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While watching the Virginia Cavaliers dismantle the Oklahoma Sooners 63-51 Sunday night, I couldn’t help but think this Oklahoma team wasn’t the same one who obliterated Ole Miss 95-72 on Friday afternoon. But then I remembered that Virginia’s defense has a tendency to do that to teams. So, when I didn’t hear anything about the 44 point swing from Friday to Sunday being a record, or at the very least impressive, I decided to looking into it. And here’s what I found.
Going back through old brackets, I noted the highest point total a team scored in a win, then subtracted the points scored when that team was eventually eliminated. I had to go back 20 years to the 1999 tournament to find an instance where a team’s gap between points scored in a win and points scored in a loss for the opening weekend was higher than the 44 point differential the Hoos inflicted on the Sooners. It was Indiana in 1999 who scored 108 in a round one victory over George Washington only to turn around and score 61 in a second round loss to St. Johns. Since 2000, here are the largest first round point differentials:
First Weekend Point Differential (since 2000)
Year | Team | Rd 1 W | Rd 1 Opponent | Rd 2 L | Rd 2 Opponent | Differential |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | Rd 1 W | Rd 1 Opponent | Rd 2 L | Rd 2 Opponent | Differential |
2019 | Oklahoma | 95 | Ole Miss | 51 | Virginia | 44 |
2016 | Middle Tennessee | 90 | Michigan State | 50 | Syracuse | 40 |
2003 | Florida | 85 | Sam Houston State | 46 | Michigan State | 39 |
2005 | Mississippi State | 93 | Stanford | 55 | Duke | 38 |
2017 | Virginia | 76 | UNC Wilmington | 39 | Florida | 37 |
2019 | Minnesota | 86 | Louisville | 50 | Michigan State | 36 |
2013 | VCU | 88 | Akron | 53 | Michigan | 35 |
2000 | Kentucky | 85 | St. Bonaventure | 50 | Syracuse | 35 |
2019 | Buffalo | 91 | Arizona State | 58 | Texas Tech | 33 |
2014 | Pittsburgh | 77 | Colorado | 45 | Florida | 32 |
2014 | Saint Louis | 83 | NC State | 51 | Louisville | 32 |
2018 | UMBC | 74 | Virginia | 43 | Kansas State | 31 |
You’ll notice Virginia actually is involved in three of these occurrences. In addition to Sunday, the 2017 Cavaliers scored 76 points in a win over UNC-Wilmington and then fall 65-39 to Florida just two days later. Then last season, Virginia factored into UMBC’s appearance on this chart when the Hoos allowed the Retrievers to score 74 only for UMBC to turn around and only muster 43 against Kansas State.
If you expand this list to include wins and losses at any point in the tournament (not limited to first weekend), Virginia’s performance against Oklahoma is still historic ranking in the top five.
NCAA Tournament Win-Loss Point Differential (since 2000)
Year | Team | Win | Opponent Win | Loss | Opponent Loss | Differential | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | Win | Opponent Win | Loss | Opponent Loss | Differential | Notes |
2007 | Kansas | 107 | Niagara | 55 | UCLA | 52 | First Round Win, Elite Eight Loss |
2006 | Memphis | 94 | Oral Roberts | 45 | UCLA | 49 | First Round Win, Elite Eight Loss |
2016 | Kansas | 105 | Austin Peay | 59 | Villanova | 46 | First Round Win, Elite Eight Loss |
2012 | Michigan State | 89 | LIU Brooklyn | 44 | Louisville | 45 | First Round Win, Sweet 16 Loss |
2019 | Oklahoma | 95 | Ole Miss | 51 | Virginia | 44 | |
2014 | Cal Poly | 81 | Texas Southern | 37 | Wichita State | 44 | Play In Game Win, First Round Loss |
2017 | Baylor | 91 | New Mexico State | 50 | South Carolina | 41 | First Round Win, Sweet 16 Loss |
2017 | Kansas | 100 | UC Davis | 60 | Oregon | 40 | First Round Win, Elite Eight Loss |
2016 | Middle Tennessee State | 90 | Michigan State | 50 | Syracuse | 40 |
Kansas has the dubious honor of showing up on this list three times as they’ve made a history of beating up on 16-seeds only to falter in impressive fashion once the Final Four is on the line.
While Virginia fans have become accustomed to historic defenses performance, Sunday night was still pretty cool. To see a team score with so much ease in one game, only to be stymied by the pack line is something that will never get old for fans.