Virginia basketball routs Miami in ACC Tournament semis

· Yahoo Sports

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — “Today was our day,” head coach Ryan Odom said. “I think that’s really what I would make of it.”

It was the Virginia Cavaliers’ day, indeed, on Friday. Behind another impressive outing from Ugonna Onyenso, the second-seeded ’Hoos raced to a dominant 84-62 victory over the third-seeded Miami Hurricanes in the ACC Tournament semifinals.

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In front of an energized Spectrum Center crowd, Virginia’s 7-foot senior from Owerri, Nigeria, followed up his eight-block performance on Thursday with another gem, swatting four shots (and altering just about every other Hurricane attempt in the paint) while pouring in a team-high 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the floor. With his effort against the Hurricanes, Onyenso has already set the record for most blocks, with 12 and counting, in an ACC Tournament.

“He’s a great player, great shot blocker,” Chance Mallory said postgame. “So [his presence] allows us to get into the ball a little bit more freely and play more loosely because we know we have him to protect us on the backside. He’s a great shot blocker and played great again today.”

Onyenso played over 27 minutes, well above his season average for the second-straight game, as starting center Johann Grunloh once again got into some early foul trouble. With 10 points and three early blocks in the first half, Onyenso kept the ’Hoos grounded while the shots weren’t falling to start the game — at the 5:30 mark of the first half, Virginia and Miami were a combined 1-for-15 from 3-point range and knotted at 17.

With not much clicking offensively in the early going, Thjis De Ridder (who finished with 16 points and six rebounds) took matters into his own hands, putting his head down and slicing to the rim for his third layup of the first half. That bucket, which put the ’Hoos up 19-17, ignited a Cavalanche during which UVA outscored the Hurricanes 21-6 to take a 15-point lead into halftime.

Mallory, who finished with 12 points (2-5 FG) and a game-high six assists on the night, put the exclamation mark on the Virginia run by picking the pocket of Miami guard Tre Donaldson and wisely pulled up to drain a 3-pointer before the first-half clock expired.

“In our minds, it was just a regular shot,” Mallory said. “It obviously had a little bit more implications being at the end of the half. We knew at the start of the half we had to punch first, take care of business, and play the way we were playing the rest of the game, and that’s what we did.”

The ’Hoos didn’t let up after the break. For a team that has let a few big leads dwindle into dangerous territory down the stretch, Virginia responded to every mini-run by the Hurricanes in the second half, refusing to let the score get back within single digits.

“Yeah, it’s important to respond when they have their runs because they’re a good team that is capable of [coming back],” Malik Thomas said. “So, answering back was huge.”

Thomas, who poured in nine of his 15 points after the half, was a rock for the ’Hoos offensively. The senior guard seems to have made it a point of emphasis to attack the rim in Virginia’s past three games, and he’s averaging 15.7 points per contest during that stretch.

Behind Mallory, Thomas, and a balanced offensive attack that led to five double-digit scorers, the ’Hoos put up as impressive a performance as any squad to take the floor this week in Charlotte.

Now up to 13th on KenPom, Virginia improved to 29-4 in year one of the Odom era (the ninth time in school history that UVA has won 29 or more games) and secured the program’s 11th ACC title game appearance. The Cavaliers will take on the winner of fifth-seeded Clemson and top-seeded Duke, who took the floor immediately following Virginia’s victory for the second semifinal contest of the evening.

A matchup with the Tigers would present a slightly unusual situation, as Clemson was not on Virginia’s schedule at all during the regular season. But Odom is confident in his staff’s ability to prepare the ’Hoos, regardless of who they may face.

“When you play in a conference with 18 teams,” Odom said. “You’re playing [each team] one time anyway. We only have the two crossover games. So both teams are used to these preps.”

It should be noted that Grunloh is still dealing with the wrist injury suffered in Virginia’s win over NC State on Thursday. Though Odom ensured there is no structural damage to the wrist, he made it clear that UVA’s starting center wasn’t at full strength and battled through a lot of pain to be on the floor.

Virginia, which led by as many as 26 points on Friday night, will be seeking its fourth ACC Tournament title on Saturday evening. Tip-off from Charlotte — whether against the Blue Devils or Tigers — is set for 8:30 PM EST. Coverage will be available on ESPN.

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