Top Ranked Virginia Takes On North Carolina In The Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Championship
Top ranked Virginia who is led by head coach Tony Bennett will face North Carolina in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Championship in Brooklyn New York Saturday night.
In their only regular season meeting on January 6th in Charlottesville Virginia beat North Carolina handily scoring sixty one points while limiting North Carolina to just forty nine "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/va-m-baskbl-sched.html
Virginia comes into the Championship game against North Carolina with a record of 30-2 "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/va-m-baskbl-sched.html haven advanced after their win over Clemson.
Kyle Guy scored 15 points and No. 1 Virginia advanced to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game with a 64-58 victory over No. 19 Clemson on Friday night. "according tohttp://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030918aac.html
The top-seeded Cavaliers (30-2) got several crucial plays from role player Jack Salt down the stretch and will face fifth-ranked and second-seeded Duke or 12th-ranked and sixth-seeded North Carolina for the tournament title Saturday night in Brooklyn. "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030918aac.html
Virginia's only ACC Tournament crowns came in 1976 and 2014. "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030918aac.html
Shelton Mitchell had 18 points and Elijah Thomas added 15 for the fourth-seeded Tigers (23-9), who remain the lone original member of the ACC that hasn't won the conference tournament. Clemson was trying to reach the finals for only the third time. "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030918aac.html
Tigers leading scorer Marcquise Reed, who was averaging better than 16 points, was held to six on 2-for-14 shooting by the nation's most suffocating defense. He missed nine of 10 tries from 3-point range."according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030918aac.html
Virginia built a 14-point lead with 13 minutes remaining and slowed the game down, but Clemson cut the deficit to five with 7:22 left. That's when Salt, a 6-foot-10 junior center from New Zealand who was averaging 3.4 points and 4.1 rebounds, started coming up really big. "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030918aac.html
After tossing in a baby hook with 8:25 to go, he grabbed an offensive rebound, scored on a turnaround bank shot in the post and followed with another bucket inside at the five-minute mark to make it a nine-point game. "according tohttp://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030918aac.html
For good measure, he pulled down an important defensive rebound, had a tip-in with 2:02 left to make it 59-51 and then saved a long pass from going out of bounds."according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030918aac.html
Salt scored all eight of his points and snatched six of his eight rebounds after halftime. "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030918aac.html
Clemson got within four with 13.4 seconds left, but Devon Hall hit two free throws and Reed missed two shots at the other end as Virginia closed it out. "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030918aac.html
Clemson executed nicely on offense for the first 10 1/2 minutes and jumped out to a 20-13 lead as Virginia missed eight of its first nine 3-point tries. "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030918aac.html
But as if they simply flipped a switch - and turned the lights out on Clemson - the Cavaliers clamped down and held the Tigers to 0-for-10 shooting the rest of the first half. UVA fans roared their appreciation of the defensive effort, and at the other end Guy scored eight points as Virginia hit seven of eight shots in a 16-0 spurt."according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030918aac.html
Three free throws by Mitchell with 1:07 remaining snapped Clemson's scoring drought, and the Cavs went into halftime with a 32-23 advantage."according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030918aac.html
IN THE COMPANY OF A LEGEND
Virginia coach Tony Bennett was chosen the USBWA Henry Iba National Coach of the Year for the third time. The only coach with more was UCLA great John Wooden (six). "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030918aac.html
BIG PICTURE
Clemson: Picked in the preseason to finish 13th in the ACC, the Tigers set a program record with 11 regular-season wins in ACC play. "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030918aac.html
Virginia: Reached 30 wins for the fourth time in school history and improved to 7-1 against Clemson in the ACC Tournament, though this was their first meeting since 2004."according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/030918aac.html
Meanwhile North Carolina comes into the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament Championship with a record of 25-9 "according tohttp://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/153/ after their win over Duke in the semifinals.
