K.J. Maura, former UMBC point guard, to attend Duke men's basketball's home game vs. Virginia

Next time Kyle Guy meets the Cameron Crazies, he will see the familiar face of K.J. Maura among them.
Next time Kyle Guy meets the Cameron Crazies, he will see the familiar face of K.J. Maura among them.

Virginia will come face to face with one of its worst nightmares again when the Cavaliers visit Cameron Indoor Stadium on Jan. 19.

Former UMBC point guard K.J. Maura, who helped orchestrate the biggest upset in NCAA tournament history when the 16th-seeded Retrievers took down then-No. 1 Virginia 74-54 in March, will stand with the Cameron Crazies in the student section during the highly-anticipated showdown in a month. 

Co-Head Line Monitor and Duke senior Steve Hassey invited Maura to the game on Twitter and set up a GoFundMe to pay for his flight. The page quickly spread among Duke students and reached its goal of $555 Friday night.

Maura played all 40 minutes in the stunning upset in Charlotte, scoring 10 points and dishing out three assists to help take down the Cavaliers. UMBC was eliminated in the next round, however. Maura, after graduating in May, now plays professionally in Puerto Rico, but will make the trip to Durham next month.

Virginia seems to be taking the news of a reunion in stride. Star point guard Kyle Guy acknowledged the GoFundMe campaign and even encouraged Virginia fans to contribute on Twitter Friday afternoon.


The No. 6 Cavaliers have started the season strong yet again as one of college basketball's nine remaining undefeated teams. If they stay perfect for the next month, it could set up a top-five matchup between the Blue Devils and Virginia at Cameron for the second straight year after the Cavaliers won a 65-63 thriller last season.

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