Virginia dodges first-round upset
No. 1 seed Virginia this time avoided the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history.
The Cavaliers rallied from 14 points down Friday to beat No. 16 seed Gardner-webb 71-56 in the first round of the South Regional in Columbia, South Carolina. They will face Oklahoma on Sunday.
Virginia was the top overall seed last year but lost 74-54 to 16th seeded UMBC. It was the first — and still the only — time in 35 years one of the top four teams in the tournament has fallen in their opening game.
The Cavaliers trailed 30-16 with 6:42 left in the first half of the South Region opener but rallied and cut the Runnin’ Bulldogs (23-12) lead to six at halftime. Virginia (30-3) then opened the second half with a 25-5 run that ended any ideas of another 1-and-done.
The Cavaliers used their trademark stifling defense to force 11 Gardner-webb turnovers in the first 12 minutes after the break.
De’andre Hunter, who missed last year’s upset after breaking his wrist in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, led the Cavaliers with 23 points, including a layup and free throw after he was fouled that put Virginia up for good. Mamadi Diakite added 17 points on 8 of 10 shooting and nine rebounds. UC IRVINE 70, KANSAS STATE 64: UC Irvine (31-5) got back-to-back 3-pointers from Evan Leonard to spark the deciding run in an upset over Kansas State (25-9) in San Jose, California. Leonard and Max Hazzard each scored 19 points to send 14thseeded UC Irvine into the second round against Oregon. One year after making a run to the Elite Eight, the fourth-seeded Wildcats had a short stay in the tournament as they struggled to decipher the Anteaters zone defense and missed star forward Dean Wade, who was sidelined by a foot injury. Kamau Stokes led Kansas State, the co-champions of the Big 12, with 18 points. OKLAHOMA 95, OLE MISS 72: Rashard Odomes and Christian James scored 20 points apiece, Kristian Doolittle had 19 points and matched a career-high with 15 rebounds and No. 9 seed Oklahoma (20-13) blitzed Mississippi (20-13) from the start in Columbia, South Carolina. The Sooners scored on eight of their first nine possessions and led 12-0 less than three minutes in. The Rebels lost five of its last six and let four of those opponents shoot better than 50 percent. Terrence Davis led Ole Miss with 17 points. Virginia’s Mamadi Diakite rises for a dunk during Friday’s NCAA Tournament game against Gardnerwebb.