Radford vs. Virginia
On March 16, 2018, the college basketball world was rocked when the unthinkable happened: a 16-seed defeated a 1-seed in the NCAA Tournament. After 135 victories and 0 losses by the 1-seed in 1 vs. 16 matchups, Virginia became the first top-seeded team to lose in the first round of March Madness. It was embarrassing. It was humiliating. And it wasn’t just a loss; it was a blowout, a 20-point ass-kicking at the hands of a school whose existence was news to most of America.
Following that ignominious loss to the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, a strange thing happened. Instead of walking away, transferring, or trying to move on to the next level, the Cavaliers’ key players returned. They came back to try to right the wrong, to silence the haters, to win back respect. And in a storybook 2018-19 season (partially aided by an uncalled double-dribbled against Auburn), the Hoos bounced back from utter despair to ascend the college basketball mountain and win a national championship.
Following an unprecedented Covid-shortened year and a competitive 2020-21 season spent struggling to stay at the mountaintop while turning over its roster, can UVA make the climb once again and return to the summit?
I visited John Paul Jones Arena the night before Virginia’s football game vs. Notre Dame. The parking situation was horrendous, with very little vehicle movement near the arena and very few directional indicators. Knowing that I couldn’t park in one of the pass holder lots, I honestly had no idea where to go until I noticed a guy apparently leaving his shift during the middle of the traffic crush, rolled down my window, and asked him where visitors were allowed to park.
After making a big loop around the baseball and softball diamonds, I found some street parking and made the 12-minute walk back towards the arena.
The first thing you notice is the columns inspired by the Jeffersonian architecture common throughout the UVA campus, along with what I’m told are called “Roman pergolas” above. It definitely adds a huge visual element to what’s otherwise a somewhat plain brick structure.
The arena was constructed in 2006, making it relatively new by collegiate standards. It holds north of 14,000 spectators, almost double the size of the Cavaliers’ previous facility. In a fitting bit of Charlottesville lore, a concert by local sensation The Dave Matthews Band was the Grand Opening event to christen the new arena, coming about 6 weeks prior to the Hoos’ first basketball game in the facility — a 93-90 victory over 10th-ranked Arizona.
Although I purchased a regular (i.e. non-student) ticket for $10 online, I was instructed by both the gate number on my ticket and by personnel at the main entry to enter through the student gate. Upon arriving there, I was asked to show a student ID card I didn’t possess, which caused an unnecessarily terse response from one of the gate attendants. Then I was also asked to show my vaccine card and mask, which were apparently required for students but not the general public. After some strange confusion by the staff over my ticketing situation, they eventually (and nonsensically) asked me to show my driver’s license as proof of … something? … in order to enter.
I finally stepped inside to find signs indicating that I had entered at a point not particularly close to my seat. As I circled the roomy concourse, I encountered a nice atrium and one corridor with exposed brick and windows, but otherwise, the interior had a standard collegiate arena vibe: block walls and concrete pillars in white or gray, standard concessions, etc.
The seating bowl area seemed to be steeper than most college basketball venues, which I imagine gives opponents the feeling of fans being right on top of them. Behind one basket was more interior brick, in front of which Final Four and National Championship banners were suspended from the rafters. There was also a ring of premium seating about midway up the seating area, which appeared to be a mix of individual suites and shared club areas, but I was unable to weasel my way into a closer look.
The Cavaliers were coming off of a season-opening loss to Navy, a rare start for head coach Tony Bennett, who’s best known for sharing his name with a famous jazz crooner and employing an effective-yet-boring style of play: suffocating defense, slow pace, and low-scoring affairs. His teams operate like boa constrictors, slowly squeezing the life out of you with incessant defensive pressure.
This style of play enabled Virginia to handle outmatched Radford with ease. The Hoos held Radford to a mere 21 points in first half while amassing a 20-point halftime lead, then cruised in the second half to a 73-52 victory.
I must say that the student section turnout and enthusiasm for a cupcake non-conference game was pretty impressive. The arena wasn’t close to full overall, but the student section was at least 80% filled and maintained its juice into the second half of a game that was never in doubt.
Overall, the game was a nice appetizer before football’s main event. At this early point in the season, I don’t think anyone really knows what to expect from this UVA squad. Is the season-opening loss to Navy an indication of larger issues, or will the 25th-ranked Hoopin’ Hoos be able to return to national title contention?
Who knows? But in the words of the other famous Tony Bennett, maybe the best is yet to come.
CFB Travel Guy 