They’re going to need another banner at the John Paul Jones Arena.
One year after filling the final spot on the current “ACC First Place” banner, the Virginia men’s basketball team clinched at least a share of the ACC Regular Season Championship for the second straight season Saturday. The Cavaliers knocked off in-state rival Virginia Tech, 69-57, to secure at least a piece of the title. Any combination of a UVa win or a Duke loss in the season’s final week would give the Hoos sole possession of first place for the second year in a row – no team outside of North Carolina has ever accomplished that feat.
“We had our sights on trying to at least be good in the conference season and see if we could do it again, and we at least got a piece of that, we’ve got a couple more games to try to get something out-right,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “So I’m very thankful because these guys have just bought in, played their guts out and it’s the contribution of everybody, from Coach [Mike] Curtis, our strength coach, to Ethan Saliba with all the injuries, and the players, we call them the ‘green machine’ the scout team, all the staff. That’s pretty special. Did I expect it? Probably not. Am I very thankful? Absolutely. To be a part of it at an institution like this is what I had hoped for, and I’m glad at least that we’re in this part of our goals in the conference season. We stepped to it and we weren’t afraid to go get it.”
That last line could easily have applied to the stretch run against Virginia Tech too. The Hokies closed to a four-point deficit at 50-46 with 7:32 remaining, but the Cavaliers weren’t afraid to get their seventh straight victory in the series. They immediately posted a 12-0 response over the next four minutes and put the game away.
Junior Malcolm Brogdon started the spark with a 3-pointer on an inbounds play at 6:59 and London Perrantes added a layup on the next possession. Virginia’s defense forced a turnover and Isaiah Wilkins blocked a shot on the possessions around that layup as well. Evan Nolte then knocked in 5 straight points on 2 free throws and a corner 3. Darion Atkins closed the surge with a hook shot and Virginia’s 62-46 lead was never really threatened again.
That decisive burst capped what ended up as a strong offensive day for the Hoos. They made 51.1% of their shots (24 of 47) for the second straight game. That’s the first time with good back-to-back shooting numbers since a four-game stretch against Maryland, VCU, Cleveland State, and Harvard. UVa made 46.2% of its 3-pointers (6 of 13) and 71.4% of its free throws (15 of 21) too. That’s the first time the Wahoos surpassed 45% shooting from 3-point range since hitting 55.6% (5 of 9) against Georgia Tech on Jan. 22.
Brogdon led Virginia with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 assist, but the trio of Perrantes, Atkins, and Anthony Gill really boosted the shooting percentages. Those three combined to make 17 of 23 shots (73.9%). Perrantes went 4-of-4 shooting, including three buckets from behind the arc to finish with 11 points, 6 assists, and 1 turnover in his first game back from injury. He sat out the Wake Forest game with a broken nose – he re-broke it against VT – and a mild concussion on Wednesday. Gill, meanwhile, added 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and tallied 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and 1 blocked shot as well.
But Atkins, UVa’s lone senior scholarship player, basked in the spotlight of Senior Day the most. He poured in 16 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists (tied his career high), 2 blocked shots, and 2 steals in the win. Atkins capped off a big day with two thunderous dunks as the Hokies extended their defense late. The first of those jams drew a technical foul for hanging on the rim.
“I don’t know if he should’ve gotten the T, I guess he pulled up on the rim,” Bennett said. “I probably lost my cool a little bit on that one – I just didn’t want that moment to be taken away. But, his mobility and becoming effective with his offensive touches and moves is significant. He’s really embraced that defensive stopper to blow up ball screens, block shots, and bother them. He’s really bought in.”
Atkins said he deserved the technical.
“Yes, I think I deserved it. It was intentional,” Atkins said. “I’m not going to hold onto the rim again, but I wasn’t going to let them steal my moment. I was glad I finished it in that way. It was fun.”
Before Atkins finished off the day with a bang, the Hokies hung around with some sharp outside shooting. They made 9 of 19 3-point attempts (47.4%), accounting for nearly half of their total points. Tech’s Adam Smith, in particular, caused headaches again from downtown as he made 4 of 7 attempts to help post 19 points. He hit 3 of 9 shots from downtown in Blacksburg and led his team in scoring in that game too with 15. Smith nailed two of his long-distance shots during an 11-2 run that pulled VT to the aforementioned 50-46 deficit.
The Cavaliers, however, slowed down the rest of Tech’s limited options. Ahmed Hill finished with 10 points, while Malik Muller and Devin Wilson recorded 9 and 8, respectively. The Hokies made just 18 of 47 shots overall (38.3%) and had just 9 assists.
“They overextend help on the white line and do it more aggressively than we do,” Hill said. “Every time we had an open shot someone was there to contest it.”
That tenacious defense is how Virginia has climbed to the top of the ACC heap again this season. Entering Saturday’s games, Virginia ranked in the top 5 nationally in scoring defense (No. 1 at 49.9), defensive efficiency (No. 2 at .827 points per possession), and opponent shooting percentage (No. 2 at 35.3% allowed). The Cavaliers have used that defense to post a 27-1 record overall and a 15-1 mark in the ACC. They have two road games at Syracuse and Louisville in the final week as they seek the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament and more.
“It’s crazy,” Gill said. “I feel like we just started. I feel like we just had the JMU game. But you know, we’re here now and still have a lot of the season left to go. Unfortunately, this was the last home game. It was an emotional night for Darion [Atkins], Rob [Vozenilek] and Maleek [Frazier] and all of our managers. It’s good for us to be in the position that we’re in.”
