NCAA Tournament Reaction: Virginia's Loss Could Have Been Avoided

Virginia had their chances to defeat Tennessee and advance in the NCAA Tournament, but they came up short and their season is over

Mar 22, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Virginia Cavaliers forward Devin Tillis (11) reacts after losing to the Tennessee Volunteers in the second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Virginia trailed for nearly the entire game, but that does not mean that they did not have any opportunities to win and advance to the sweet sixteen for the first time since 2019. The Cavaliers came into the tournament as the No. 3 seed and hopes of potentially getting to the Final Four if things broke their way, but their season is now over and the Cavaliers will begin working on putting together a new team next season.

But this one is going to sting for a little bit because it could have been avoided.

How it happened

It was far from the only reason that they lost, but the officiating in this game did not do Virginia any favors. It seemed like the officials missed a blatant call that went Tennessee's way when it appeared that the ball went out of bounds and was last touched by Tennessee. Ryan Odom challenged the call, but it did not go his way and Tennessee kept the ball.

After a challenge by UVA, the call remains Tennessee ball. pic.twitter.com/zPquRrmxrt

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 23, 2026

Jacari White has been great for UVA all season long and is one of the top three point shooters in the country, but with a wide open three point attempt to cut into the lead and keep UVA in the game, he airballed it short and that felt like the real nail in the coffin.

Virginia just did not shoot the ball well enough tonight and Tennessee was much better in that regard. Virginia shot 39% for the game and 34% from three, while Tennessee shot 47% from the field and 42% from three.

Tennessee also took 14 more free throw attempts than Virginia and shot the ball well from the line.

Virginia is one of the top rebounding teams in the country, but they were going up against an historically good rebounding team in Tennessee and in the second half, they lost the battle on the glass 21-12.

I would pin late game execution as the No. 1 reason that Virginia lost this game, After the three to take the lead from Thijs de Ridder, Virginia only scored one more point the rest of the game. Tennessee scored the rest of their points at the free throw line and clinched the victory.

Whether it was a missed open three from Jacari White, a missed layup from White, an inbounds pass that resulted in a turnover from Dallin Hall, or a missed steal attempt by Chance Mallory that resulted in a pair of free throws for Tennessee, this all could have been avoided if Odom's team had been able to execute better down the stretch after they got the lead.