Texas Tech basketball: 5 signs you are not over National Title Game loss
You now hate the Virginia Cavilers
Prior to the National Title Game loss, if I had listed every college from my most hated to least, Virginia would have ranked somewhere between Hawaii and Alcorn State near the bottom of my rankings of disdain. But now, the sight of orange and blue or the effeminate-looking guy on a horse with a feather in his hat makes me want to vomit.
And in fairness, the UVA fans I encountered in Minneapolis were nice enough, especially the fan sitting next to me at the game with his 10-year-old daughter. He could not have been more classy or gracious towards Tech and Chris Beard (plus the fact that I had to sit next to a 10-year-old child kept my profanity at a minimum).
But I really…really can’t stand UVA now. Let’s begin with the fact that this year’s Cavilers seemed to be the luckiest team in the history of the NCAA Tournament. In fact, they really shouldn’t have been in the title game to begin with.
The Cavs were on the ropes in each of the final four games of the tournament and while you do have to give them credit for gutting out some wins, you must also acknowledge the unbelievable fortune they benefitted from. For example, in their Elite 8 OT win over Purdue, UVA would have lost had Purdue’s Ryan Cline made his second of two free throws with 17 seconds to play. But instead, he missed keeping his team’s lead at just 70-67.
On the ensuing possession, UVA got a miraculous play from Kihei Clark off an offensive rebound following a missed Kyle Guy free throw to push the game to OT. But that gift was nothing compared to the break they received in the national semifinals against Auburn.
Virginia should have lost to Auburn but got the benefit of an uncalled double-dribble in the final minute of the game. It’s almost as if the basketball gods seemed determined to help UVA write its story of redemption after being the first No.1 seed to fall to a No. 16 seed a year earlier.
That narrative is nice and will be the subject of a future ESPN documentary but it is somewhat tainted by the unbelievable breaks Virginia received. By outscoring their six NCAA Tournament opponents by just 45 total points Virginia’s combined margin of victory was the third-lowest of any champion in the modern era of the tournament.
This was not a dominant team but rather a team that seemed to have a magic horseshoe in its back pocket. As a result, I still can’t stand hearing the word “Virginia” or thinking about anything to do with a program that I had previously never given a second thought too. As a result, I can still hear their “Wa-hoos” chant reverberating around in my head and it drives me nuts. Mainly because I still have no idea what a wahoo is nor what it has to do with the Virginia Cavilers. And because I feel like they were gifted something that they didn’t totally earn.