When the first sellout crowd in the history of UMBC men’s basketball gathers Saturday at noon at RAC Arena to watch the best team in Baltimore try to earn its first Division I trip to the NCAA Tournament, some uninitiated fans will look at the tiny guy with the crew cut and wonder what he’s doing there.

That’s quite all right. From the time he was a first-grader falling in love with his ability to make taller opponents look bad with the ball in his hands, UMBC junior point guard Jay Greene has seen the looks, heard the catcalls, silenced the doubters.

With his squatty, 5-foot-8, 165-pound build, Greene resembles a shrub among the trees on the court — until he starts slicing through defenses with his ankle-breaking drives and crisp passes and unerring decisions.

Greene, who is second in the nation with 7.3 assists per game, is the Little Big Man On Campus at UMBC, which will attempt to enhance its magical season by winning the America East Conference Tournament against visiting Hartford (18-15).

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A victory gives the Retrievers (23-8) an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as a likely No. 15 seed, or a possible No. 14. By winning just its second, regular season Division I crown, UMBC already has clinched an appearance in the 32-team National Invitation Tournament.

Under fourth-year coach Randy Monroe, a longtime assistant at UMBC before getting the keys to the program, it has all come together dramatically this winter.

With a blend of high school recruits such as shooting guard Brian Hodges and forward Justin Fry and instant-impact transfers Darryl Proctor, Ray Barbosa and Cavell Johnson, the Retrievers have been the model of good shooting, smarts, unselfishness and consistency.

And it all starts with the tireless conductor, the former standout at Whitehall (Pa.) High School, the short dude who plays 37.1 minutes per game and can’t possibly be this dominant, can he?

Oh yes, he can.

“[Greene] sees things nobody else does. He does things that make you go, ‘How did he do that‚’” said Proctor, the junior forward and Coppin State transfer who is UMBC’s leading rebounder. “He’s the best reason we’re here.”

UMBC is in this historically lofty position because the Retrievers are a smooth-running, small-college collection of complementary players who embrace their roles with bear hugs.

Proctor is the rebounding animal with a sweet jump shot. Johnson is a deft shot blocker who feasts on the offensive glass. Barbosa is the best penetrator and a pure scorer. Hodges is a killer from three-point range.

But what has set UMBC apart from so many opponents is the way it clings to the ball with such economy. The Retrievers don’t just value possessions: They protect them like workers guarding the queen bee — and that’s where Greene comes in. That’s where the identity of this squad begins.

There are 341 schools playing Division I basketball. UMBC is ranked first in the country in fewest turnovers (9.5) per game and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.62).

Hundreds players have manned the point guard position this season. Greene is second among them in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.53). He is the only player ranked in the top five in that category and assists per game.

Greene, a first-team, all-conference selection, is the main reason five UMBC players — Proctor, Johnson, Hodges and Barbosa included — have attained all-league honors for the first time in school history. He is the reason the Retrievers, who average 74.9 points per game, have improved their scoring average by a whopping 15.4 points per game this year.

Defenses simply don’t know where the damage is coming from, since Greene has been so good at dissecting them with his vision and court sense, and the Retrievers have combined great shot selection with skillful shooting (39 percent from three-point range) on such a regular basis.

Seven games into this season, five different starters already had led the Retrievers in scoring. Barbosa, Hodges, Proctor and Johnson each is averaging at least 10 points per game. And Greene, a 40.7 shooter from beyond the arc, has led the team in scoring three times.

“I like running the team. I like being the coach out there. Ever since I started playing, I felt like I was better than whoever was guarding me,” Greene said. “I’ve always been the littlest guy on the floor. I’ve always heard people say I can’t do this, can’t do that. I have a knack for seeing guys who can’t see me. Guys feed off of what I’m doing. I just needed a school like this to give me a chance. I love to prove people wrong.”

Watch Greene on Saturday.

Chances are, he’ll show you.

Gary Lambrecht writes about the NFL, Major League Baseball and college sports. He can be reached at glambrecht@baltimoreexaminer.com.