Virginia holds off Louisville then pulls away; Cavaliers meet Clemson for second time today in ACC semifinals
No. 1 Virginia vs. No. 19 Clemson in Brooklyn, 7 p.m. ACC Network/ESPN2
The Cavaliers played one of their better games of the season Thursday in defeating Louisville, 75-58, in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. Kyle Guy looked great on his sprained knee, scoring 19 points while making 4 of his 6 3s and adding seven rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Devon Hall had 14 points and made 2 of 4 3s to go along with three rebounds, five assists, and a steal. De'Andre Hunter recorded 12 points, three rebounds, and an assist. Ty Jerome put up 11 points, but didn't make a 3 (0 for 4), and four rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Mamadi Diakite was really solid off the bench, making 5 of 8 field goals for 10 points with four rebounds.
It was a very balanced scoring effort as Virginia broke the 70-point barrier for the first time since Jan. 31 when it scored 74 against the Cardinals. UVa doesn't lose much when it breaks 70 points, and it looks darn near impossible for a team to get more than 70 on UVa this season. West Virginia's mark of 68 is still the best this season, set in early December. Teams need to score to advance in the NCAA tournament, and you can bet UVa will get challenged. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come, as the Cavaliers reaching a higher level offensively needs to happen more consistently.
The best part of the game and one of the things UVa has done plenty this season is hitting a rough patch and then recovering. After a slow start, the 'Hoos went on a run to build their lead in the first half to 17 points. Louisville battled back to be down 11 at the break, and then whittled the margin even more to four, 56-52, with 8:55 left. From there, Virginia finished the game on a 19-6 run to make the final cushion 17. Battling through adversity and coming out successfully has been a trademark of this team and will hopefully serve it well in the NCAA tournament.
It was very encouraging to see Virginia come out and match the intensity of the Cardinals, a team intent on getting some revenge after what happened in last week's improbable UVa victory at Louisville. A win would've also seemingly clinched an NCAA tournament at-large bid. But it was the Cavaliers that looked energetic and feisty in defeating the Cards for a third time this season, no easy feat.
Today, Virginia faces No. 19 Clemson in the semifinals. While UVa played one of its better all-around games against Louisville in the quarterfinals, the 'Hoos played maybe their best defensive game this season against the Tigers when they crushed them, 61-36, in Charlottesville on Jan. 23. Thirty-six is the low mark for an opponent this season, with Pittsburgh and Wisconsin both getting 37.
In that victory, Virginia got out to a 7-0 lead before Clemson recovered for a 23-16 margin. After that, it was obviously all Wahoos as they outscored the Tigers 45-13. Clemson shot just 31.9 percent and made 3 of its 20 shots from beyond the arc. It had 19 turnovers. UVa was led by 14 from Hall, 12 from Guy, eight from Jerome, and seven from Hunter.
Clemson didn't score much in that game, but it scored plenty in its 90-82 quarterfinal win over a tough Boston College team Thursday. Guard Gabe DeVoe scored 25 points, guard Shelton Mitchell
had 21, guard Marcquise Reed had 12, and forward Aamir Simms 10 to lead the Tigers. In the Charlottesville meeting, DeVoe was the only player to hit double figures with 11 points. Simms added nine and Reed six.
Despite having forward Dante Grantham for only 19 games, Clemson finished the regular season 22-8 and 11-7 in the ACC, good enough for third as it won a tiebreaker among North Carolina, Miami, and N.C. State, who were all 11-7, too. Grantham averaged 14.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists when healthy, so he was a big loss for the Tigers. Coach Brad Brownell has done an excellent job getting the team in position to make its first NCAA tournament since the 2010-11 season, his first at the school.
The Virginia loss was the first game Clemson played without Grantham, and that likely had a big effect on the Tigers' ability to pull that upset. They battled hard in the first half before wearing down. Their effort has been admirable since without him, and I expect them to put up a good fight today. But UVa has performed well against Clemson recently, and I like the Cavaliers to get a little breathing room down the stretch to advance to the ACC tournament championship.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 5-10 points.
