Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Jerome helps rally Virginia past Louisville, on to tourney
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Four Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season titles in six years might seem like old hat at No. 2 Virginia, but after the Cavaliers earned that fourth one by coming back to beat Louisville 73-68 on Saturday, Ty Jerome said it was time to celebrate.
Even if the ACC Tournament still beckons, followed by pursuit of the school’s first national championship.
“You can’t take this for granted,” Jerome said after the Cavaliers cut down the nets with most of the 14,000plus fans remaining in John Paul Jones Arena and cheering each snip.
“Like coach [Tony] Bennett said, over an 18-game stretch to only lose two games, you can’t take that for granted. You have to be thankful for that, but we’ve got to stay humble and we have to know what we’re still trying to do.”
Jerome scored 24 points, including the go-ahead free throw with 5:34 remaining, as the Cavaliers rallied for their eighth consecutive victory.
They will head to Charlotte, N.C., as the top seed and with a double-bye.
“Now we’ve just got to get back in the gym and work really hard and get into an extra gear going forward,” Jerome said.
Kyle Guy added 13 points and Jay Huff also made huge contributions at both ends for Virginia (28-2, 162), which has now won or shared the ACC title nine times in its history. Guy said the way the Cardinals made them fight for it can only bode well for Virginia going forward.
“We’re in 40-minute territory and it really showed tonight. I think there’s no better way to prepare us for what we’re about to get into and this gauntlet that we’re about to start,” he said. Virginia has trailed in three of its last five second halves and came back to win each time.
Jordan Nwora scored 19 and Malik Williams 12 for the Cardinals (19-12, 10-8), who lost their ninth in a row in the series and for the sixth time in the last eight games under first-year Coach Chris Mack.
The Cardinals missed nine of their last 11 shots.
“We put ourselves in position to win the game and I think their composure versus our composure in the last 3, 4 minutes probably decided the game,” Mack said. “They looked like a team that’s been there before.”
In other top 25 men’s games Saturday, freshman Coby White scored 21 points and No. 3 North Carolina hung on late to beat No. 4 Duke 79-70 to clinch a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship. … Jarrett Culver scored a career-high 31 points, Davide Moretti added 20 and No. 8 Texas Tech beat Iowa State 80-73 to wrap up its first Big 12 regular-season title. … Carsen Edwards scored 21 points and No. 11 Purdue clinched a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship by beating Northwestern 70-57. … Dedric Lawson scored 23 points, including 11 of 12 from the free-throw line, to help No. 13 Kansas beat Baylor 7870 and stay undefeated at home. … Trent Forrest scored 11 points and No. 14 Florida State reeled off 18 consecutive points in the second half, beating Wake Forest 65-57. … James Akinjo scored 25 points, Mac McClung added 23 and Georgetown beat No. 16 Marquette 86-84 in the Golden Eagles’ fourth consecutive loss to close the regular season. … Kamau Stokes scored 19 points and No. 18 Kansas State clinched a share of the Big 12 regular-season title with a 6853 victory over Oklahoma. … Nathan Hoover scored 17 points and No. 22 Wofford extended its school-record winning streak to 18 games, beating VMI 99-72 in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament. … Myles Powell scored 20 points, Myles Cale added 19 and Seton Hall upset No. 23 Villanova 79-75, three days after knocking off No. 16 Marquette to revive its chances of getting into the NCAA Tournament. … Shizz Alston Jr. scored 21 points, Justyn Hamilton tied a career high with 13 and Temple beat No. 25 Central Florida 67-62.