NCAA Tournament 2019: Purdue, Ja Morant and Virginia among early winners

Virginia Cavaliers

So Virginia almost lost to a 16-seed, again. Imagine not only being the first 1-seed to lose to a 16-seed in an NCAA Tournament, but having that happen twice and to the same team. I heard some outrageous suggestions on what should happen had the Cavaliers lost that game, ranging from firing Tony Bennett and not allowing him back on the bus to suspending Virginia from NCAA Tournament play for one year.

Obviously, that second suggestion is not possible and extremely ridiculous, but it was still entertaining. As I watched the first half of the Gardner-Webb Virginia game, I was uncomfortable for the Cavaliers and I have no notable ties to that school. It was hard to watch solely as an unaffiliated observer and it was abundantly clear that the players from last year’s Virginia team had not gotten over the horrific lost to UMBC in last year’s Tournament. They were forgetting to box out on the defensive glass, turning the ball over and taking forced shots.

The Cavaliers were a shell of the team that we saw in the regular season. Yet, facing a six point halftime deficit, Virginia bounced back and outscored Gardner-Webb 41-20 in the second half. That is why I have included Virginia on this list. They were going to have to overcome their nerves and move past last year and the only way to do that was in the NCAA Tournament. It didn’t matter that the Cavaliers only lost 3 games in the regular season. This was their biggest test, as trivial as it may seem considering they were playing a 16-seed, but they have slayed their giant and are ready to make a run at the Championship.