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Virginia’s Awful First Half vs. Colorado State Had Fans Questioning NCAA Tournament Committee

This was bad. Really bad.

Tom Dierberger

Virginia’s Awful First Half vs. Colorado State Had Fans Questioning NCAA Tournament Committee
Virginia’s Awful First Half vs. Colorado State Had Fans Questioning NCAA Tournament Committee /
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The Virginia Cavaliers had a first half to forget Tuesday night.

No. 10 seed Virginia entered halftime trailing fellow No. 10 seed Colorado State 27–14 in their NCAA tournament First Four matchup at UD Arena.

The Cavaliers scored 14 points in 20 minutes of action. They didn’t score a single point over the final 9:20 of the first half, and didn’t find the scoreboard again until 3:20 into the second half.

Virginia shot 17.2% (5-of-29) from the floor and 22.2% from three-point range (2-of-9) in the first half. Colorado State was efficient, shooting 50% from the field (12-of-24) and 42.9% from deep (3-of-7). 

Virginia and Colorado State combined for 41 points in the first half. For context, the lowest-scoring game in March Madness history (since the shot clock was implemented in 1986) is 75 total points, set in 1999 when Missouri State beat Wisconsin 43–32.

[ March Madness 2024: News & Analysis | Schedule | Bracket ]

Wisconsin’s coach at the time was Dick Bennett, the father of current Virginia coach Tony Bennett.

The Cavaliers’ terrible start to their March Madness game led to plenty of jokes from the college hoops world who wished the NCAA tournament selection committee made a different choice:

The winner of the Virginia–Colorado State clash advances to the Round of 64 to battle 

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Tom Dierberger
TOM DIERBERGER

Tom Dierberger is a staff writer and editor on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in November 2023 after stints at FOX Sports, Bally Sports and NBC Sports. Dierberger has a bachelor's in communication from St. John's University. In his spare time, he can be seen throwing out his arm while playing fetch with his dog, Walter B. Boy.

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