A Devil of a Good Time
Over the years Virginia has recorded many basketball upset victories. I arrived at Virginia in the fall of 1957, so that is when my memories began. Because the Cavaliers had very average teams for most of the following twenty-five years, and Duke and particularly North Carolina were usually nationally ranked, there were many opportunities for upset victories. Because Duke and North Carolina were natural ACC rivals, Virginia fans rejoiced any time our team defeated the Blue Devils or the Tar Heels, I intend to write summaries of several of our upset wins over these two teams during this time.
Our 1957 team was led by our 6'7" center, Herb Busch. He was named to the first team all-ACC team after he finished second in the conference in free throw percentage and third in scoring average, rebounding, and field goal percentage. He was also a very good pitcher on the Virginia baseball team.
Duke was ranked 6th in the country when they came to Memorial Gym. that year. I had an important math test the next day, so I decided to stay in the dorm and hit the books. The game was on the radio, so I listened to the game while I attempted to study. Busch did not score during regulation, but somehow Virginia managed to take the game into overtime. I seriously considered running from the dorm to Mem Gym to see the overtime, but I decided that I might not be able to get into the gym, so I remained glued to the radio.
Busch tied the score on a tap-in to send the game into a second overtime, and he made a hook shot with 15 seconds remaining in the third overtime to give the Cavaliers a 70-68 win. The first-year dorms erupted into an impromptu party. Food and drink suddenly appeared like magic, and any thought that I had of studying math was swept away. My score on the math test was the worst score I received at Virginia in any subject during my time on the Grounds. I resolved then to never miss an athletic event just to concentrate on trivial academic pursuits. This was one resolution that I kept and partially explained my final GPA.
Over the years Virginia has recorded many basketball upset victories. I arrived at Virginia in the fall of 1957, so that is when my memories began. Because the Cavaliers had very average teams for most of the following twenty-five years, and Duke and particularly North Carolina were usually nationally ranked, there were many opportunities for upset victories. Because Duke and North Carolina were natural ACC rivals, Virginia fans rejoiced any time our team defeated the Blue Devils or the Tar Heels, I intend to write summaries of several of our upset wins over these two teams during this time.
Our 1957 team was led by our 6'7" center, Herb Busch. He was named to the first team all-ACC team after he finished second in the conference in free throw percentage and third in scoring average, rebounding, and field goal percentage. He was also a very good pitcher on the Virginia baseball team.
Duke was ranked 6th in the country when they came to Memorial Gym. that year. I had an important math test the next day, so I decided to stay in the dorm and hit the books. The game was on the radio, so I listened to the game while I attempted to study. Busch did not score during regulation, but somehow Virginia managed to take the game into overtime. I seriously considered running from the dorm to Mem Gym to see the overtime, but I decided that I might not be able to get into the gym, so I remained glued to the radio.
Busch tied the score on a tap-in to send the game into a second overtime, and he made a hook shot with 15 seconds remaining in the third overtime to give the Cavaliers a 70-68 win. The first-year dorms erupted into an impromptu party. Food and drink suddenly appeared like magic, and any thought that I had of studying math was swept away. My score on the math test was the worst score I received at Virginia in any subject during my time on the Grounds. I resolved then to never miss an athletic event just to concentrate on trivial academic pursuits. This was one resolution that I kept and partially explained my final GPA.
