Popular upset pick comes true: Cold-shooting Wahoos succumb to plucky Bobcats

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No. 13 Ohio 62, No. 4 Virginia 58

Before Virginia’s NCAA tournament first-round game Saturday against Ohio in Bloomington, Indiana, I took a walk. The weather was beautiful on the first day of spring. On this particular route, there is a small hill I have traversed many times. If you are careless while navigating it, you can fall. I never had till Saturday, when my feet slipped out from under me, and I landed on my butt.

I knew the hill was trouble, but I was still a little too nonchalant as I approached it, and paid the price.

You could say the same thing happened to the Cavaliers in their loss to the Bobcats.

As a fan, I wanted to believe Virginia (18-7) would win. But perhaps I was kind of fooling myself. The ingredients for an upset stared everyone in the face: a team that was coming off a COVID pause that has, let’s face it, been susceptible to being upset in the tournament, and a strong No. 13 seed that has a probable NBA player. Analysts and casual fans alike picked the Bobcats (17-7) in droves.

I knew the Wahoos could win, but I also knew the Bobcats were trouble.


I’m sure UVa also saw the problems Ohio presented, but unlike me and the hill, the players and coaches couldn’t completely get ready for what was coming. The Cavaliers had to prepare with one hand tied behind their backs. They only got one team practice in before the game, and Justin McKoy was unavailable because he was the player who tested positive at the ACC tournament. McKoy was a valuable player in the season’s final few games, providing energy and rebounding off the bench. He was missed in the loss.

Of course, Tony Bennett didn’t let the circumstances be an excuse after the game.

“We had a chance, and we wanted that. We got to do some individual stuff. We had a normal team practice on Friday morning before we left. We prepared to the best of our abilities,” he said, noting the team was grateful to the NCAA for the chance to compete. “Again, Ohio played a better game. When they needed to make plays, they made the plays, and we left some on the table. … You can’t go back and change anything. I thought our guys were as ready as they [could be] given the circumstances.”

If you are like me, you probably didn’t give up till the final buzzer, right? Given UVa’s recent postseason magic, from Purdue, to Auburn, to Texas Tech, and even Syracuse in this year’s ACC tournament, anything seemed possible. When Trey Murphy III hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to 60-58 with 8 seconds left, and Lunden McDay went to the free throw line, I thought, well, crazier things have happened. But unlike Ryan Cline of Purdue, McDay knocked down both freebies. Then Reece Beekman took a final 3-pointer and missed (and was not fouled — don’t forget the end of the 2018 game at Louisville), and the Bobcats advanced to the second round.

“I’ve faced such joy in this tournament on so many occasions, and I’ve faced the heartache, too,” Bennett said. “And you have to be, as I always say, willing to accept them both and know that when your career is done, this doesn’t define you, whether you win it all or you lose. It’s what you do. You do it with love and joy and passion, and then you don’t let it define you beyond what it should.”

To me, this first-round defeat, Virginia’s third in nine NCAA tournament appearances under Bennett, boiled down to a few key elements: Virginia had its worst shooting game of the season and didn’t adjust its offense to compensate, Jay Huff got in foul trouble and barely played, and Ben Vander Plas made three key 3-pointers. The first came right before halftime and cut Virginia’s advantage to 28-27, capping a 10-4 run for Ohio to end the first 20 minutes. Then Vander Plas made two in a row (and scored 8 consecutive points) during the second-half stretch when the Bobcats seized the lead.

“Ben Vander Plas, he did what his old man would do when I played with him: make key plays,” said Bennett, who played with Vander Plas’ dad Dean at Wisconsin-Green Bay. “He’s really good — hit [a big 3 at the] end of the half. That was a big 3, then the two 3s he hit and a couple drives. He’s just skilled and sound, and he knows how to play the game.”

Virginia’s defense was more or less the same as it has been all season. It wasn’t awesome, but it mostly did a good job of holding down the scoring of Ohio star Jason Preston. And the Bobcats shot just 42% from the field and 30.4% (7 for 23) from beyond the arc.

