For those of us who love the school and the commonwealth, the growing feeling of dread as the score ran away from us was no less intense for being familiar. We really needed a win—or at least not another historic loss. The past few years in my home state and at my alma mater have been marked by tragedy, scandal, violence and racism. I know basketball does not heal all wounds. But having something to hope for wouldn’t hurt either. And hope is exactly what Coach Tony Bennett and the young men of Virginia basketball gave us this March. Their journey to the school’s first-ever national championshi...