Virginia upset by Ohio, 62-58, in NCAA Tournament first round

LYNCHBURG, Va.  — Virginia’s unusual title defense ended with another upset loss in the NCAA Tournament, falling 62-58 to Jason Preston and Ohio on Saturday.

Some familiar problems showed up again for the fourth-seeded Cavaliers, who struggled to score during a key stretch in the second half and shot 35% from the field for the game.

Virginia became the first No. 1 seed to drop its opening game in the NCAA Tournament when it lost to UMBC in 2018, but it used the setback as motivation in its run to the championship in 2019.

Last year’s NCAA Tournament was canceled because of the pandemic, delaying the Cavaliers’ title defense.

They just arrived in Indiana on Friday because of COVID-19 issues, and now they are heading home again.

Preston and Ben Vander Plas delivered for Ohio after leading the Bobcats to the Mid-American Conference Tournament title. Sam Hauser had 15 points and nine rebounds for Virginia (18-7), which won the ACC regular-season title and then had to withdraw from the conference tournament after a positive COVID-19 test.

Virginia spent seven days in quarantine, using virtual meetings to prepare for the matchup with Ohio. After becoming the final team to arrive, it still had to go through two rounds of tests just to be cleared to play.