Alex Brandon/Associated Press

Upsets are the norm early on in this college basketball season.

The George Washington Colonials became the latest team to pull off a shocker, toppling the No. 6 Virginia Cavaliers 73-68 on Monday night at the Charles E. Smith Center.

Tyler Cavanaugh and Patricio Garino led George Washington with 18 points apiece and were able to execute a stellar game plan against Virginia's renowned defense. Malcolm Brogdon led the Cavaliers with a game-high 28 points, but Virginia shot 40.3 percent as a team and was 5-of-20 from three-point range.

George Washington shot 45.1 percent from the floor and also got to the free-throw line 28 times, which was 12 more than the Cavaliers and proved to be the difference in this upset.

Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports noted that a win like this is going to look good for the Colonials when the NCAA tournament field is announced:

Rob Dauster of College Basketball Talk provided a shot of George Washington students storming the court after one of the biggest wins in program history:

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Pulling off an upset of this caliber is nothing new for the Colonials, as C.J. Moore of Bleacher Report pointed out:

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports said that this win could not have come at a better time—not just for George Washington, but for the Atlantic 10 Conference as a whole:

We've already seen two huge upsets this season; Wisconsin lost to Western Illinois on Nov. 13.

Virginia has been a tough opponent over the last few years because of its tenacious defense, so it's sure to bounce back. Meanwhile, George Washington proved it may be more than just the favorite in the A-10. The Colonials could be a potential Cinderella team come tournament time.

Postgame Reaction

It was almost one year ago the last time George Washington and Virginia faced each other. The Cavaliers beat the Colonials 59-42.

The difference between that game and Monday night? The play of Garino.

George Washington's senior guard from Argentina was held to 2-of-9 shooting and scored five points last year. One way to give Virginia's defense trouble is with good guard play. The Colonials got that Monday night from Garino, who missed only one shot.

He was 7-of-8 from the floor, made his lone three-point attempt and sank all three of his free throws.

Who knew that he would make an impact four years ago? Luke Winn from Sports Illustrated, for one:

George Washington had four players score in double figures, and three of them were guards. Paul Jorgensen and Joe McDonald each scored 10 points and combined to shoot 7-for-15 from the floor.

It was the most memorable win of Garino's career, per CSN Washington's Ben Standig:

This was surely not a fluke. George Washington played the perfect game by attacking the rim, getting to the free-throw line and playing enough defense to beat Virginia.

Cavaliers head coach Tony Bennett said his team got outplayed, per Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

There's still plenty of time for the Cavaliers to gather themselves and get a high seed in the NCAA tournament. It's actually better this happened sooner rather than later.

Early returns on this college basketball season indicate it is going to be a wild one.