Jared McCain drops 2-word reaction as New Mexico’s March Madness upset run continues

During his college days, Philadelphia 76ers rookie Jared McCain played for the storied Duke program, going as far as the Elite Eight in 2024. On Friday, the former ACC All-Rookie team member sent love to an underdog team in the South Region.

That night, No. 10 New Mexico overcame No. 7 Marquette 75-66 in the first round of March Madness. Following the Lobos's victory, McCain gave the team a shoutout on Instagram:

"DAAA BOYYY," McCain wrote in his caption.

Jared McCain sends a shoutout to the New Mexico Lobos. (Credits: IG/Jared McCain)

Donovan Dent started the game slowly, but his second-half performance (21 points, three rebounds, and six assists) powered the Lobos to the win and continued New Mexico's impressive run in March, during which they picked up victories against other formidable Mountain West Conference teams like UNLV and Nevada.

New Mexico's win on Friday also marks several firsts. As indicated in the IG story that McCain shared, this is the Lobos' first March Madness win since 2012, when they defeated Long Beach State in the round of 64. Going further back, New Mexico's first-round win on Friday was the first time since 1999 they hammered out a victory as a lower seed.

In addition, the Lobos gave coach Richard Pitino his first-ever win in the NCAA tournament. Pitino took on the role in 2021, but New Mexico came up short last year when it faced Clemson in the round of 64.

Though McCain never crossed paths with New Mexico in March Madness, he had enough good reason to join in on celebrating the Lobos' exhilarating win.

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Jared McCain sends message to "the best team in the country"

Jared McCain, of course, remains loyal to the university where he played his lone college season. In a clip posted Wednesday on the Sixers' official X account (formerly Twitter), the 21-year-old guard sent a message to the Duke Blue Devils:

"This is Jared McCain, and I'm wishing the Duke Blue Devils, the best team in the country, the no. 1 seed, good luck in the tournament," he said in the clip. "The 2025 national champions. Go Duke."

Duke's run toward this year's national title will be spearheaded by Cooper Flagg, who is widely projected to go no. 1 in the 2025 NBA Draft. Of course, there's a slim chance that Flagg will play alongside McCain as the 76ers could end up in the Draft lottery.