You just went 31-3 won an ACC regular season title, the tournament title, were ranked #1 a good portion of the year and your year will be remembered as an unmitigated disaster. An entire season worth of accomplishments down the drain for the Virginia Cavaliers.
That’s what happens when you just suffered the greatest upset in NCAA tournament basketball history. What can you say? It was an embarrassing performance of the highest measure. Give credit to UMBC they spread Virginia out and attacked. They didn’t stop attacking. Virginia got the true deer in headlights look about the 13 minute mark and you knew it could happen.
It did, and I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it. We knew the loss the loss of De’Andre Hunter was going to cripple UVA Final 4 chances, but nobody could have envisioned this.
Here is the rough part for Tony Bennett and his program. Followers of the ACC know that next year Virginia will be very good again. They might again be the best team in the conference in the regular season. This doesn’t change the way ACC fans look at Virginia, but nationally the questions will remain.
They can’t win in March. Tony Bennett’s style can’t get it done in the Big Dance, and how can anyone defend it? They just absorbed one of the biggest upsets in sport. This is Soviet Union over USA basketball in the 72 Olympics. This is 1980 USA Hockey over Russia, Buster Douglas beating Mike Tyson.
I still 100% believe Tony Bennett is going to get Virginia to the Final 4. I’m just not sure I can convince anyone outside of ACC circles that it can happen.
