assists to move into 10th on UMBC's all-time list.
Ace, who now has 823 points in his career, had reached double-figures in scoring in a career-best eight straight games until being held to eight points in the regular-season finale at NJIT.
The Retrievers are 8-0 when Valentine records UMBC's first bucket of the game.

TANCHYN GAINING MAJOR STEAM

Junior forward Jose Tanchyn has started 15 of the last 16 games in the frontcourt, and the team is 14-2 in his starts.
The AE All Tournament member finished 4th on the circuit with 7.8 rpg in conference play.
He averaged 23.5 mpg, 8.5 ppg. and 7.8 rpg. in AE contests.
Tanchyn averaged 4.2 ppg. and 2.7 rpg. in just 12.1 mpg. during the non-conference season.
The Spaniard recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 11 boards in the home victory against Binghamton on Feb. 5 and added another one at UMass Lowell (12 pts, 13 reb).
Tanchyn has posted double-figures in rebounds in nine of his last 14 contests.
He's averaging 8.4 points and 9.4 rebounds during UMBC's 12-game winning streak.
Tanchyn recorded his 500th career rebound in the AE quarterfinal win against UNH.

WE DIG IT

Sophomore forward Caden Diggs was named the America East Sixth Man of the Year.
Diggs erupted for a career-high 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting in 24 minutes off the bench against Buffalo. Diggs also knocked down a career-best three 3-pointers.
Diggs recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds earlier in the season against Wagner.
Diggs reached double figures in scoring in 11 of 16 AE contests and averaged 10.4 ppg. during the stretch.

A PROGRAM ON THE RISE

UMBC is enjoying its best stretch in program history, as the Retrievers have gone 181-136 (.571) over the past 10 seasons. They are 94-67 (.584) in AE play.
UMBC enjoyed three straight 20+ win seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19. Their 25 victories in 2017-18 were a program-high.
UMBC became the first #16 seed to knock off a #1 seed when the Retrievers shocked Virginia, 74-54, in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena (formerly the UMBC Event Center) officially opened on Feb. 3, 2018, as the UMBC men's basketball team hosted the Vermont Catamounts before a capacity crowd of 4,753. Both the men's and women's basketball teams played their February and March games in the new facility, which included three postseason victories.
The on-campus facility can accommodate nearly 6,000 patrons for commencements, concerts, featured speakers, and other events. It includes spectator facilities, such as concessions, catering, hospitality, restrooms, security, and guest services.

COACH FERRY

Jim Ferry is in his 26th season as a collegiate head coach and his fifth at UMBC.
Ferry owns an 84-76 record (.525) in Baltimore. He holds the 2nd-best winning percentage at UMBC behind Ryan Odom (.660)
Ferry is the 7th DI head coach at UMBC.
Ferry picked up his 400th career win against Maine this season.
Ferry led the Retrievers to consecutive 18-14 records as well as an appearance in the America East Finals in 2021-22.
Ferry is the third UMBC Head Coach to take the Retrievers to the NCAA Tournament.
Ferry was recently named the America East Coach of the Year, the third time a UMBC coach has won the award.
Prior to his arrival in Baltimore, Ferry served in 2020-21 as the interim head coach at Penn State. He led the Nittany Lions to an 11-14 overall mark and a 7-12 Big Ten record, including wins over NCAA Tournament teams No. 14 Wisconsin, No. 15 Virginia Tech, Rutgers, and Maryland (twice).
Ferry spent 10 seasons as head coach at LIU Brooklyn, guiding the program to unprecedented levels of success. He led the Blackbirds to the Northeast Conference regular-season titles and tournament championships in 2011 and 2012, including their first NCAA Championship appearance in 14 years.

MILESTONE WATCH

1400 career points, Jah'Likai King (1,364)
250 career assists, Jah'Likai King (226)
350 career rebounds, Jah'Likai King (328)
100 career steals, Jah'Likai King (94)
1,000 career points, Josh Odunowo (1016)
550 career rebounds, Josh Odunowo (556)
100 career blocks, Josh Odunowo (82)
850 career points, Ace Valentine (823)
350 career assists, Ace Valentine (309)
1100 career points, DJ Armstrong Jr. (1089)
250 career 3-pointers, DJ Armstrong Jr. (241)
550 rebounds, Jose Tanchyn (525)

2025-26 AE PRESEASON POLL
1. Vermont 63 (7)
T2. Maine 47 (1)
T2. UAlbany 47
4. UMass Lowell 39 (1)
5. Binghamton 37
6. Bryant 35
7. UMBC 31
8. NJIT 13
9. New Hampshire 12

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