It wouldn’t be March Madness without upsets. And it wouldn’t be the opening day of the tournament without one of college basketball’s top-ranked teams losing in crushing fashion.
That happened in the second game of the tournament on Thursday, as the South Region saw No. 4 seed Virginia lose 68-67 to 13th-ranked Furman. Thursday’s upset was 43 years in the making as Furman hadn’t made an NCAA Tournament appearance since the Ronald Reagan administration.
Virginia fought out an 18-4 second-half Furman run to take a two-point lead (67-65) with just under 10 seconds remaining.
That’s when disaster struck.
The Paladins double-teamed Virginia guard Kihei Clark on the baseline before the graduate student threw away an errant pass, which was intercepted by Furman’s Garrett Hien. The junior forward found J.P. Pegues beyond the arc, as the sophomore guard drilled a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left to give Furman a one-point lead.
Virginia missed a game-winning 3-point attempt as time expired.
The college basketball world immediately reminded Virginia that it lost in the first round to a then-16 seed UMBC on the same date — March 16 — five years to the day. Needless to say, the Cavaliers may petition the NCAA to play on a different date if they make the tournament in 2024.
The college basketball world reacted as Virginia was upset in the first round yet again.
[Awful Announcing on Twitter, ESPN on Twitter]