Cavaliers ‘D’ proves mettle in ugly victory
With one more win, topranked Virginia finally may earn the respect that customarily is attached to the No. 1 ranking — and convince the country it can crawl its way to the Final Four for the first time in 34 years.
The top-seeded Cavaliers’ historically dominant defense suffocated their latest victim Friday night, claiming a 64-58 win over fourth-seeded Clemson in the ACC Tournament semifinals at Barclays Center, but also invited more scrutiny as to whether they can win their first national championship following an uninspiring and uneven performance.
The soon-to-be No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament will face a more feared, revered, and talented blue blood in Saturday night’s championship game — defending national champion North Carolina.
Virginia (30-2) already has beaten UNC in the regular season and now has won 30 games for the third time in the past five seasons (having not previously reached that mark since 1982), but the Cavaliers have reached the Elite Eight only once under Tony Bennett and have won the ACC Tournament twice in school history (1976, 2014).
In the teams’ previous meeting, Clemson (23-9) faced an unbeatable defensive power, which held the Tigers to just 36 points, but in Friday’s matchup, Virginia provided fuel for every person who doubts whether the Cavaliers can continue their dominance in the postseason, with their low scoring, slow pace, lack of prized recruits and underwhelming athleticism.
Early, the Cavaliers’ offense looked as weak as the perception and they fell behind 20-13 midway through the first half. Then, however, came the reminder why ugly can produce the most beautiful ending.
While forcing steal after steal and terrible Clemson shot after panicked Clemson shot, Virginia went on a 16-0 run and held the Tigers without a point for more than eight minutes and without a field goal for the final 9:25 of the half.
Clemson shot under 35 percent from the field and made just 5of-25 3-pointers, but Virginia’s inability to get to the free-throw line — as well as struggles breaking the Tigers’ press — nearly haunted them. The Cavaliers, who average the second-fewest free-throw attempts in the nation, made just 3-of-8 from the line and didn’t hit their first until 21 seconds remained in the game.
Virginia is all in, though. How the Cavaliers became the best team in the country is how they will need to be remembered as the best team this season.
“This is a complete group,” Bennett said. “Their unity is as good as any as I’ve ever coached, and those other teams had very good unity. I think there’s some balance. We have good size, and they’re relentless the way they play, and that’s the way we have to play to be good.
“They probably could play a lot of ways, but I think this way fits this group of guys, and they have bought in and embraced it in a way that I’m thankful to have, and they’ve been a joy to coach.”