Evan Nolte and Caid Kirven waited patiently at the scorer’s table. With an eventual 68-46 win against Louisville already well in hand, they were about to join their fellow seniors on the floor for a John Paul Jones Arena swan song.
The quintet’s 31 seconds together Saturday represented a four-year journey that has elevated Virginia basketball among the nation’s elite. UVA has 45 ACC wins over the last three years (second most in ACC history – Duke, 46, 1998-2000). The seniors have won 107 games in all, the third most in school history. They’ve won ACC titles. They’re headed back to the NCAA Tournament for a third time as well.
Virginia coach Tony Bennett pulled his team to center court to soak it all in when this season’s final home win was in the books. A soldout crowd of 14,088 made sure to deliver its appreciation with a roaring applause.
“I called the guys over to center court after they did their TV interviews,” Bennett said. “I just said, ‘Look around. First, give thanks. Be so thankful for what has transpired in this building over your four years. You guys have honored the pillars of the program. And that’s the greatest gift to me. Look at what’s happened and the excitement that’s happened.’ I just wanted them to appreciate that. I wanted them to be thankful for what happened and also let them know how appreciative I was. That’s a gift to me. They honored what matters to me. To see their heart and their drive and how they protected their home-court, that was special.”
While the Hoos didn’t claim a share of the ACC Regular Season Championship for a third straight season thanks to North Carolina’s win at Duke earlier in the evening, they did clinch an undefeated season at home (15-0) for the first time in 34 years when the 1981-82 team reached 12-0. The 22-point win is the program’s most lopsided against a ranked opponent since a 92-67 win over No. 6 Maryland on March 5, 1995 (assistant coach Jason Williford’s Senior Day at UVA).
Fittingly, the seniors led the charge on a Senior Night that turned into a celebration of all they have accomplished.
Nolte started the senior surge with a pair of 3-pointers in the first five minutes that helped build a 10-0 lead that never dipped lower than 7 points the rest of the way. The Cavaliers never trailed, giving them wire-to-wire wins in both meetings with the Cardinals this season. Kirven finished it with a corner 3-pointer that sent the bench and building into pandemonium in the final minute. It was reminiscent of the Thomas Rogers’ triple from the other side of the floor on his Senior Night against Syracuse in 2014.
In between, Virginia’s other three seniors took care of business on both ends of the floor.
Mike Tobey posted 15 points and dominated the glass with a career-high 20 rebounds, the first Hoo to hit that mark since Travis Watson had 20 against Wofford on January 2, 2003. He also hit a running shot from 18 feet away to beat the shot clock buzzer in the second half. Tobey started and played 25 minutes, breaking into a wide smile late in the game when the crowd chanted his name just before a pair of free throws. He said assistant coach Ron Sanchez was keeping him informed of his rebound total and that he wanted to go for 20 by the time the numbers started to pile up.
”I wanted to get 20,” Tobey said. ”Honestly, Coach Sanchez was keeping me updated on how many I had. I was like ‘Coach, I want to get 20.’ I had never had 20 ever in my life, so he was keeping me updated. Even the last one, all of my teammates were saying on the foul line, ‘Get it! Get it! Get it!’ It was a pretty easy one that just fell down, so they all just boxed out and let me get the rebound. It was just a great night.”
Anthony Gill added 15 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal in 24 minutes. He carried the load in the first half with 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting while the rest of the team struggled to make shots other than Nolte’s hot start. The Wahoos shot just 36.4% in the first half (8 of 22), but reversed that to 70.6% (12 of 17) in the second half.
Malcolm Brogdon led all scorers with 17 points on a night without his best shooting performance. He went 1-of-6 shooting in the first half, but upped that to 4-11 by the end of the night. He also saw a streak of 42 consecutive made free throws end with back-to-back misses in the second half, but finished 9 of 11 at the stripe overall. Brogdon also added 2 rebounds and 2 assists along with his characteristic stingy defense. Brogdon hounded Louisville’s Damion Lee all night and the Cardinal senior posted 9 points on 3-of-13 shooting.
That was part of a strong defensive outing overall for the Hoos, who held Louisville to 27.6% shooting (16 of 58). That was the Cardinals’ worst shooting night of the year, second only to the first meeting with UVA when they shot 32.7%. The Cavaliers’ 22-point win was the largest against the Cards since 2012 (90-59 at Providence).
Virginia’s seniors said it was emotional night from the pre-game ceremony all the way to the final horn with Kirven’s magic ending.
“I was really excited,” Brogdon said. “I am really thankful to have had the career that I’ve had at UVA, to have the opportunity that I’ve had on and off the court here. I am really grateful and humbled for the opportunity and having been applauded like that is really awesome. At the same time, you’ve got to be able to switch your mindsets quick and get ready to play. You’ve got to hold down your emotions a little bit and focus in.”
“It was a lot of fun,” Gill said. “It was high emotions and everybody was overtaken with a lot of emotions. It was up to us to go out there and really control them and still try to play a basketball game throughout all of the craziness that was going on. It was a lot of fun. I think me and all of the seniors, we’ve had a great run here and we’ve been a part of building something special. It was a great opportunity to get recognized out there in front of all the fans.”
Virginia enters the ACC Tournament next week as the No. 2 seed with a double bye. The Hoos play the Georgia Tech-Clemson winner on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Washington D.C.
Final Stats
