Sophomore guard Kyle Guy scored 16 points and senior guard Devon Hall added 15 more as the Virginia Cavaliers beat the North Carolina Tar Heels 71-63 in the ACC men's basketball tournament final at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Junior forward Luke Maye led three Tar Heels in double figures with 20 points. Senior guard Joel Berry II posted 17, while junior guard Kenny Williams added 12.
The difference in this low-scoring affair was the turnover differential: While UNC only committed nine on the night, UVA took excellent care of the ball, turning it over just four times. That turned out to be a big difference in an eight-point game, as noted by this stat from Gene Wang of the Washington Post:
UVA led for the final 28:54 and seemingly had an answer every time UNC scored a bucket. Most notably, Guy hit two big jumpers in the middle of the second half: One stopped a 7-0 UNC run to give UVA a 50-46 lead, and the other pivotal basket occurred with 7:47 remaining.
That two-pointer gave UVA a two-possession advantage at 54-49, and UNC was never able to cut it closer than five for the duration of the final.
Guy was named the tournament MVP, as he scored 16.7 points per game over three contests. UVA beat Louisville 75-58 and Clemson 64-58 to get to the title game.
The two teams traded buckets for the better part of the first half, but Virginia took a 34-24 lead with 2:30 remaining until halftime thanks to a 13-4 run. Sophomore guard Ty Jerome kicked off the UVA effort with six straight points.
However, three free throws and a Williams three-pointer cut the Cavaliers' lead to four at halftime. Jerome led UVA with nine points at the break, while Maye posted 15, including a perfect 3-of-3 effort from the three-point line. As ESPN Stats & Info noted, UNC needed Maye to keep it in the game, as the rest of the team went cold:
As Inside Carolina tweeted, UNC still managed a solid defensive effort despite UVA getting hot from deep:
However, UVA's defense and clutch shooting were simply too strong down the stretch, and that led to the Cavaliers' third ACC title in school history (and second in the past four years).
Virginia is the front-runner to be named the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament when the bracket is released on Sunday. The Cavaliers' 31-2 win-loss record is the best mark in men's Division I play. Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports offered high praise after the game in regard to their tournament prospects:
ESPN Stats & Info also posted this remarkable stat about the stingy UVA defense:
Defending national champion North Carolina is a strong candidate for a No. 2 seed, and that's where Kerry Miller of Bleacher Report projects the Tar Heels at this time.
from Bleacher Report - Front Page http://ift.tt/2HoHXxo
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