No one was going to stand in the way of Travis Watson earning his first post-season win. Not the Brown Bears. Not the officials. Not even the flu could stop this man-possessed. While his teammates were getting instructions at halftime of Virginia's first round NIT game, Watson was throwing up in the locker room, battling a sickness that had bothered him the entire first half. However, when the second half began, Watson was on the floor ready to take out the Bears. He wanted this game bad.
Watson, who has been banged up the entire season, scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in only 32 minutes of action Wednesday night. While he has played in a post season tournament in every year of his career, this is the first victory for what Pete Gillen calls "one of Virginia's best players ever."
"It's great to get this win, man," Watson said. "Every game I go and play in now could be my last, so I want to play as hard as I can. I try not to think about it too much, but I know that I don't have very many games left. I just want to go out and win as many as I can before I go out."
Watson wasn't the only member of the Virginia team that could breathe a small sigh of relief. Head coach Pete Gillen has spent the past few off-seasons trying to explain why he couldn't win a postseason game. After nine tries, Gillen has finally gotten that monkey off of his back. Now he can stop worrying about the reports constant barrage of questions, and worry about starting a post season winning streak.
"We are very glad to get this win," Gillen said. "We weren't really sure who was even going to be ready to play. We've been in the postseason for the last four years and we had a triple overtime loss to Georgetown and a one-point loss to Gonzaga. It is nice to go out and get a postseason win against a very good team."
March 25, 1995 was the last time the Virginia Cavaliers were able to celebrate a postseason victory, so it was not surprising to see fans yelling after the game, "We finally got one." Not only does the win mean more postseason games for the Cavaliers, but more importantly, Virginia is now able to practice for another week, and with Gillen looking to field a young team next season, every minute of practice is key.
With the streak finally behind Gillen, he can now afford to worry less about the fans and the media, and more about getting to the finals of the NIT at Madison Square Garden. Gillen will need similar play from Watson for the next two games if the Cavaliers hope to make it to New York, but as for now, Gillen and his team can bask in the glory of this one, because it certainly was significant.
"We are happy with the win," Gillen said. "But we are more excited to have the opportunity to practice a little bit more, especially with a young team. I am excited for our guys, because they all fought hard out there."
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