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Virginia's 71-56 win over Gardner-Webb on Friday had many things: inspired, improbable and, above all, revolutionary. If Virginia had lost in the NCAA tournament to a no. 16th seeded for the second consecutive season, head coach Tony Bennett was reportedly sent away. (Hey, I do not make the rules.) Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome would have been immediately absorbed by the transfer portal. Virginia basketball would have been relegated to division III, via the never-before-applicable What the hell, those were No. 16 seeds stopped. It's hard to exaggerate the importance of this game for Virginia. Yet, after accumulating 14 points in the first period and amassing 36-30, the Cavaliers fought back to overthrow a massive college basketball juggernaut and head to Saturday's second-round clash against Oklahoma.
Last year, Virginia's men's basketball season ended in embarrassment as Bennett's team fell to 16th place in the University of Maryland-Baltimore, becoming the first no. 1 seed in the history of the tournament to lose to a no. 16 seeds. (The # 1 seeds were 135-0 vs. 16 before.) It was a devastating blow to Bennett, who won the nation's praise while making Hoos one of the most consistent programs in the country. The Cavaliers entered in March 2018 Madness with a record of 31-2, then were completely humiliated by the Retrievers. Virginia would have been canceled if she had succumbed to the hands (paws?) Runnin 'Bulldogs this time.
But this team persevered! Nobody believed in the Cavaliers, but they did it! Of course, they went 29-3 and were named a no. 1 seed for the third time in four years. But who among us is not helpless against a pack of bulldogs (jogging? Off the gate, the Hoos offensive – Kenya's second most effective crime, according to KenPom – lacked an open look, both on the edge and perimeter. On the other hand, the Cavaliers' sultry defense was torn by the third best team at the Big South conference.
After halftime, however, Virginia rolled. Gardner-Webb was 21 points ahead of the last 20 minutes. The future NBA pick, De'Andre Hunter, led all scorers with 23 points. The person who manages the Gardner-Webb Sports Department Twitter account was avoided excessive stress.
In a few years, when we return to the history of university basketball, this match will be presented as an unforgettable moment – both for Virginia and for the sport in the broad sense. On December 23, 1982, the Cavaliers lost to Chaminade. On March 16, 2018, they lost to UMBC. And on March 22, 2019, they rallied to beat Gardner-Webb. At a time when Texas A & M was 12 points behind in 44.3 seconds, it was arguably the biggest return in NCAA history. You simply can not write a better story.
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