GREENSBORO, N.C. – November 22nd, 2010 on the island of Maui. That’s the last time the Virginia defense faltered this significantly on the basketball floor.

The men’s basketball program has traveled a long way both literally and figuratively during the 1,573 days that passed since that 106-63 loss to Washington. The Huskies ran up and down the floor that night in Maui and shredded the Cavaliers to the tune of 58.0% shooting. On Friday night at the ACC Tournament, North Carolina put up the best shooting percentage since that scorching performance when the Tar Heels made 54.8% of their shots in a 71-67 win.

For a Virginia team that had boasted one of the nation’s best defenses all season long in terms of scoring, efficiency, and shooting percentages allowed, it was a shocking shift. And it left the Hoos in a sour mood as they prepared to return to Charlottesville.

“What we try to hang our hat on really was porous,” UVa coach Tony Bennett said. “It kind of unraveled defensively.”

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