The 13th-seeded Furman Paladins went tit-for-tat with a No. 4 seed in that of the Virginia Cavaliers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday afternoon.
Furman held the lead with just over two minutes remaining in the second half before Virginia seemingly went up for good.
Down 67-65 with just seconds remaining, Garrett Hien stole a long inbounds pass from Cavaliers guard Kihei Clark. He then passed it off to JP Pegues, who nailed a long three-pointer with two seconds remaining to give Furman the stunning Round 1 win.
Check it out.
What an absolutely insane ending to this South Regional Game in Orlando. We’re not even sure what to say about what Furman did to defeat a Virginia team that has now been on the receiving end of multiple big-time upsets early in NCAA Tournaments over the recent past.
It was back in 2018 that Virginia became the first top seed to lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Boasting a record of 31-2 heading into that first-round matchup against Maryland-Baltimore County, the team lost by 20 points.
As for Furman, this represents the program’s first NCAA Tournament win since 1974. In fact, this is the first time it has taken part in the Big Dance since all the way back in 1980.
Talk about a bracket-busting performance from Furman in an epic win over Virginia.