No. 1 Virginia 70, No. 16 Coastal Carolina 59
Wow, so that was a close call Friday. Coastal Carolina gave Virginia absolutely all it could handle. But the Cavaliers would not be denied in the second half and did not become the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed.
The first half was a mix of a few things. Even though I thought this team was beyond it, I think UVa was overconfident and overlooked Coastal. I think after the Cavaliers built a small lead, they let their guard down. Before they blinked, Coastal was up, 31-21. The Chanticleers, only 33 percent shooters on the year from 3, shot incredibly, unbelievably, well from beyond the arc in the first half. It had been a long time since I saw that many rainbow 3s go in -- last time was Dec. 30 at Tennessee to be exact. A lot of the time, a UVa player was playing great defense but the ball still went in, Other times, the D did uncharacteristically break down. I think the Chanticleers made five in the first half and ended up with nine. Guys that had not shot well from 3 all year made some. Eric Smith had a pair (27.5 percent on the year), Elijah Wilson made two (30.5), Tristan Curtis made one (he had made 1 of 3 on the year!), and Michel Enanga made one (24.5). How crazy is that? The good news is they cooled off a lot in the second half. The law of averages kicked in. Virginia held Coastal to just 24 second-half points, and that was with a few garbage points at the end. Coastal cooled off but UVa also stepped up its defensive intensity. The offense also looked better with much more movement and urgency. Coastal played a good game, though. Its coach, Cliff Ellis, is one of 12 coaches to take four different teams to the NCAA tournament. He also has taken South Alabama, Clemson, and Auburn to the Big Dance. He obviously had his team prepared believing it could do anything and it came out guns a blazing launching up 3s like it had nothing to lose. And it worked for awhile.
I never want UVa to be a No. 1 seed again. The pressure mounted throughout the day leading up to the game. Being one of the last second-round games on Friday is nerve-wracking. It took forever for the game to start. And on top of all that, the official start time was moved back from 9:25 p.m. to 9:50 p.m. I think the guys were feeling some of that pressure building. They were the last 1 seed to play in the second round and it was up to them to keep the perfect record of the No. 1 vs. the No. 16s going. Ralph Sampson being part of the halftime analysis seemed like a bad sign. He was part of the UVa team that lost to Chaminade in one of the biggest upsets in sports history in 1982. Also, I watched the game at Wild Wing Cafe in Charlottesville. You have to tell them your parking spot number there because they pay for your parking (the lot is shared with an Amtrak station). My friend, George Banko, came out to watch the game after he got off work. He pointed out that I had parked at spot 16. Another creepy and bad sign (haha).
In the end, though, a win is a win and advancing is all that matters at this point. Anthony Gill was an absolute beast in the game, going for 17 points and five rebounds and two blocks off the bench. He has really come on as of late, posting point totals of 15, 16, 10, 12, and 17 in his past five games. Malcolm Brogdon was solid as usual with 14 points, Joe Harris had 11 with two 3s, and London Perrantes had 12 points, six assists, and zero turnovers and contributed three huge 3s, two of which came in the first half and helped UVa stay in the game.
Wow, so that was a close call Friday. Coastal Carolina gave Virginia absolutely all it could handle. But the Cavaliers would not be denied in the second half and did not become the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed.
The first half was a mix of a few things. Even though I thought this team was beyond it, I think UVa was overconfident and overlooked Coastal. I think after the Cavaliers built a small lead, they let their guard down. Before they blinked, Coastal was up, 31-21. The Chanticleers, only 33 percent shooters on the year from 3, shot incredibly, unbelievably, well from beyond the arc in the first half. It had been a long time since I saw that many rainbow 3s go in -- last time was Dec. 30 at Tennessee to be exact. A lot of the time, a UVa player was playing great defense but the ball still went in, Other times, the D did uncharacteristically break down. I think the Chanticleers made five in the first half and ended up with nine. Guys that had not shot well from 3 all year made some. Eric Smith had a pair (27.5 percent on the year), Elijah Wilson made two (30.5), Tristan Curtis made one (he had made 1 of 3 on the year!), and Michel Enanga made one (24.5). How crazy is that? The good news is they cooled off a lot in the second half. The law of averages kicked in. Virginia held Coastal to just 24 second-half points, and that was with a few garbage points at the end. Coastal cooled off but UVa also stepped up its defensive intensity. The offense also looked better with much more movement and urgency. Coastal played a good game, though. Its coach, Cliff Ellis, is one of 12 coaches to take four different teams to the NCAA tournament. He also has taken South Alabama, Clemson, and Auburn to the Big Dance. He obviously had his team prepared believing it could do anything and it came out guns a blazing launching up 3s like it had nothing to lose. And it worked for awhile.
I never want UVa to be a No. 1 seed again. The pressure mounted throughout the day leading up to the game. Being one of the last second-round games on Friday is nerve-wracking. It took forever for the game to start. And on top of all that, the official start time was moved back from 9:25 p.m. to 9:50 p.m. I think the guys were feeling some of that pressure building. They were the last 1 seed to play in the second round and it was up to them to keep the perfect record of the No. 1 vs. the No. 16s going. Ralph Sampson being part of the halftime analysis seemed like a bad sign. He was part of the UVa team that lost to Chaminade in one of the biggest upsets in sports history in 1982. Also, I watched the game at Wild Wing Cafe in Charlottesville. You have to tell them your parking spot number there because they pay for your parking (the lot is shared with an Amtrak station). My friend, George Banko, came out to watch the game after he got off work. He pointed out that I had parked at spot 16. Another creepy and bad sign (haha).
In the end, though, a win is a win and advancing is all that matters at this point. Anthony Gill was an absolute beast in the game, going for 17 points and five rebounds and two blocks off the bench. He has really come on as of late, posting point totals of 15, 16, 10, 12, and 17 in his past five games. Malcolm Brogdon was solid as usual with 14 points, Joe Harris had 11 with two 3s, and London Perrantes had 12 points, six assists, and zero turnovers and contributed three huge 3s, two of which came in the first half and helped UVa stay in the game.
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