Gerry Broome, AP
UMBC's Jairus Lyles (10) shoots against Virginia during the second half of a first-round game in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, March 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
TAYLORSVILLE — Jairus Lyles figured that maybe when the first ball was tipped on Thursday morning to start this year’s NCAA Tournament, the feelings of being an instrumental part of making history would get conjured back up inside him without much prompting.
Thirty-six hours prior, however, the Salt Lake City Stars guard said the nation’s preparation for the Big Dance hadn’t done a whole lot to cause him to independently recall everything that surrounded his UMBC Retrievers becoming the first-ever 16-seed to beat a 1-seed in the tournament, a feat many thought would never happen before the Retrievers trounced the Virginia Cavaliers 74-54 in 2018 and became the talk of the country.