Top-seeded Virginia got a taste of its own medicine Sunday night, and boy it sure was bitter. The Cavaliers (29-8) led No. 10 seed Syracuse 35-21 at the half, but the Orange (23-13) unleashed a torrid 25-4 run to win 68-62 and reach the Final Four.
Normally, it is Virginia who displays the huge, second-half surges, the demoralizing “Cavalanches”. But on Sunday the Cavaliers were outscored 47-27 after intermission.
First, credit Syracuse. The Orange fought their way from the bubble all the way to Houston, Texas. Coach Jim Boeheim demonstrated why he is a Naismith Hall of Famer with a savvy switch to full court pressure that made the Cavaliers uncomfortable and helped drive that decisive 25-4 spurt.
Also, kudos go out to freshman guard Malachi Richardson, who scored 21 of his 23 in the second half.
Now, time for the negative. Virginia simply did not take care of business. They didn’t play Cavalier basketball, and they paid the price.
Virginia did not take care of the ball — they turned it over on 20.7 percent of their possessions. They lost the battle on the glass — Syracuse rebounded a whopping 31.6 percent of their own misses. All in all, it was not basketball of which coach Tony Bennett could approve.
Which leads us to the big picture question. What does Sunday night mean for the program? It was the one that got away. Virginia had a chance to return to the Final Four for the first time in 32 years, and it slipped through their hands.
I am not attempting to disparage this season or the careers of Malcolm Brogdon, Anthony Gill, Mike Tobey and Evan Nolte. The 2015-16 season was a very good one for Virginia, and this class finishes with a record 89 wins in a three-year span and share of the record for wins by a senior class with 112.
But I think when Bennett, the players and the fans look back on this season, whether it be five years, 10 years or 15 years down the road, it will be difficult to suppress feelings of disappointment because this very well could have been the year.
A trip to the championship game was beginning to feel like destiny for Virginia, who had its heart broken by Michigan State in back-to-back years. The Cavaliers were deep, talented and experienced. They overcame adversity in in early February to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament — a much deserved No. 1 seed at that.
Instead, the dream ended one weekend early in Chicago, Ill. with a trip to the Elite Eight that frankly feels a little bit hollow at the moment when you consider all Virginia had to do was get past a good but not great, albeit a streaking, Orange team.
Now begins a transition phase for Virginia. Next winter Brogdon will be playing in the NBA, Gill will be happily married, and Nolte and Tobey will be onto their professional lives.
The Cavaliers return important contributors, have a talented crop of incoming recruits and gain the services of Austin Nichols and Mamadi Diakite, but Virginia fans know all too well that deep tournament runs can come few and far between.
One window closed Sunday night. No one knows how long it will be until the window to contend will reopen.
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