COLUMBIA, S. C. -- No. 1 Virginia avoided a repeat of last year's historic loss to UMBC when it overcame a double-digit deficit to beat No. 16 Gardner-Webb 71-56 in the NCAA Tournament on Friday afternoon in Columbia.
Virginia, which entered the tournament 29-3 with an ACC regular season championship under its belt, trailed by as many as 14 points and went into halftime down 6 to a Gardner-Webb team that had never played in the tournament before.
"They stepped to the challenge, even though it was a little wobbly at times," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said afterward.