No. 13 seed Furman Upsets No. 4 seed Virginia, 68-67, in NCAA Tournament First Round

In a stunning upset, the Furman Paladins have advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating the Virginia Cavaliers 68-67 on Thursday afternoon at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. The 13th-seeded Paladins rallied back in the second half and scored a game-winning three-pointer with just 2.4 seconds remaining in the game. The victory marks Furman's first NCAA Tournament win in school history and sets up a matchup against the winner of the San Diego State and College of Charleston game.

Furman only led for a total of 3 minutes and 28 seconds of game time, but managed to outscore Virginia 41-35 in the second half to secure the win. The Cavaliers were led by Kadin Shedrick, who scored a team-high 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to notch his first double-double of the season. Reece Beekman and Isaac McKneely also scored in double figures for the Hoos, with 14 and 12 points respectively.

Virginia led 32-27 at halftime, thanks in large part to their dominant play in the paint. The Hoos outscored Furman 16-8 inside and out-rebounded them 22-14 in the first half. Beekman had 10 points and 5 rebounds at halftime, while Gardner added 8 points and 6 rebounds.

Less than five minutes into the second half, UVA extended their lead to 42-30 after starting the half 5-for-10 from the field. McKneely connected on back-to-back three-pointers to push the lead to 12 points, but Furman fought back and embarked on a 19-4 run to take their first lead of the game, 57-54, with just over five minutes left to play.

The Paladins held onto their lead for the next three and a half minutes, until a pair of made free throws by Beekman gave the Cavaliers a 64-63 lead with 1:37 to play. Virginia switched out of their zone defense and back into a man-to-man defense, coming up with back-to-back steals on the next two Furman possessions. McKneely was fouled on the second steal and sent to the line for a 1-and-1 opportunity, but missed the front end of the free throw attempt.

With the score 67-65 in Virginia's favor, Furman missed a three-point attempt with 24 seconds left and intentionally fouled Kihei Clark on the ensuing possession. Clark made the second of his two free throw attempts to give Virginia a 67-64 lead with 19 seconds remaining. Hien was fouled on the next possession and made both of his free throw attempts to shrink the lead to 67-65.

Furman set up a full-court press and intercepted Clark's inbound pass, setting up the game-winning shot by JP Pegues. The junior guard drilled his first and only three-pointer of the game with just 2.4 seconds left, securing the historic win for the Paladins.

Furman's upset victory over Virginia was a stunning performance that showcased their resilience and determination to make history. The Paladins will look to carry that momentum into the next round of the tournament and continue their Cinderella run. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers will have to regroup and reflect on what went wrong as they head into the offseason

In conclusion, Furman's stunning upset over Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament will go down as one of the biggest upsets in recent memory. The Paladins showed incredible resilience, coming back from a 12-point deficit to claim their first lead of the game and ultimately secure the victory. Meanwhile, Virginia will have to regroup and refocus after a disappointing end to their season. With the tournament only just beginning, it remains to be seen what other surprises and upsets are in store for basketball fans around the world.