No. 1 Virginia 71, No. 12 North Carolina 63
The Cavaliers got ahead and stayed ahead in another solid performance Saturday to win the ACC championship over the Tar Heels, 71-63. Nigel Johnson hit a 3-pointer to make it 18-15 with 8:54 left in the first half, and the game was never tied again. It is Virginia's second conference tournament title in five seasons and third in history. Devon Hall is the first Cavalier men's player in history to win two ACC tourney crowns.
It wouldn't be a UVa win without a balanced scoring effort. The Wahoos were led by tournament MVP Kyle Guy's 16 points, who made 7 of his 15 shots and 2 of his 4 3-pointers. He added four assists, two rebounds, and two steals to his ledger. Hall was next in line with 15 points on 3-of-5 shooting, including 3 of 4 on 3s. He was also 6 of 6 from the line and added five rebounds and four assists to the winning effort. Ty Jerome had 12 points but made just 4 of his 14 shots and went 2 of 5 from downtown. He led the team in rebounding, though, with six and also had six assists and a steal.
UNC won the battle on the boards, but only by two, 31-29. De'Andre Hunter was the Cavaliers' final double-digit scorer with 10 points off the bench, mostly because he went 8 of 10 from the line. He had UVa's only two misses at the stripe as it was superlative there, 20 of 22. Hunter also had four rebounds, an assist, and a block.
Johnson was a pleasant surprise off the bench as he pitched in eight points -- his best offensive game since scoring 12 against Pitt on Feb. 24 -- on 2-of-4 shooting (2 of 3 on 3s). His contribution was important, because Mamadi Diakite, who was averaging 9.5 points his past four games as a substitute, did not score. Isaiah Wilkins finished with six points, three rebounds, a steal, and a block, while Jack Salt rounded out Virginia's scoring with four points and two boards.
The game followed a familiar script. Virginia took a lead, built it, and mostly maintained it through enough stops on defense and enough timely shots on offense. Throughout the second half, the margin went up to as high as 10, and came down to as low as two. But it always seemed like UVa was in control. As the NCAA tournament begins, you would like for your team to be blowing teams out, of course, but being in control of a game and having to deal with some adversity is definitely good as well. And despite only two losses on the season, Virginia has been challenged for sure. But it's easy to think that, one or two shots going the other way in the second half, and UNC has the lead. And that's something that can happen in March Madness. Luck is fickle mistress, and it can turn in the Big Dance.
The Cavaliers got ahead and stayed ahead in another solid performance Saturday to win the ACC championship over the Tar Heels, 71-63. Nigel Johnson hit a 3-pointer to make it 18-15 with 8:54 left in the first half, and the game was never tied again. It is Virginia's second conference tournament title in five seasons and third in history. Devon Hall is the first Cavalier men's player in history to win two ACC tourney crowns.
It wouldn't be a UVa win without a balanced scoring effort. The Wahoos were led by tournament MVP Kyle Guy's 16 points, who made 7 of his 15 shots and 2 of his 4 3-pointers. He added four assists, two rebounds, and two steals to his ledger. Hall was next in line with 15 points on 3-of-5 shooting, including 3 of 4 on 3s. He was also 6 of 6 from the line and added five rebounds and four assists to the winning effort. Ty Jerome had 12 points but made just 4 of his 14 shots and went 2 of 5 from downtown. He led the team in rebounding, though, with six and also had six assists and a steal.
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| Tony Bennett celebrates his second ACC tournament title. |
Johnson was a pleasant surprise off the bench as he pitched in eight points -- his best offensive game since scoring 12 against Pitt on Feb. 24 -- on 2-of-4 shooting (2 of 3 on 3s). His contribution was important, because Mamadi Diakite, who was averaging 9.5 points his past four games as a substitute, did not score. Isaiah Wilkins finished with six points, three rebounds, a steal, and a block, while Jack Salt rounded out Virginia's scoring with four points and two boards.
The game followed a familiar script. Virginia took a lead, built it, and mostly maintained it through enough stops on defense and enough timely shots on offense. Throughout the second half, the margin went up to as high as 10, and came down to as low as two. But it always seemed like UVa was in control. As the NCAA tournament begins, you would like for your team to be blowing teams out, of course, but being in control of a game and having to deal with some adversity is definitely good as well. And despite only two losses on the season, Virginia has been challenged for sure. But it's easy to think that, one or two shots going the other way in the second half, and UNC has the lead. And that's something that can happen in March Madness. Luck is fickle mistress, and it can turn in the Big Dance.
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