So we’re all stuck at home due to the health issues going on around the world. With nothing to do, we have to become creative to keep from losing our collective minds.
As such, the executive decision (by the only person on the staff of this website) has been made to rank each and every one of the 30 basketball games that Virginia took part in during the 2019-20 season. Hopefully, this will help to preserve said sanity.
Of course, it could well do the opposite, and thrust us sport-lovers further into the deep, dark hole that is life in the absence of sports.
But, you know what, we need something to do nowadays, so why the hell not?
Bear in mind that these rankings include the context of the time, and don’t just look at each as an individual game. For example, an emotionally charged game in late February or March is going to have an advantage over a game in, say, September.
These rankings are also compiled from a mostly Virginia standpoint, of course, though the impartial fan’s view of the game was taken into (slight) consideration.
30. Virginia 40 – 69 Purdue
The memories of what happened in the prior meeting between the two was almost certainly weighing heavily on the minds of Purdue fans and players alike. Let’s use that as an excuse for what happened in the rematch. It was carnage from the beginning, with the Boilermakers jumping out to a lead early and building it from there. This was before the resurrection that Bennett orchestrated, and it was clear that the Hoos had a long way to go. This one was difficult to watch.
29. Columbia 42 – 60 Virginia
The overmatched Lions were no match for Virginia right from the beginning. They were held to 17 points in the first half, and only managed to score when the game had long since been decided. A few Jay Huff slams were the only highlights of what was, in truth, a rather boring game. Maybe it didn’t seem so at the time, but it’s undeniable when put in conversation with the other, much more exciting games that followed.
28. James Madison 34 – 65 Virginia
The Dukes actually hung around for the first 12 or so minutes of game-time. But they were totally smothered the rest of the way. What was an eight-point game at halftime became a blowout in the second half. James Madison was simply smothered by incredible defense and only managed to score 11 points in an uneventful second half.
27. Stony Brook 44 – 56 Virginia
In a slow, somewhat nerve-wracking affair, Virginia defeated a third American East opponent. Stony Brook never went away, cutting the lead to single-digits on numerous occasions. Finally, Mamadi scored a few big buckets in the back end of the second half, and the Hoos escaped with a win that was much closer than it should have been.
26. Massachusetts 46 – 58 Virginia
UMass never led as Virginia controlled the game. They were still ranked in the top 10 at this point, and the solid—though not overly convincing—win did nothing to truly foreshadow the fall from the rankings that was to follow. Braxton Key was great in his final game before becoming injured, though it was a fairly mundane game by this year’s standards.
25. Maine 26 – 46 Virginia
For a true UVa fan, this was a beautiful game. The Black Bears were absolutely stifled on the offensive end, reduced to something resembling high schoolers in the face of the best defense in the nation. The problem was that Virginia wasn’t much better. Well—actually, they were, scoring 20 more points. But while a great defensive performance, it was simply an unexciting affair.
24. Virginia 48 – 34 Syracuse
No doubt the ACC’s genius decision (uh, not really) to start off the season with a conference game played a large role in making this what it was—a drab, rusty start to the season. That said, it did carry a large level of intrigue, being the first game of the season and first chance to check out the new team. And another impressive defensive outing made for high expectations for the rest of the season.
23. Virginia Tech 39 – 65 Virginia
Coming into this game, concerns were running high about the team. The shellacking at Purdue and the loss to South Carolina soon after were fresh on everybody’s minds. So the punishment that the Hoos doled out to their archrivals quelled many of those concerns while also providing some quite entertaining basketball. I mean, who doesn’t love it when Hoos beat Hokies?
22. Navy 56 – 65 Virginia
The highlight of a solid all-around performance was Braxton Key’s massive put-back slam—with the only hand that was available to him. It was the first game before conference play began in earnest, setting up the aforementioned Virginia Tech game. A good victory, but not a very noteworthy game.
21. North Carolina 47 – 56 Virginia
Both teams were facing a wall of questions about their potential, and both set out to break it down. North Carolina failed, and had that wall fall in on them just days later when they lost Cole Anthony. While Virginia didn’t exactly banish their fears either (fears that came back to haunt them later on), the fairly dominant win helped and stirred up a lot of excitement, though that excitement would turn out to be unfounded (and then proven again).
So there’s the perceived bottom third of games from this season. None of these games can really be described as memorable, especially given what happened towards the end of the season. But it speaks to how crazy of a season it was that a single-digit affair between two ACC schools can be regarded as one of the ten worst of the season.
You can view the next ten, numbers 20-11, here.
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