The other day we released part 1 of our rankings of every 2019-20 Virginia basketball game. Now it’s time to move onto the second out of three. Here’s the next ten in our ranking of all 30 games that Virginia took part in.
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.
20. South Carolina 70 – 59 Virginia
South Carolina made a ton of absurdly difficult shots en route to their eventual away win. They held large leads at times due to that shooting. But Virginia did make a comeback, tying the game. As a fan, it was infuriating, but the point can still be made that the comeback made for good watching.
19. Boston College 65 – 78 Virginia
Wow, a big win! Crazy, right? Aside from taking apart Virginia Tech, this was easily the least terrifying game in conference play. It was a joyride for fans that desperately needed an easy victory to lower the risk of cardiac arrest that was present through the whole of conference play. All four starters tallied double digits on the way to the win. Kihei even hit a three without trying, summing up the game pretty perfectly.
18. Virginia 53 – 60 Boston College
Oh, this was a tough one. Given the game that we just discussed, this was nothing short of a disappointment. Braxton Key was the one bright spot, scoring 16, but it was an otherwise difficult game to watch. This game truly set the Hoos on the track that they wouldn’t leave for a while, sliding out of the top 25 and off the NCAAT bubble. It’s a large blemish on what turned out to be another fantastic season.
17. Clemson 44 – 51 Virginia
Clemson is another school from the ACC that has been owned by the one from Charlottesville. While defeating the trio of Florida State, Louisville, and Duke, they were unable to touch Virginia. Braxton Key went off again with 19 points, and the Hoos led for all 40 minutes, despite it being a fairly close game.
16. Virginia 59 – 56 Pittsburgh
What was at one point a blowout, a 13-point lead with 3:49 to go, turned into a nail-biting ending. Another blown lead resulted in a near loss. Luckily, the Hoos escaped, but at the expense of another heart-stopping finish.
15. Virginia 63 – 58 Georgia Tech
Mamadi and Jay reigned inside, recording a combined 34 points and 14 rebounds. On the other hand, Jose Alvarado ruled for the Yellow Jackets in the backcourt, with 20 points. Luckily, Alvarado made some unintelligent decisions as the clock wound down, leading to a huge first win in four tries.
14. Syracuse 63 – 55 Virginia (OT)
It was a very good, close game for regulation. No team gained any sort of substantial advantage at any point in it, with the Hoos doing it from inside and Syracuse doing it from outside. And then, in the extra period, it was lights-out for the Orange. They scored 20 points in overtime. For context, they scored one less than that in the 15-minute longer stretch that was the second half. Buddy Boeheim threw one up from near midcourt as one of those threes, and there was nothing anybody could have done to counter shooting of that nature.
13. Virginia 65 – 63 Wake Forest (OT)
Emotions were running high after losing four out of five. It was real close for a long time in this one. The game looked to have been won, and then disaster struck. Some might say that Virginia deserved what they got when they fouled a three-point shooter to allow Wake to tie the game. They point to the Auburn game, and the (good) call that led to victory. Whatever you think, it didn’t matter as Tomas Woldetensae was fantastic to lead to an important victory.
12. NC State 53 – 51 Virginia
There’s no doubt that this was among the most annoying games of the year. Coming off of a win to snap the three-game losing streak, another win would have gone a long way. Instead, the Hoos fell 11 points behind at one point in the second half. The ensuing comeback, led by Casey Morsell, was incredible and fun to watch. But it all fell short, resulting in another close loss.
11. Vermont 55 – 61 Virginia
In other circumstances, the battle between Anthony Lamb and Mamadi Diakite could have been recounted for years. It wasn’t quite to the level of Edwards v Guy, but it was still plenty entertaining. Lamb went unconscious, scoring 30 points, while Mamadi had 19 of his own. Lamb hit 7 threes, and the game was tight for the majority. Finally, the Hoos pulled away in the closing minutes, taking a great game.
So there you have it. Games 20-11 in our rankings of the 2019-20 basketball season. With all of the wild games that featured the Hoos this year, the top ten is bound to contain some incredible ones. Keep an eye out for its reveal, coming your way soon.
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