UMBC basketball team arrives at NCAA Tournament site after weather delay at Baltimore airport

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) men's basketball team was delayed for more than three hours at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport because of severe weather on Monday as it was preparing to leave for its NCAA Tournament destination. The Retrievers, the champions of the America East Conference, eventually arrived in Dayton, Ohio, where they will play Howard University in the tournament's First Four at 6:40 p.m. on Tuesday. According to its boisterous social media page, UMBC finalized its flight plans at 10 p.m. on Sunday, three hours after learning where they were playing. They were scheduled to fly out of Baltimore at noon on Monday. "Even though Howard is already in Dayton, we will be ready...if we ever take off," the social media admin stated. Severe weather forced hundreds of flights at BWI to either be cancelled or delayed. As of 8:30 p.m. on Monday, more than 200 flights were delayed, and 165 were cancelled at BWI, according to FlightAware. A Ground Stop was also issued at the airport around 2:45 p.m. and ended around 5:15 p.m., according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). UMBC is back in the NCAA Tournament UMBC (24-8) defeated Vermont last Saturday in the America East Championship Game, earning a trip to the Big Dance. The Retrievers will play Howard (23-10) on Tuesday in a game between two 16 seeds, for a trip to Buffalo, New York, and a chance to play No. 1 seed Michigan at 7:10 p.m. on Thursday. D.J. Armstrong Jr., the son of former NBA veteran Darrell Armstrong, was named the America East Tournament Most Outstanding Player after pouring in 33 points in the championship game. Ace Valentine chipped in 13 points, Josh Odunowo added 8, and Jose Roberto Tanchyn contributed 7 points and 10 rebounds. Armstrong averages 13.2 points per game for UMBC this season. Teammate Jah'Likai posts 13.9 points per game. Valentine averages 12 points per game. The last time UMBC was in the NCAA Tournament, in 2018, it became the first 16th seed to beat a No. 1 seed. The Retrievers beat Virginia, 75-54, in Charlotte, North Carolina.