But UVa’s offense, which looked rejuvenated recently against Louisville and Syracuse, was really disappointing. From the 14:35 to 4:27 marks of the second half, UVa made no field goals, and the scoreboard flipped from a 38-31 Cavaliers lead to a 47-40 edge for the Bobcats. UVa held separate 7-point leads in each half, but could not build on either.
“I don’t know if we got tired down the stretch or felt a little bit of the pressure,” Bennett said, “but I thought we got some good looks and just had a pretty poor shooting day, a very poor shooting day from [3-point range], with some quality shots.”

All season, the narrative was this was one of Virginia’s best offenses under Bennett, but that definitely did not end up being true. There were some standout performances, but the consistency was not there. The duds came too often, sometimes in wins.

Granted, the competition wasn’t as good in the first half of the season, but in Virginia’s first 13 games, the Cavaliers topped 70 points nine times and 80 points four times. In the season’s final 12 games, the Wahoos did not reach 80 points, scored at least 70 points just twice, and failed to reach 60 on three occasions.

Even though the offense did score in other ways versus the Cardinals and the Orange, 3-point shooting was a problem in those victories, and that same problem reared its head in the loss to Ohio. UVa shot 25.8% from deep (8 for 31) and a season-low 35% from the field overall. Virginia made 3 of its first 6 3s but then just 5 of its final 25.

The ‘Hoos were a jump-shooting team all season, and when that dried up, it meant trouble. Despite having a major size advantage over the Bobcats, UVa did not attack inside enough. Thirty-one 3-point attempts was far too many on a night when they weren’t falling. At least in the win at Louisville, the team only attempted 15.
Hauser led the Wahoos with 15 points but was a putrid 4 for 16 from the field and 1 for 8 on 3-pointers. He had been on fire recently, shooting better than 50% from the field in the prior three games, but he picked the absolute worse time for a bad outing. As the clock dwindled, it was evident Hauser became more frustrated, right when his team really needed him to come through. The senior transfer recorded nine rebounds, three assists, and a steal.

“It was just one of those things where the shots just weren’t falling,” Hauser said. “I don’t think it was tired legs at all. I just think it was one of those games where it happens, and it happens to everyone. That’s why your defense has got to be real, real good, and I thought our defense was pretty good up until they made that run in the second half.”

Murphy was the only Cavalier who seemed to be “on,” scoring 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting from deep. He also tallied four boards and two steals.

Even though he wasn’t UVa’s third highest-scoring player, I’ll mention Casey Morsell next, because he had a good offensive game, for him at least. Morsell got 16 minutes, his most since Feb. 20 at Duke, and recorded 7 points on 3-for-7 shooting. He even made a 3-pointer, which came off one of the few lucky bounces that went Virginia’s way. Kihei Clark darted through the lane and passed to Francisco Caffaro, who seemed surprised to see the ball, which bounced right off him to Morsell, who made just his 10th triple of the season. The sophomore from Maryland also had three rebounds, a block, and played good defense. It was another mostly frustrating season for Morsell, but it ended on a nice individual note.

Huff was limited to 24 minutes. The fifth-year big man posted 9 points on 4-for-11 shooting, including 1 for 6 beyond the arc. He added six rebounds, four blocks, a steal, and an assist. Huff finished the season shooting 38.7% on 3-pointers, which is nothing to sneeze at, but he faltered down the stretch: In the last seven games, Huff made 3 of 20 (15%).

Clark recorded 9 points on pretty poor 3-for-10 shooting and went 1 for 4 on 3-pointers. He made his first attempt, when UVa made three in the opening four minutes, but none after that. Clark added three assists and three rebounds, and he did not turn the ball over.

UVa did a great job of taking care of the ball, with a season-low three turnovers, a remarkable feat, because Ohio led the MAC in forced turnover rate. Every other team that played the Bobcats this season had at least 10 turnovers.

