College coaches at ranked teams across the country should send a round of Christmas cards to the Evansville and UMBC basketball programs – and, by extension, to Kentucky and Virginia.
Now, whenever coaching a team projected to beat an overmatched opponent by a boatload of points, they have a pair of unassailable examples they can cite. Just a week ago, Evansville knocked off top-ranked Kentucky as 25-point underdogs. And less than two years ago, UMBC toppled Virginia in the first-ever opening-round upset of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Chris Holtmann didn’t shy away from referencing those games ahead of Ohio State’s tussle with Stetson on Monday night.