Only Miami's loss to UNC stopped Sunday from being a complete day of upsets, and they just barely lost, 69-65. The stunner, though, was in Charlottesville, where Virginia, having lost eight straight, found the courage to upset Clemson, 85-81.
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It's a remarkable win, really. Nothing even slightly suggested they could pull it off, and in honesty, they probably needed some help from Clemson to do it. But even in that event you have to hold up your end of the deal. UVa obviously did.
A lot of teams really need wins this time of year. Virginia needed more than that. They needed respect and confidence. This should help on both scores.
It probably didn't hurt that former great Sean Singletary had his jersey retired at halftime.
Miami took UNC to the wire before Ty Lawson hit a three with 10.6 left to give the Heels a 69-65 advantage and the final score. Jack McClinton scored 35, meaning he outscored the rest of his team.
Miami played without Dwayne Collins, who injured an ankle in practice.
It's a really devastating loss for Miami. They're a tough team, but they're at the same basic level now as State and Maryland, and both of those are bubble teams at best. They were really close to beating both Duke and UNC, and if they had, things would look very different now.  But they didn't, and they don't.
More importantly, if they had won against Virginia Tech and State, they'd be in good shape. And McClinton's meltdown against Ohio State looks even more damaging in retrospect.
Ish Smith hasn't been starting this season, but he's still been really key for Wake Forest.
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