The Cavaliers played one of their better games of the season Thursday in defeating Louisville, 75-58, in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. Kyle Guy looked great on his sprained knee, scoring 19 points while making 4 of his 6 3s and adding seven rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Devon Hall had 14 points and made 2 of 4 3s to go along with three rebounds, five assists, and a steal. De'Andre Hunter recorded 12 points, three rebounds, and an assist. Ty Jerome put up 11 points, but didn't make a 3 (0 for 4), and four rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Mamadi Diakite was really solid off the bench, making 5 of 8 field goals for 10 points with four rebounds.
It was a very balanced scoring effort as Virginia broke the 70-point barrier for the first time since Jan. 31 when it scored 74 against the Cardinals. UVa doesn't lose much when it breaks 70 points, and it looks darn near impossible for a team to get more than 70 on UVa this season. West Virginia's mark of 68 is still the best this season, set in early December. Teams need to score to advance in the NCAA tournament, and you can bet UVa will get challenged. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come, as the Cavaliers reaching a higher level offensively needs to happen more consistently.
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| Kyle Guy scored 19 points against Louisville, showing no ill effects from having a sprained MCL in his left knee. |
The best part of the game and one of the things UVa has done plenty this season is hitting a rough patch and then recovering. After a slow start, the 'Hoos went on a run to build their lead in the first half to 17 points. Louisville battled back to be down 11 at the break, and then whittled the margin even more to four, 56-52, with 8:55 left. From there, Virginia finished the game on a 19-6 run to make the final cushion 17. Battling through adversity and coming out successfully has been a trademark of this team and will hopefully serve it well in the NCAA tournament.
It was very encouraging to see Virginia come out and match the intensity of the Cardinals, a team intent on getting some revenge after what happened in last week's improbable UVa victory at Louisville. A win would've also seemingly clinched an NCAA tournament at-large bid. But it was the Cavaliers that looked energetic and feisty in defeating the Cards for a third time this season, no easy feat.
Today, Virginia faces No. 19 Clemson in the semifinals. While UVa played one of its better all-around games against Louisville in the quarterfinals, the 'Hoos played maybe their best defensive game this season against the Tigers when they crushed them, 61-36, in Charlottesville on Jan. 23. Thirty-six is the low mark for an opponent this season, with Pittsburgh and Wisconsin both getting 37.
In that victory, Virginia got out to a 7-0 lead before Clemson recovered for a 23-16 margin. After that, it was obviously all Wahoos as they outscored the Tigers 45-13. Clemson shot just 31.9 percent and made 3 of its 20 shots from beyond the arc. It had 19 turnovers. UVa was led by 14 from Hall, 12 from Guy, eight from Jerome, and seven from Hunter.
Clemson didn't score much in that game, but it scored plenty in its 90-82 quarterfinal win over a tough Boston College team Thursday. Guard Gabe DeVoe scored 25 points, guard Shelton Mitchell
Despite having forward Dante Grantham for only 19 games, Clemson finished the regular season 22-8 and 11-7 in the ACC, good enough for third as it won a tiebreaker among North Carolina, Miami, and N.C. State, who were all 11-7, too. Grantham averaged 14.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists when healthy, so he was a big loss for the Tigers. Coach Brad Brownell has done an excellent job getting the team in position to make its first NCAA tournament since the 2010-11 season, his first at the school.
The Virginia loss was the first game Clemson played without Grantham, and that likely had a big effect on the Tigers' ability to pull that upset. They battled hard in the first half before wearing down. Their effort has been admirable since without him, and I expect them to put up a good fight today. But UVa has performed well against Clemson recently, and I like the Cavaliers to get a little breathing room down the stretch to advance to the ACC tournament championship.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 5-10 points.
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