Virginia made the trek to Brooklyn knowing it needed a win on Wednesday to get to Thursday and North Carolina.
And here we are.
Virginia (19-12) began the night at the top of ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s Next Four Out line, which is about as much as you could have hoped for after the back-to-back home losses to Duke and Florida State two weeks ago.
The 51-50 win over a sub-.500 Louisville team Wednesday night won’t move the needle toward the bubble in and of itself, but it does get the ‘Hoos a shot at another Quadrant 1 win on Thursday with Carolina (23-8).
So, OK, again, here we are.
The matchup with the Tar Heels isn’t necessarily the one Virginia would have wanted, as opposed to, say, Miami, which the Cavaliers swept in the regular season.
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North Carolina whupped up on Virginia in a 74-58 win in Chapel Hill on Jan. 8.
Armando Bacot had 29 points (12-of-18 FG) and 22 rebounds in that one, and did I mention that the Heels also drained 11 threes?
This one was a game at the half, with UNC up six, 31-25, and it was 47-38 after a Kihei Clark three with 13:33 to go, but the Cavaliers went scoreless for the next 3:52 as the Heels opened a 57-38 lead, punctuated by a stepback Brady Manek three with 10:15 left.
Manek finished with 19 points, and Caleb Love had 16 for Carolina.
Reece Beekman led Virginia with 13 points.
Breaking this one down, it was almost literally all Bacot, with just a dash of Manek and Love.
Bacot had 22 of UNC’s 36 rebounds, nine of the Heels’ 11 offensive boards, 24 of their 30 points in the paint, 12 of their 13 makes at the rim.
All four of Love’s makes from three were contested. Manek had maybe one unadulterated look from behind the arc.
Basketball is a make-or-miss game. Bacot made a lot of shots at the rim, and Love and Manek made a lot of contested threes.
Virginia, for its part, was 6-of-12 from three, obviously 50 percent. The ‘Hoos got 18 looks at the rim. The issue was, only made eight of them. UNC defenders were only credited with three blocked shots, but a lot were contested.
Beekman was 6-of-12 from the field, including 1-of-3 from three, and had four assists.
Clark had a rough day: nine points, 3-of-11 shooting, two assists and two turnovers.
Armaan Franklin had 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting. Jayden Gardner had 10 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
The centers, Kadin Shedrick and Francisco Caffaro, had a total of two points and two rebounds in 37 minutes.
On a day that saw the other team’s five go absolutely bonkers, there’s the game.
It’s easy to want to say, figure out a way to check Bacot, Carolina doesn’t knock down a bunch of contested threes, Virginia has a shot.
Hey, Virginia has a shot.
It’s not quite win and you’re in, but it’s close. Win, and that’s #20 on the season, #4 over a Quad 1 team, and you get another chance at it on Friday night in the semifinals.
When this team was losing to the likes of Navy and JMU in November and December, the idea that it would be a win or two away from punching its ticket to the Big Dance seemed as far away as $4 a gallon gas.
And yet, here we are.
Story by Chris Graham
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