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their most complete games of the season in beat- ing the Tigers 78-60. Virginia shot 56 percent from the field and held Memphis (24-10) to 41 percent. Memphis fourth-year guard Joe Jackson was impressed. "Virginia is the best defensive team in the coun- try, easy," Jackson said. "You can't score on them. Duke can't score on them, Syracuse can't score on them, Memphis couldn't score on them. "They've got a great team. If a team is going to beat them in the NCAA Tournament, they're go- ing to have to play a perfect game." The win moved Virginia into the Sweet 16 — the first time the program advanced that far since 1995, and the eighth time overall — against No. 4 seed Michigan State at Madison Square Garden in New York. UVa had come close to getting to play in the Garden on two occasions the season before and was elated to be playing in "The World's Most Famous Arena." A huge contingent of Cavalier fans made the trip to the Big Apple to cheer their team on. UVa fans easily outnumbered Michigan State fans. Chants of "U-V-A!" and "Let's go Wahoos!" re- verberated through the Garden all game long. Virginia trailed by seven points with just more than six minutes remaining before clawing back to tie the game at 51 with 1:42 to go on an An- derson three-pointer from the corner. Michigan State went up by five, but Virginia just wouldn't go away. Harris rattled in a three-pointer from the wing to cut the lead to two with 39 seconds remaining. Virginia's last gasp was an Anderson three-pointer from three-quarters court that would have won the game. After the contest, Bennett said his team "had nothing to hand their heads about." He added that players like Harris and Mitchell are "what's right about college basketball." "I got a chance to watch them grow from boys to men and turn our program around," he said. "I always tell them, 'A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul,' and they've left a legacy that we won't forget." ◆ THE BEST SEASONS IN UVA HOOPS HISTORY Most people can probably agree that the 2013-14 Virginia men's basketball team's season was one of the top five campaigns ever at UVa, maybe even within the top two or three all time. At the top of the list would likely be the 1980-81 UVa team that finished with a 29-4 overall record and a 13-1 mark in the ACC, and made it to the Final Four. Center Ralph Sampson, one of the most domi- nant players in the history of college basketball, was a second-year on the squad. Guard Jeff Lamp, an All-American in his own right, was a fourth-year. Virginia, coached by Terry Holland, opened the 1980-81 season with 23 consecutive victories and 10 TO REMEMBER Year Overall ACC (Finish) Postseason 1975-76 18-12 4-8 (6th)* NCAA first round 1980-81 29-4 13-1 (1st) NCAA Final Four 1981-82 30-4 12-2 (T-1st) NCAA Sweet 16 1982-83 29-5 12-2 (T-1st) NCAA Elite Eight 1983-84 21-12 6-8 (T-5th) NCAA Final Four 1988-89 22-11 9-5 (T-2nd) NCAA Elite Eight 1992-93 21-10 9-7 (5th) NCAA Sweet 16 1994-95 25-9 12-4 (T-1st) NCAA Elite Eight 2006-07 21-11 11-5 (T-1st) NCAA second round 2013-14 30-7 16-2 (1st) NCAA Sweet 16 * Won first ACC Tournament championship and earned first NCAA Tournament berth; note: UVa also won NIT championships in 1979-80 (24-10) and 1991-92 (20-13) i12-15.Men's BKB.indd 5 4/3/14 3:39 PM