The Virginia Cavaliers became the first No. 1 seed in March Madness history to lose to a 16-seed in 2019, and they’re looking like they might do it again.
In the 2018 NCAA Tournament, the Virginia Cavaliers did the unthinkable. The top-overall seed in March Madness went to Charlotte for the First Round and did what no other No. 1 seed had ever done before — lost to a 16-seed, the UMBC Retrievers. Heading into the 2019 tourney, though, Virginia was again named a No. 1 seed, and the collective fan thought no way it happens again.
Well, it might be happening again.
Matched up against the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs in the First Round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament, Tony Bennett’s Virginia team allowed the Bulldogs to score the first bucket of the game early, and that seemed to set the tone. Throughout the start of the first half, the Bulldogs held on to a slim lead as the Cavaliers struggled to get anything going offensively, but also having a hard time getting stops.
The lack of defense, a surprising showing for one of the best defensive teams in college basketball in Virginia, showed up in a big way then. Gardner-Webb went on a 11-2 run to push their lead to 28-14 with under eight minutes remaining in the first half. Though Virginia started chipping away at the lead, hitting just one 3-point attempt and turning the ball over early put them in the position they’re all too familiar with after last year.
Could this really be happening again? After 135 chances for 16-seeds to upset a No. 1 seed in March Madness proved fruitless, Virginia losing to UMBC made history. Now, they’re about to become the second No. 1 seed to lose to a 16-seed as well? How is that even possible?
Maybe Virginia mounts a big comeback down the stretch. They are a top-seed for a reason and they are vastly more talented than Gardner-Webb. Then again, they were more talented than UMBC, too, and we know how that turned out. What’s clear, however, is that Virginia is flirting with an unprecedented disaster (and should probably avoid being a No. 1 seed from here on out).