Redemption

March 16th, 2018 still haunts Tony Bennett. That day will forever live in college basketball lore. For 32 years, the top rated teams in the NCAA tournament had wrecked the lowest seeded teams. Number one seeds were 128-0 going into the 2018 tournament. Virginia was a well-oiled machine, going perfect in the hardest conference in college basketball. This was supposed to be their year.

They were kicked in the teeth.

Virginia lost by twenty points in one of the most head-scratching upsets of all time. People were shocked, brackets were busted. The questions began for Tony Bennett soon after the game. “How did you lose to UMBC?” “Is your pace of play sustainable in the modern NBA?” “What should you have done differently?” “Why didn’t you make adjustments?”

These questions, although hard to answer, are standard. People question coaches, especially good coaches, when those coaches fail to win big games. People question systems when those systems fail to win big games. And people question players when players fail to win big games.

What wasn’t standard was the infamy that followed. The team was mercilessly mocked in the months to follow. In every Twitter thread that ever mentioned Virginia some smarter-than-thou Internet goon would say “Don’t forget Virginia becoming the first ever #1 seed to lose to a #16 seed.” Any college basketball post on Reddit had at least one mention of the Cavaliers biggest failure. ESPN and Fox continued to show the loss anytime an upset was mentioned. UMBC capitalized on the win and their Twitter account surged from 5,000 followers to 75,000 followers overnight, all mocking Virginia. All telling the Cavaliers that they weren’t good enough. Daily reminding Tony Bennett and a group of college students of their collective biggest failure, a failure that happened in front of everyone.

People respond to adversity in two ways. Many people fold up, shrinking in the moment, and fading. Those people let the masses write their story. Those people are never remembered.

But rare groups of people respond differently. They lean into adversity. They look at their failures and say, “No, this will not define me. This failure won’t be the thesis of my book. My reaction to this failure will define me.” These people accept the mockery of the masses, and continue working towards their goal. This was the Virginia team.

In the year of the Duke super team and Zion Williamson, Virginia quietly won the ACC regular season title. They won 35 games, only losing to Duke and Florida State. They arrived at the tournament as the third ranked team in the nation, trailing Duke and North Carolina. They struggled in the first half of their very first game, again trailing to a 16 seed for the second tournament in a row. But then something happened. Virginia didn’t panic, as many other teams would have done. They bunkered down. They locked in. They turned on the jets, and they started winning. In the second half of their first game Virginia they outscored Gardner Webb by 21 points. They systemically dismantled Oklahoma. Their defense came up big, holding off a late Oregon rally. They made it to the Elite Eight.

Tony Bennett is often quoted saying “calm is contagious.” In the last three games of this tournament, Virginia needed that to stay true.

Down two to Purdue with five seconds remaining, freshman point guard Kihei Clark ran down a loose ball. With the presence of mind that few collegiate players have, he delivered a flawless 40 foot pass to Mamadi Diakite. Diakite, in stride, hit a floater to send the game to overtime. Virginia won and advanced to the Final Four.

Down four to Auburn with under 10 seconds remaining, junior shooting guard Kyle Guy drained a three with the defense all over him. After a two Auburn free throws, Virginia was down two with one second on the clock. Guy received the inbound, pulled up for three, and was fouled with .6 seconds remaining on the clock. All alone on the charity stripe, he was ice cold. Three for three on the free throws. Virginia won and advanced to the Championship.

Down three to Texas Tech with 10 seconds remaining. Junior Ty Jerome drives inside as Tech’s defense collapses around him. He could’ve taken a wild layup. He could’ve tried to draw a foul. Instead, he whipped the ball to De’Andre Hunter, who calmly hit a three to tie the game. Virginia won in overtime. Virginia won the National Championship.

I believe that sports are a reflection of real life. Life is full of adversities. Everyone will be knocked down, dragged through the dirt, and left behind as the machine of life roles on. Most accept their fate. But some rise to greatness, flipping the bird to life, and writing their own destiny. Tony Bennett will never forget UMBC. That game will still be shown every March as a reminder to the titans of college basketball that even the smallest team can win. Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome will always have the scars from that 16 seed. But now it’s a footnote in their stories. Only a year ago that loss was the mountaintop of failure for the Cavaliers. Now it is simply the foundation upon which a championship was built. Congratulations Virginia, you all deserved this.