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| Virginia turns up its defense, turns out Georgia Tech | Virginia turns up its defense, turns out Georgia Tech |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Virginia players went through their warm-ups Thursday night, focused but on autopilot, as highlights from Georgia Tech’s upset over Clemson the night before played above them on Verizon Center’s big screen. There was Georgia Tech’s Marcus Georges-Hunt celebrating. There was the Yellow Jackets’ Adam Smith making a three-pointer. | Virginia players went through their warm-ups Thursday night, focused but on autopilot, as highlights from Georgia Tech’s upset over Clemson the night before played above them on Verizon Center’s big screen. There was Georgia Tech’s Marcus Georges-Hunt celebrating. There was the Yellow Jackets’ Adam Smith making a three-pointer. |
| The Cavaliers didn’t notice. They didn’t need to study Georgia Tech, or even watch much game tape, before bulldozing the Yellow Jackets, 72-52 , to advance to the ACC semifinals on Friday night against third-seeded Miami. | |
| Virginia showed a little bit of rust in the first half — it had a few days’ rest thanks to a double-bye into the tournament — and went into intermission with a 30-28 lead after missing five of its final six shots in the first 20 minutes. But the No. 4 Cavaliers owned the second half. | Virginia showed a little bit of rust in the first half — it had a few days’ rest thanks to a double-bye into the tournament — and went into intermission with a 30-28 lead after missing five of its final six shots in the first 20 minutes. But the No. 4 Cavaliers owned the second half. |
| [Notre Dame continues to blow up ACC order] | [Notre Dame continues to blow up ACC order] |
| “We’re collectively in a good place,” Virginia Coach Tony Bennett said. “As I’ve said to these guys many times, they’re capable. . . . They know who they are, that’s what I love about them — I’ve seen that over time. These guys are experienced guys right here.” | “We’re collectively in a good place,” Virginia Coach Tony Bennett said. “As I’ve said to these guys many times, they’re capable. . . . They know who they are, that’s what I love about them — I’ve seen that over time. These guys are experienced guys right here.” |
| Second-seeded Virginia will meet third-seeded Miami in Friday’s 9 p.m. semifinal. The Hurricanes advanced with an 88-82 win over Virginia Tech. | |
| Bennett put Malcolm Brogdon (26 points) on Georges-Hunt for most of the night, and Brogdon showed the chops that earned him ACC defensive player of the year by limiting Georges-Hunt to just seven points on 1-for-8 shooting. Georgia Tech, the tournament’s No. 10 seed, shot 40.8 percent overall and just 33.3 percent in the second half. | Bennett put Malcolm Brogdon (26 points) on Georges-Hunt for most of the night, and Brogdon showed the chops that earned him ACC defensive player of the year by limiting Georges-Hunt to just seven points on 1-for-8 shooting. Georgia Tech, the tournament’s No. 10 seed, shot 40.8 percent overall and just 33.3 percent in the second half. |
| “Anytime a guy starts getting hot, it’s always easy to throw Malcolm on him and shut him down, like ‘Malcolm, you go guard him,’ ” Anthony Gill said with a wave of his hand, “but he works on his defense and takes pride in it, so when he gets a chance to show it off in a game, he does it.” | “Anytime a guy starts getting hot, it’s always easy to throw Malcolm on him and shut him down, like ‘Malcolm, you go guard him,’ ” Anthony Gill said with a wave of his hand, “but he works on his defense and takes pride in it, so when he gets a chance to show it off in a game, he does it.” |
| Virginia (25-6) turned to its calling card — a suffocating defense — coming out of the locker room and held Georgia Tech to just nine points in the first ten minutes after halftime as the Cavaliers opened up a 56-37 lead. | Virginia (25-6) turned to its calling card — a suffocating defense — coming out of the locker room and held Georgia Tech to just nine points in the first ten minutes after halftime as the Cavaliers opened up a 56-37 lead. |
| “You get in spots where you might be struggling for a couple minutes — people who have experience that aren’t going to let up, they’re just going to stick to what they do best,” senior Evan Nolte said. “We have experience in situations like that, this season we ran into some bumps and we responded, and you hope that happens in games like tonight. Tonight we struggled a little bit, but we stuck with it.” | “You get in spots where you might be struggling for a couple minutes — people who have experience that aren’t going to let up, they’re just going to stick to what they do best,” senior Evan Nolte said. “We have experience in situations like that, this season we ran into some bumps and we responded, and you hope that happens in games like tonight. Tonight we struggled a little bit, but we stuck with it.” |
| [Feinstein: North Carolina is talented, and wound a little tight] | [Feinstein: North Carolina is talented, and wound a little tight] |
| Georgia Tech (19-14) finally responded with a pair of three-pointers from Smith (team-high 16 points) to trim the deficit to 15, but the Cavaliers pushed the lead back to 22 a short while later when Brogdon made a pair of free throws and a layup with a little more than four minutes remaining. | Georgia Tech (19-14) finally responded with a pair of three-pointers from Smith (team-high 16 points) to trim the deficit to 15, but the Cavaliers pushed the lead back to 22 a short while later when Brogdon made a pair of free throws and a layup with a little more than four minutes remaining. |
| Virginia’s methodical offense shot 54 percent from the field and delivered a few memorable moments, including a stretch in the first half in which two powerful Gill blocks on consecutive Georgia Tech possessions led to five points from Brogdon on the other end. | Virginia’s methodical offense shot 54 percent from the field and delivered a few memorable moments, including a stretch in the first half in which two powerful Gill blocks on consecutive Georgia Tech possessions led to five points from Brogdon on the other end. |
| Gill added 12 points and a game-high eight boards and London Perrantes had eight points and eight assists . | Gill added 12 points and a game-high eight boards and London Perrantes had eight points and eight assists . |
| Once in control, the Cavaliers didn’t let up. The fact that Georgia Tech beat Virginia earlier in the season may have played a role in that. | Once in control, the Cavaliers didn’t let up. The fact that Georgia Tech beat Virginia earlier in the season may have played a role in that. |
| “In the back of your mind, you’re always remembering that you lost to that team in the beginning of the year,” senior Mike Tobey said. “But for us, it’s more important — I mean, it’s the ACC tournament. It’s the postseason, it’s what you play for. That’s our motivation.” | “In the back of your mind, you’re always remembering that you lost to that team in the beginning of the year,” senior Mike Tobey said. “But for us, it’s more important — I mean, it’s the ACC tournament. It’s the postseason, it’s what you play for. That’s our motivation.” |