What happens when you take 10 of the most recent Virginia Cavaliers' basketball teams, stick them in an arena, and tell them to battle to the finish? Wahoo Madness does just that, and we'll soon simulate and determine the greatest Wahoo team of the decade. Today we take a look at the quarterfinal matchups as the Cinderella years try to pull off the upset.
Game One: No. 1 Cavaliers (2000-01) vs. No. 8 Cavaliers (2008-09)
| Final - 3/19/10 | 1st | 2nd | Total |
| 2008-09 Cavaliers | 39 | 39 | 78 |
| 2000-01 Cavaliers | 47 | 42 | 89 |
The 2008-09 team had four players scoring in double figures, with Sammy Zeglinski leading the charge at 17 points and Landesberg close behind with 15. Mike Scott had 15 points and led the team with 9 rebounds, but even shooting 50.9% proved not to be enough to take on Roger Mason, Jr. and the top-seeded 2000-01 team. Mason put up 24 points and had support from Donald Hand and Keith Friel, both of whom contributed 14 points. Chris Williams had a nice double-double on the day with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Travis Watson also helped with 10 rebounds. The 2000-01 team shot 53.3%, including 10-18 from beyond the arc.
Zeglinski and Landesberg surged to lead the team to a second half rally, taking the lead with as little as 6:03 to go, but in the end, the 8th seeded Cavaliers just couldn't pull off the upset. The 2000-01 team advances to the semifinals!
Game Two: No. 4 Cavaliers (2005-06) vs. No. 5 Cavaliers (2007-08)
| Final - 3/19/10 | 1st | 2nd | 1OT |
Total |
| 2007-08 Cavaliers | 47 |
27 |
6 |
80 |
| 2005-06 Cavaliers | 30 |
44 | 7 |
82 |
In the second matchup of the day, we find ourselves with an overtime thriller as the 2007-08 team tried to pull off the upset. Mamadi Diane led the team with 19 points, followed by Adrian Joseph with 12 and Sean Singletary with a double-double, at 12 points, 10 rebounds. Lars Mikalauskas also contributed 10 points.
The 2005-06 team, however, saw a whopping 29 points from J.R. Reynolds, coupled with 17 points from Sean Singletary. Help came from Adrian Joseph and Jason Cain, each with 11 points a piece. Singletary led the team with just 6 rebounds.
The upset was brewing but at the end of the day, missed free throws (12-23) by the 2007-08 squad and impressive three-point shooting (again, 12 for 23) by the 2005-06 team tells the story.
Game Three: No. 2 Cavaliers (2006-07) vs. No. 7 Cavaliers (2009-10)
| Final - 3/19/10 | 1st | 2nd | Total |
| 2009-10 Cavaliers | 34 | 35 | 69 |
| 2006-07 Cavaliers | 48 |
39 |
87 |
No surprises here, as the No. 2 Cavaliers played their seed over the 2009-10 squad. The 2009-10 Cavaliers got 16 points from Sylven Landesberg and 15 points from Mike Scott, but essentially no help from anyone on board. Assane Sene pulled down 8 boards (really, 8? Did these people watch the same team I did this year?), but this squad, who had 22 rebounds, was dominated by the 2006-07 team, who pulled down 44.
Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds had 14 and 21 points respectively, with Lars Mikalauskas and Will Harris also contributing 10 points a piece.
Game Four: No. 3 Cavaliers (1999-00) vs. No. 6 Cavaliers (2002-03)
| Final - 3/19/10 | 1st | 2nd | Total |
| 2002-03 Cavaliers | 41 | 44 | 85 |
| 1999-00 Cavaliers | 34 | 41 |
75 |
And just like that, we've got our first upset of the day, folks! Devin Smith shot lights out from beyond the three, hitting 5 for 7, leading to 23 points. Elton Brown, Nick Vander Laan, and Travis Watson also put up double figures, contributing 14, 13, and 12 points respectively. Watson ripped down 8 from the boards.
Meanwhile, from the 1999-00 squad, Donald Hand put up 15 points with Adam Hall's 13, while Chris Williams and Travis Watson each contributed 10 points a piece. The Cavaliers played a solid game, shooting 48.3% (41.2% from three point land), but when the other team is shooting over 50%, including 52.6 from the three, it'll be hard to advance.
So there you have it, the semifinals are set. Here's what the brackets look like:
Tune in on Monday to see how the semifinal matches played out!