Ohio Bobcats march into NCAA second round after 62-58 victory over 2019 champion Virginia

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Back in the NCAA Tournament spotlight for the first time since 2012, Ohio University got starring performances by Ben Vander Plas and Jason Preston Saturday night as the No. 13-seeded Bobcats upset the fourth-seeded and defending national champion Virginia Cavaliers, 62-58 in the first round of the West Regional in Bloomington, Ind.

Ohio (17-7) will play No. 5 Creighton Monday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16.

Often set up by Preston’s brilliant passing, Vander Plas got the hot hand just in time to lift the Bobcats from a second-half deficit into a lead they held through the final minutes. Just as in the MAC Tournament, Vander Plas, scored in a cluster just when OU needed him.

Trailing 38-31, the 6-8 junior scored 10 straight points in a 14-4 run to put OU up for good. Just as in the MAC Tournament, when he hit a pair of threes to hold off Toledo is the semifinals, Vander Plas found his sweet spot on a pair of 3-pointers right in from of the Ohio bench. Both came off Preston assists.

“That left wing, I like that spot off pick and pops,’’ he said after the game.

He also liked knocking off the Cavaliers, led by the coach he was named for (Tony Bennett). His 17 points matched the number scored by his father, Dean, who played with Bennett in the NCAA Tournament for Green Bay.

Preston (11 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists) and Ben Roderick (15 points) also reached double-digit scoring. In the final minute, free throws by Preston, Mark Sears and Lunden McDay held down a final furious rally by the Cavaliers. Sam Hauser led Virginia with 15 points, Trey Murphy added 12.

“It’s a dream come true,’’ Vander Plas said. “It was a special moment out there. That (10 points straight) was our little run, and we got a few defensive stops in a row.’’

It was a deliberately played game from beginning to end. But instead of being rattled, Ohio was steady pretty much throughout.

“They kind of make you play that way,’’ OU coach Jeff Boals said of Virginia. “They don’t send a lot of guys to the boards. When you come to March Madness and the NCAA Tournament, half court offense and half court defense, and execution is going to win you the game.”

The Bobcats could match the 2012 Sweet 16 Bobcats win a win over Creighton on Monday. Virginia, like Michigan in 2012, was a favorable opening matchup in a variety of ways for OU to start its tournament run.

Virginia was not overly physical, had scored only 70 points once in its last nine games, and had struggled with a non-conference loss to mid-major San Francisco and needed overtime to defeat Kent State.

Also, Virginia had to shut down basketball activities for a week after testing positive for COVID during last week’s ACC conference tournament. The Cavaliers did not arrive until Friday afternoon and were not officially cleared until after midnight on Saturday morning.

One thing was clear at the half, with Virginia leading, 28-27, 3-pointers were the name of the game for both teams — although both teams weren’t particularly accurate. Of Virginia’s 28 shot attempts, 17 were 3-pointers (5-of-17); of Ohio’s 28 attempts, 15 were beyond the arc (4-of-15).

The Bobcats had four quick turnovers to start the second half as Virginia built a 38-31 advantage.

Then the game changed. Ohio went on a 14-2 run, anchored by Vander Plas’ two treys, to take a 45-40 lead. Virginia eventually closed to 49-47, but Preston set up layups by Dwight Wilson and Roderick, then Vander Plas found Roderick for a 3-pointer that gave OSU a 56-49 lead with 63 seconds left.

They would not look back from there.

“Championship teams find a way to win,” Boals said.

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