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Virginia head coach Tony Bennett is attended to after Bennett collapsed during play against Hampton during the first half of a first-round men's college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 17, 2016, in Raleigh, N.C. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
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At the end of a first half that had otherwise gone smoothly for No. 1 seed Virginia, Tony Bennett gave the Cavaliers a scare.
The 46-year-old coach fell to a knee and struggled to climb to his feet with Virginia leading 16th-seeded Hampton 39-21.
Team athletic trainers helped a grimacing Bennett first to the bench, then to the locker room even as he appeared to repeatedly tell them, "I'm OK." Virginia announced during halftime that Bennett was suffering from dehydration.
Bennett coached the second half seated in a chair instead of standing in front of the scorer's table, but he reiterated to TruTV in a halftime interview that he was doing "fine."
"I think I just crouched down, was a little dehydrated, got up and blacked out a little bit, but I'm OK." Bennett said.
What surely boosted Bennett's spirits was the performance of his team's defense and of forward Anthony Gill. The 6-foot-8 senior finished with 19 points and seven rebounds as Virginia handled Hampton 81-45 to advance to the second round in the Midwest Region.
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