Virginia wrapped up the regular season at 28-2 after a late jumper lifted Louisville to a 59-57 win Monday. Still, the Cavaliers remained the No. 1 seed in the ACC Tournament and more than likely a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament as well. The Double Bonus looks back at the finale.

Atkins’ Strong Finish

Darion Atkins, UVa’s lone scholarship senior, closed the regular season with a bang. At Louisville, Atkins posted 10 points and 7 rebounds as part of a strong showing from the front line. Mike Tobey added 5 points and 6 boards, while Anthony Gill put up 9 and 2 before being slowed by a turned ankle. The trio combined to make 11 of 16 shots (68.8%), led by Atkins’ 5-of-8 shooting night (62.5%).

That showing has been par for the course for Atkins down the stretch. He finished with double figures in scoring in four of the last five games. That included 11 points against FSU, 10 against Wake Forest, 16 against Virginia Tech, 6 against Syracuse, and 10 against Louisville. Atkins literally saved his best for last. The only other time he had a similar stretch came as a sophomore when he scored in double digits in four of six games (10 vs. North Texas, 14 at Wisconsin, 7 vs. Green Bay, 8 vs. Tennessee, 14 vs. Mississippi Valley State, and 17 vs. Morgan State). Atkins shot the ball extremely well in this season’s final quintet of regular season games. He made 24 of 37 shots for an impressive 64.9% clip.

Throw in the Pittsburgh game before the final five-game run when Atkins hit 4 of 9 shots for 9 points and he averaged 10.3 points in the final third of the ACC schedule. During that time, he shot 60.9% from the floor. Atkins also averaged 5.3 rebounds in those six games while being UVa’s best post defender as well.

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