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Listen to Furman radio call of upset win over Virginia (Video)

By Josh Hill

ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 16: Players of the Furman Paladins celebrate their 68-67 victory against the Virginia Cavaliers in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Amway Center on March 16, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 16: Players of the Furman Paladins celebrate their 68-67 victory against the Virginia Cavaliers in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Amway Center on March 16, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /
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Furman pulled off the first big upset of March Madness this year, beating Virginia and giving us a shining moment right out of the gate. 

It didn’t take long before we witnessed the first big upset of March Madness this year. Furman pulled off a stunner over Virginia to send the Cavaliers home early — again — an advance to the Round of 32 for the first time in school history.

That’s a little misleading, though, as the Paladins have advanced past the first round before but it was so long ago that the Sweet Sixteen was the second round of the tournament. It’s been since 1980 that Furman had been to the tournament and that trip to the Sweet Sixteen was all the way back in 1974.

So it’s safe to say it’s been a while.

The wait was worth it, though, as Furman hung around its contest with Virginia all game long before pouncing in the final moments.

Most of us watched it live and then lit a candle for our brackets, but the Furman radio call is even better than Kevin Harlan’s frantic call on the TruTV broadcast.

Just listen and try not to get chills:

https://twitter.com/bryandfischer/status/1636451321263030273?s=46&t=lBRNjyw7FA7zbf-gvOl7WA

How far Furman goes is yet to be seen, but these are the types of moments we all live for in March Madness and the Paladins delivered.

UVA March Madness history is actually pretty depressing

It’s been a rough ride for Tony Bennett recently. In the 13 seasons he’s been head coach, Virginia has only missed the tournament four times which is an awesome success rate and one of the reasons the school is always in the conversation.

That conversation hasn’t ended well as of late, though. Virginia has gone home in the first round in three of its four most recent March Madness appearances. The only other appearance ended with a national championship, and two of those loses came at the hands of a No. 13 seed.

  • 2018: Lost in first round to No. 16 UMBC
  • 2019: Won National Championship
  • 2020: March Madness cancelled
  • 2021: Lost in first round to No. 13 Ohio
  • 2022: Missed NCAA Tournament
  • 2023: Lost in first round to No. 13 Furman

Ouch, that’s brutal.

Virginia basketball heard go big or go broke and truly took it to heart.

Next. 5 Teams Under Most Pressure in 2023 March Madness. dark

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