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March Madness 2019: Luck a big factor in Virginia Basketball’s run to title game

By Colton Molesky

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers looks on in the second half during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal against the Auburn Tigers at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - APRIL 06: Head coach Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers looks on in the second half during the 2019 NCAA Final Four semifinal against the Auburn Tigers at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 6, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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Virginia Basketball were the first team in history to lose to a 16 seed in the Tournament, so you could say they deserved a break… but the Cavaliers should not have made it this far.

On Saturday night Virginia Basketball beat the Auburn Tigers 63-62, on final second free throws. To truly appreciate those soul-crushing shots for War Eagle nation, we have to go back.

The First Clue

It was the first round the Tournament. The Gardner-Webb Bulldogs entered as a high strung 16 seed that played fast and shot 3s. They seemed to be everything that struck down the Achilles heel of the Cavaliers last season.

And Gardner-Webb came out swinging, their four-guard lineup seemingly too fast and spreading the Cavaliers too thin. Heavy shades of UMBC all over again. At the half, the Bulldogs led by six. Was this Virginia’s destiny? The Virginia way? Could it really be possible that some witch had trapped Virginia in some type of dreadful, Groundhog day situation with these 16 seeds?

Then the Cavaliers started the second half with a 12-2 run, running up 41 points in the second half and blowing out the Bulldogs 15 points and looking every bit the team they were supposed to be in the regular season.

Magic In The Late Rounds

The Sweet Sixteen pitted Virginia against another fast-paced team that would try to play all 94 feet of the court.

The Oregon Ducks presented a daunting task as well; burning through the PAC-12 Tournament, a champion somehow masquerading as a 12th seed. The Ducks went on to crush Wisconsin and end UC Irvine’s 17-game winning streak, besting both by more than 15 points.

Oregon, a team averaging 70 points per game, burned through the opening rounds topping that number each and every game of the tourney. But Virginia managed to win, while only finding 23 points in the second half, holding the Ducks to 49 points. For only the third time this season, Oregon failed to reach the 50 mark, despite Virginia letting out an offensive whimper to close the game.

The Elite Eight rolls around, bringing with it, the Purdue Boilermakers. Carsen Edwards and company to this point had ripped through former champion Villanova Wildcats and outlasting the 2nd seeded Tennessee Volunteers in overtime.

In an Elite Eight game for the ages, Edwards matched his career high in points with 42 (a number he hit against the Wildcats), knocking down 10 3-pointers and pulling up from everywhere. Of his 14 made shots, Edwards found the bottom of the net on his own for 11, and seven of those unassisted shots were 3s. In the wake of this machine, somehow, the Cavaliers prevailed.

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With 5.9 seconds on the clock, down by two, a missed Virginia free throw ended up jostled and hosted deep into the backcourt, which leads to a Kihei Clark launch, and ends in a Mamadi Diakite hot potato shot to tie.

After all this, the tables finally turned, and the Cavaliers closed in on Edwards, finishing off the Boilermakers in overtime.

This 2019 run is now one of the crazier marches to the Final Four. Granted, they probably should have beat Gardner-Webb no matter what the situation. Sure, they did smoke Oklahoma. But headed into the semifinal round, this dance seemed improbable.

But the Auburn game turned the run from improbable to pure March magic.

At 5:24 in the second half, the Auburn Tigers trailed the Cavaliers 57-47, the Tigers had shot terribly from three the entire game, the second half marred by sloppy turnovers, bad possessions and Virginia blocks. Seemingly, this game was over.

The Bryce Brown picked up the ropes to the broken wagon that was his team and hit three triples.

A remarkable comeback pushed the Cavaliers stumbling back, grasping at straws, heaving up a corner three, and then the game is

NOT OVER!

Everyone, (EVERYONE!) thought this game came crashing to a sudden close for Virginia. But hip check in the corner would send Kyle Guy to the line. He promptly sunk three shots from the charity stripe in cold-blooded fashion.

No fear, no anxiety. The man did not even sweat. Bang, bang, bang. Game.

Next. Key storylines for UVA vs Texas Tech. dark

Nearly every game, an excellent case can be made for why Virginia should no longer be vying for a championship, every game, they have prevailed.

Virginia is going to win the championship. They are taking the floor on Monday night. They are topping Texas Tech. What else makes sense?

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