Virginia’s government as national champion has received a one-year extension thanks to COVID-19.
But the title defense did not last long after the NCAA Tournament resumed. Nr. 13, Ohio, stunned the fourth-seeded Cavaliers Saturday and sent Virginia home without a win in this year’s NCAA Tournament.
The Bobcats did it without a big points night from star guard Jason Preston when junior forward Ben Vander Plas settled in Ohio in the 62-58 upset.
Bobcats drive big runs, hold off late Cavs rally to win
After Virginia took a 28-27 lead at halftime, Virginia seemed to pull away when it was 38-31 ahead near the center of the second half. But Ohio increased by a 16-2 run to take a 47-40 lead that he would not give up.
The Cavaliers did not go down without a fight. Virginia fell back from a 58-51 deficit with 25 seconds left with a steal side and some three points, while Ohio’s cut to 60-58. But Ohio was shamelessly on the free-throw line as Preston, Mark Sears and Lunden McDay scored a combined 6 for 6 on the line in the final 44 seconds, ensuring Virginia could not complete the late rally. The Bobcats hit 13 of 14 free throws for the game.
Vander Plas led Ohio’s scoring effort by 17 points, along with five rebounds and four assists. Preston, the All-MAC guard, caused a lot of damage with 11 points, 13 rebounds and eight assistants.
Ohio beats Virginia on its own game
The game was played in Virginia’s slow, low pace, as head coach Tony Bennett’s team usually assures. Ohio fell nearly 19 points short of its season-long average of 80.9 points. But that got Virginia in his own game.
The Bobcats limited the Cavaliers to 35 percent shooting from the field and an 8-of-31 (25.8 percent) effort from 3-point distance. That was enough to overcome their own 42 percent effort off the field.
The victory saw a duel with Creighton, No. 5, on Sunday, as Ohio would drop the Sweet 16 out of the 13 selected.
For Virginia, it is a disappointing end to his championship and an early forerunner to the ACC, which also lost to North Carolina, Georgia Tech and Clemson in the first round of the tournament.
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