2019 NCAA Tournament: Who will be the 2019 UMBC? 5 likely candidates

By Jacob Lane | Mar 20, 2019

CHARLOTTE, NC - MARCH 16: K.J. Maura #11 and teammate Jourdan Grant #5 of the UMBC Retrievers celebrate their 74-54 victory over 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 Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

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WICHITA, KS – MARCH 15: Ahmaad Rorie #14 of the Montana Grizzlies drives toward the basket as Jon Teske #15 of the Michigan Wolverines defends during the first round of the NCAA Basketball Tournament at INTRUST Arena on March 15, 2018 in Wichita, Kansas. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Montana

Seed: 15

Matchup: No. 2 Michigan

A fun fact for this year’s 2019 NCAA Tournament: Which current 15-seed played a current two-seed last year in the first round of the tournament?

Answer: Montana, who played No. 3 seed Michigan last year as the 14-seed in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. So, basically what we have here is a rematch of last year’s 61-47 Michigan win.

Why would this season be any different? Montana played last year’s game rather close, showing some defensive firepower by holding everyone in Michigan’s starting lineup not named Charles Matthews to a combined 21 points on seven-of-22 shooting from the field. Michigan did slow down a dynamite Montana scoring offense, limiting leading scorer Ahmad Rorie to just 15 points, while the team shot 32 percent collectively from the field.

The odds are low as Michigan has been a dominant team all season, but Montana did win 26 games this season, including 16 of their final 18, 12 of which were without their leading scorer Jamar Akoh.

It would take Montana playing a lights-out game on both sides of the floor and having some big shots go their way. It’s unlikely, but not out of the question.

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