WASHINGTON — The University of Maryland-Baltimore County鈥檚 (UMBC) whirlwind ride in America鈥檚 hugely popular NCAA collegiate basketball tournament ended Sunday with a 50-43 loss to Kansas State.

Two days after UMBC authored a historic upset of overall top-seed Virginia — the first 16th seed ever to knock off a number one — the Retrievers were on their way home.

Kansas State鈥檚 Wildcats took full advantage of UMBC鈥檚 shooting struggles to reach the 鈥淪weet 16鈥 for the first time since 2010 — when they made it all the way to the 鈥淓lite Eight.鈥

鈥淩etriever Fever鈥 had gripped US hoops fans after UMBC toppled Virginia 74-54 on Friday — an upset that busted bracket predictions across the nation and catapulted the unheralded team to prominence.

The UMBC website crashed during the game thanks to the number of people seeking information on the Retrievers and the 13,000-student campus at Catonsville, Maryland, located about a 10-minute drive from downtown Baltimore.

The UMBC Athletics Twitter account jumped from 5,000 to 43,000 followers thanks to its funny and passionate remarks about naysayers and non-believers.

By Sunday night, the Twitter feed had 109,000 followers, and Stephen Curry, superstar of the NBA鈥檚 Golden State Warriors, teamed with apparel manufacturer Under Armour to supply the squad with limited-release edition Curry V shoes for the game against Kansas State. — AFP

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