Our crack research team has determined that Saturday’s Top 5 matchup in JPJ will be the third-ever one there and the fourth-ever in the general vicinity, dating all the way back to 1982.
OK, so our crack research team consists of one guy, Scott German, who doesn’t have a lot to do during the exam break, since he didn’t actually sign up for any classes this semester.
But it’s not homework if you actually want to do it, which Scott very much did heading into Saturday’s matchup between #2 Virginia and #5 Houston.
Houston, by the way, is a 1.5-point favorite, according to the folks at ESPN.
The first Top 5 matchup that Scott found for us was at University Hall on Feb. 3, 1982, pitting #2 North Carolina against third-ranked Virginia, which won easily, 74-58, getting 20 points from Othell Wilson.
Ralph Sampson had 18 points (8-of-10 FG) and 12 rebounds.
Freshman guard Michael Jordan (written up in a piece on the game by legendary Washington Post scribe Thomas Boswell as “Mike Jordan”) led the Tar Heels with 17 points.
Dean Smith, not surprisingly, whined after the game because Virginia played defense against his team.
“If we had known they (the officials) were going to let everything go, we’d have played a different game,” Smith said.
(The dog did whine all the time. So did Dean. Just a coincidence.)
The 1982 UNC team went on to win the national championship.
Pay attention to that fact.
You’ll notice a theme.
The next Top 5 game in Charlottesville was at JPJ, on Jan. 31, 2015, with fourth-ranked Duke getting a 69-63 win over an undefeated and second-ranked Virginia team.
This one still hurts.
This collection of Duke one-and-dones would go on to win the only national title of the OAD era under Mike Krzyzewski.
(We now have two national champs from these Top 5 games. Hang on to see if we get one more.)
Virginia, after a 19-0 start, would finish 30-4, but ended up getting bounced in the second round of the NCAA Tournament that year by Michigan State.
Malcolm Brogdon led Virginia with 17 points in this loss.
Brogdon was one of four UVA players (along with Justin Anderson, Anthony Gill and Maryal Shayok) to go on to play in the NBA.
Duke had six guys – Tyus Jones, Quinn Cook, Jahlil Okafor, Justise Winslow, Grayson Allen and Marshall Plumlee.
Of those 10 guys, only Brogdon has been worth a damn, so, there’s that.
The third and final Top 5 game in Charlottesville to date was another Duke-Virginia tilt, with second-ranked Duke defeating third-ranked Virginia, 81-71, on Feb. 9, 2019.
I’ll never forget the electricity in the building that night.
That was the Duke team that was loaded – with three Top 10 NBA Draft picks, highlighted by Zion Williamson.
Virginia had two first-rounders, De’Andre Hunter and Ty Jerome.
LeBron James had a front-row seat under the bucket across from the Duke bench.
A million scouts were on hand, because there were a total of 11 guys who played in that game who would go on to play in the NBA.
And, yes, one of the teams in this Top 5 game would go on to win the national championship – Virginia.
No pressure, but one of these two has to get to Monday, April 3 in Houston.
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Chris Graham
