Ohio busts final perfect brackets, knocks out defending champ Virginia

Mar. 21—Ohio might not be a regular entrant in the NCAA Tournament. But the Bobcats tend to stick around once they get here.

On Saturday, the Mid-American Conference champions from Athens, Ohio, busted the last of the brackets in CBS Sports' perfect bracket challenge — ending the contest before the second full day of competition was completed — and ensured there will be a new national champion with a 62-58 victory against travel-weary Virginia at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.

"Obviously, it's a huge win," said Ohio forward Ben Vander Plas, who scored a game-high 17 points. "Being a 13 seed, coming out and getting a win in the NCAA Tournament is always big."

Even if it's old hat for the Bobcats (17-7).

Ohio also was a 13 seed in its most recent appearance, reaching the Sweet 16 in 2012 with wins against Michigan and South Florida. The Bobcats beat Georgetown in 2010, giving the program three consecutive first-round victories in March.

Those were the kinds of results Jeff Boals envisioned when he returned to his alma mater as head coach two years ago.

"I look at the banners every single day (in the Convocation Center)," Boals said, "from the press conference two years ago all the way up to today."

Virginia (18-7), of course, has a mighty impressive tournament history of its own. The Cavaliers won the most recent national championship in 2019 with an overtime victory against Texas Tech in the final.

But the title defense has been fraught with obstacles. Last year's tournament was an early victim of the coronavirus pandemic, and COVID again reared its ugly head with the program last week — forcing the regular-season champions to withdraw from the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

The positive coronavirus result from that event kept Virginia quarantined at home in Charlottesville until Friday. The Cavaliers arrived in Indianapolis just over 24 hours before their first-round game and were testing for the virus as late as 1:30 a.m.

The circumstances were different, but Ohio certainly can relate. The Bobcats played just three games during a 36-day stretch prior to the MAC tournament while forging their own battle against the coronavirus.

Seeded fifth in the conference tournament, Ohio proceeded to win three games in five days to return to the Big Dance for the first time in nine years. It then got matched against an extremely familiar opponent — at least for one member of the roster.

Vander Plas' father, Dean, played with Virginia coach Tony Bennett at Green Bay in the early 1990s. The Phoenix made the NCAA Tournament under head coach Dick Bennett — Tony's father — in 1991, and Dean Vander Plas led the team with 17 points.

The younger Vander Plas' full first name is Bennett, and he is named for his father's college head coach. So this first-round battle was something of an extended family reunion.

"That family has meant a lot to my family over the years," Ben Vander Plas said.

Vander Plas meant a lot to the Bobcats on Saturday. He scored 10 straight points during a run that helped eliminate a 38-31 second-half deficit then shared an embrace with Bennett after the game on the court. He even got a chance to point out his father's seat in the stands to the Virginia head coach.

It was a star-making night for the Ohio program.

Ben Roderick scored 15 points, including a key 3-pointer to extend the lead with 1:05 remaining, and star guard Jason Preston introduced himself to a national audience with a near triple-double — 11 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.

"I'm not gonna lie," Vander Plas said. "Any time we play a basketball game, it doesn't matter who it's against, I think Jason Preston's the best player on the floor."

Virginia got 15 points and nine rebounds from Sam Hauser, and Trey Murphy added 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from 3-point range.

But the Cavaliers shot just 35% (21-of-60) overall and were 8-of-31 from beyond the arc, perhaps showing the fatigue from the past 36 hours.

"I want to give Virginia all the credit in the world for what they went through," Boals said. "... They missed some shots they normally make. So (I) feel very fortunate and very grateful (to get the win)."

Virginia's coronavirus fate isn't the worst faced by a team in this year's tournament.

No. 10 seed Virginia Commonwealth was forced to withdraw prior to a scheduled Saturday night tip-off against Pac-12 regular-season champion Oregon at Indiana Farmers Coliseum because of a cluster of positive test results within the program. The Rams became the first team to fall victim to the NCAA's health-and-safety protocols, and the Ducks advanced to the second round.

LSU and Oklahoma — who each won first-round games Saturday — also lost key players to positive tests.

So Ohio and every other team remaining in the field feels fortunate to continue playing.

A status the Bobcats aim to hold for the foreseeable future.

"I think we go into every single game expecting to win, preparing to win," Vander Plas said. "So we're gonna try to win the whole thing. That's what we're here to do."