Didn’t it seem like a heavyweight title fight? Every time Virginia punched, North Carolina counterpunched, and then when the Heels would throw a haymaker, the ‘Hoos would respond with a flurry.
The remarkable thing, in looking at the stats, is that Virginia last trailed with 13:42 to go in the first half, and yet the game was always in striking distance.
UVA led by as many as eight in the first half, but needed an Isaiah Wilkins layup at the buzzer to go into the break with a three-point lead.
Virginia then led by 11 at one point in the second half, but Carolina kept hanging around.
The 11-point lead was at the 8:34 mark after an 18-7 Cavs run over a 6:25 stretch.
A pair of free throws by Marcus Paige with 4:15 to go had it at five at 69-64.
An Anthony Gill layup with 55 seconds left pushed the UVA lead back to eight at 74-66.
Then Justin Jackson responded eight seconds later with a laser-beam three that cut the deficit for UNC back to five.
A Paige three with 17 seconds left had the game at one possession at 77-74, and the natives were getting restless inside JPJ.
Devon Hall hit a pair of free throws, ice water flowing through his veins, to provide the last bit of breathing room.
Forget the efficiency stats in this one. This one was two really, really good basketball teams in an epic game.
The kind of game that could define both teams as the calendar is about to turn from February to March.
– Column by Chris Graham
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