North Carolina was up 16 with 5 1/2 minutes left, all set to cruise to a victory that would snap a six-game Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament losing streak against Duke and put the Tar Heels in the championship for a record 35th time. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
Then things got weird — and college basketball's greatest rivalry produced another memorable finish. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
Luke Maye scored 17 points, including North Carolina's last field goal with 5:33 remaining, and the 12th-ranked Tar Heels held off a rally by No. 5 Duke for a 74-69 victory Friday night in the ACC semifinals. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
"I have nothing to say about the last five minutes," North Carolina coach Roy Williams said, able to joke because ultimately it turned out OK for the Tar Heels. "(Assistant) Coach (Steve) Robinson coached that part of the game. You guys be sure and tell Coach Rob I said that. It was unbelievable." "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
The sixth-seeded Tar Heels (25-9) will face top-seeded and top-ranked Virginia on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn in a rematch of the 2016 ACC championship, won by North Carolina. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
Maye hit a jumper to give North Carolina what seemed like a safe 72-56 lead. But the Tar Heels went cold and got sloppy and second-seeded Duke went on a 13-0 run, drawing within three on Gray Trent Jr.'s 3 with 50 seconds left. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
The Tar Heels turned the ball over on consecutive possessions to give Duke (26-7) opportunities to tie."according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
"I think toward the end, we were just trying not to make mistakes and we ended up making mistakes instead of just continuing to be aggressive," North Carolina senior Joel Berry II said. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
Duke couldn't convert. Grayson Allen was called for an offensive foul, drawn by Kenny Williams , driving to the basket, and then Allen missed a 3, trying to draw contact on Maye."according tohttp://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
Theo Pinson , who dropped the ball out of bounds with 11 seconds left, made two free throws with 3.2 seconds left to seal it. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
"I made a big-time turnover that I needed to make up for, and I'm going to be honest, I was like, you're making these two free throws," Pinson said. "Like you just almost blew the game for your team, so you have to make them." "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
The Tar Heels beat their heated Tobacco Road rivals for the first time in the conference tournament since the 1998 championship game. They also evened the series in Brooklyn at 1-1. Duke beat the Tar Heels in the semifinals at Barclays last season. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
Pinson had seven of North Carolina's 24 assists on 28 field goals as the Tar Heels cut up Duke's zone most of the night. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
Marvin Bagley III followed up his 33-point, 17-rebound game against Notre Dame on Thursday with 19 points and 13 rebounds for Duke. Fellow freshman Trent added 20 points and Wendell Carter Jr., another frosh, had 14 points and nine rebounds. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
CHECK?
Allen received a Flagrant 1 foul for hip-checking North Carolina's Garrison Brooks as the Tar Heels forward was running up court late in the first half. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
Brooks went down hard and stayed down in the backcourt as North Carolina scored. Officials stopped play and went to the courtside monitor to check a replay. Allen clearly stuck his backside out enough to bump the unsuspecting Brooks while the 6-foot-9 freshman was in the middle of a stride. Brooks was OK and made two free throws with 52.7 seconds left."according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
"They got a fast break and I bumped him and fouled him," Allen said during the postgame news conference. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
Brooks told reporters he felt Allen intentionally bumped him, and when Allen was asked about it coach Mike Krzyzewski jumped in. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
"Any foul in the game is not ... you don't want any foul," Krzyzewski said. "So that was another foul in a game. Do you think that was the only time someone was hipped in the game? If you look in the low post, it's going on all the time. So it happened at half court. They got it. It's done. And that didn't win or lose the game." "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
Allen, a senior, was reprimanded by the ACC for tripping two opponents in his sophomore season. He was stripped of his captaincy by Duke for another trip as a junior. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
BIG PICTURE
North Carolina: A night after Duke earned its 100th ACC Tournament victory, the Tar Heels did the same and put themselves in position to earn a 19th conference championship. That would leave them one behind Duke for the most. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
Duke: The Blue Devils had six turnovers on their first 14 possessions and just one field goal in the first 10 minutes of the game. With four freshmen starters, the Blue Devils might have the most talented team in the country. "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
"But we have to accept some slippage," Krzyzewski said. "For tonight, look, I'm disappointed we didn't win, but we've got to move on, learn from it." "according to http://goheels.com/news/2018/3/9/mens-basketball-acc-tournament-semifinal.aspx
Tip-off is set for 8:30pm from the Barclays Center. The game will be televised on ESPN "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/va-m-baskbl-sched.html