Beekman had a solid all-around game, posting 6 points on 3-for-5 shooting to go along with three assists, two rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. He missed both of his 3-point attempts, one of which was the desperation shot at the buzzer. In the waning moments of the game, when Virginia really needed a bucket, I thought Beekman seemed to play with the most urgency, driving for two late layups to keep the Cavaliers within reach. I really hope Beekman develops a better shot, because with his ability to drive to the hoop and pass the ball, he can really grow into a great offensive player once he gets more experience and feels comfortable trying to take over a game.

Caffaro and Tomas Woldetensae played sparingly. Caffaro had one board, and Woldetensae missed two shots. I feel bad for Woldetensae, because one of the reasons he chose to transfer to Virginia was to play in the Big Dance. In his only appearance (barring a return to the team for an extra season), he laid an egg. Last year, he was a bigger part of the offense and may have had a better tournament showing had the event been held.

Vander Plas and Preston played all 40 minutes for Ohio. Vander Plas, a former travel squad teammate of Hauser’s, led the way with 17 points on 7-for-15 shooting. He went only 3 for 9 beyond the arc, but as I noted, each triple was huge. Vander Plas added five rebounds, four assists, and a block. UVa forced him into three turnovers.

“[Vander Plas is] a great player,” Hauser said. “He’s crafty, he’s deceiving, he’s got a really good shot fake, and obviously, you saw he has really deep range, and he made a couple of bombs tonight. Hats off to him, man, he’s good.”

Despite Virginia doing a nice job limiting Preston’s scoring ability, he did affect the game in other ways, tracking down an impressive 13 rebounds and dishing out eight assists. UVa forced him into three turnovers. He ended up with 11 points on 4-for-7 shooting, and was 1 for 3 from 3-point range. Though he didn’t score much, I think Preston’s 4-for-7 performance shows he picked his spots well, took what the Cavaliers gave him, and didn’t try to force too many shots.

Ben Roderick, the Bobcats’ most dangerous 3-point shooter when you combine attempts and percentage, hurt the Cavaliers with a 3-for-8 outing from deep and finished with 15 points and a pair of rebounds. McDay had 8 points, three rebounds, and a steal. Dwight Wilson III tallied 7 points, six boards, and a block. Mark Sears recorded 4 points and six rebounds.

Ohio, a team that shot 70% from the line this season, made 13 of 14 in the upset. Virginia made 8 of 10, with Clark recording the two misses. UVa averaged a +2 rebounding margin this season, but the smaller Bobcats trounced the Cavaliers on the glass, 38-29.

It was not the way the Wahoos wanted this unique season to end.

“I just thanked the old guys that put as much as they could into this program,” Bennett said of his postgame message. “And I said, ‘You’ll remember your ACC regular-season championship; that’s a big deal. And you’ll also remember getting beat in this tournament, but that’s nothing to hang your head about.’ I said, ‘I wish I had some magic words to make the sting go away, but I don’t. But time heals all things.'”

It’s time to get up

As I was getting up from my tumble, I saw a woman in a car looking at me. I pointed at her, and we started laughing together. I knew my embarrassment had been witnessed. But I took it in stride, got up, dusted myself off, and went on with the rest of my walk. Virginia will do the same.
UVa had trouble with another first-round opponent and lost for the second time in the past three tournaments. But the setback wasn’t historic. We know UVa has experienced worse — much worse. The Cavaliers were laughed at for a few minutes, then forgotten as the NCAA tournament erupted in chaos. They were far from the only team to get upset during the opening weekend, and there are many games remaining.
Are there improvements to be made heading into next season? Of course. Are there chronic problems on offense? Possibly. But there’s time to figure all those things out, and in a bit of a “disappointing” year, the program still won the ACC regular-season title and made the NCAA tournament. Not too shabby.

Just know, the ‘Hoos will be back.

Photo credit: Getty Images

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