It wasn't supposed to be this way for the 4th-seeded Virginia Cavaliers when they took on the 13th-seeded Furman Paladins. Instead of mopping the sweat from their collective brow and moving on to the second-round, the Cavs fell victim to a huge 68-67 upset after a late error by Kihei Clark.
Pressed hard in the final seconds by Furman, Kihei Clark launched a pass upcourt that was intercepted by Garrett Hein. He quickly spotted JP Pegues and delivered a sharp pass. Pegues set his feet and hit a long three-point shot that gave the Paladins a 1-point lead with 3.7 seconds remaining. Virginia had time for a desperation opportunity, but the shot fell short and the Cavs were sent packing.
Virginia head coach Tony Bennett and Clark were hit hard by criticism and derision after the game. The Cavaliers have lost in the first round the last two years.
Great shot but also, when you're up by 4 with 12 seconds left and you're on defense, don't foul. Also don't turn the ball over with seven seconds left. Surreal. I would hate to be Tony Bennett's therapist. That would be brutal.
— Ben Adam Climer (Parody) (@How2DeEscalate) March 16, 2023
Tony Bennett aint the dude you all claim he is.
— TorranceBruin (@UCLA06) March 16, 2023
I have no idea why Tony Bennett can't recruit winners – he's the Wisconsin Badgers Football Team of NCAA Hoops – great D, zero offensive talent
— HarveyNFL (@HarveyNFL) March 16, 2023
“As soon I saw it to into Garrett Hien's hands, I was like, I want the ball,” Pegues said. “I feel like those are moments I've created my whole life and I feel like I'm built for. So as soon as I got the ball and I [saw] a shot attempt I had, I knew all I could do at that point was just ride up and shoot it and I had full belief that it was going in and it did.”
Many college basketball fans were all over Furman on the betting front. More than 61 percent of the tickets written on the game were on Furman, as was more than 55 percent of the money.
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