CHAMPS GO DOWN: Ohio upsets defending champion Virginia,
Offense sputters in upset loss to MAC’s Bobcats
Virginia was the final school to arrive at the NCAA tournament, landing in Indianapolis Friday afternoon after a week of quarantining and testing stemming from coronavirus-related complications.
The fourth-seeded Cavaliers were among the earliest to depart the next night after a 62-58 loss to No. 13seeded Ohio, with the 2019 national champions bowing out in the first round for the second time in the past three tournaments.
“We had a chance, and we wanted that,” coach Tony Bennett said. “We prepared to best of our abilities, and again, Ohio played a better game. When they needed to make plays they made the plays, and we left some on the table, and so again, I’m grateful we got the chance. You can’t go back and change anything.”
The decisive stretch began with two minutes to play in the second half when Ben Roderick scored five consecutive points to increase the Bobcats’ lead to 56-49. They earned an automatic berth in the NCAA tournament by winning the Mid-American Conference tournament title as a No. 5 seed.
Jason Preston, the MAC tournament’s most valuable player, made two free throws to give Ohio a 58-51 lead with 43 seconds left before the Cavaliers (18-7) moved within one possession multiple times, the last, 60-58, with seven seconds to play.
On the Bobcats’ ensuing inbounds pass Virginia’s Sam Hauser fouled Lunden McDay, who made both foul shots to seal the upset and send Ohio (17-7) to the second round to face No. 5seeded Creighton Monday in the West Region.
Hauser led Virginia with 15 points, but his 4-for-16 shooting performance highlighted the Cavaliers’ overall offensive futility. Virginia shot 35%, including just 8 for 31 (25.8%) from 3-point range, got outrebounded, 3829, and allowed 26 points in the paint.
Ben Vander Plas scored a game-high 17 points for Ohio, which also got 15 from Roderick and 11 from Preston.
“Everything was different,” said Hauser, a transfer from Marquette. “It wasn’t a normal college basketball year, but overall I was just happy just to be able to play and to play a pretty good number of our games.”