
The win is the first for Virginia in an ACC Tournament quarterfinal since 1995. The Cavs advance to play the winner of the North Carolina-Pitt game on Saturday.
The ‘Hoos (26-6, 17-2 ACC) led 32-27 at the half and pushed the lead to 11 at 48-37 on a three-pointer out of a timeout by Joe Harris at the 11:43 mark. The ‘Noles, in need of a win to enhance its NCAA Tournament resume, never would get closer than 12 the rest of the way.
The first half was a different story. Florida State led 9-5 at the first media timeout, and Virginia never led by more than five in the opening 20 minutes as Okaro White scored 13 of Florida State’s 27 first-half points.
But Anthony Gill and Joe Harris had big first halves for UVa., with Gill scoring 12 on 6-of-7 shooting fro the field, and Harris adding 10 on 4-of-7 shooting.
Harris, who had struggled in games down the stretch in the regular season, had his best game in weeks for Virginia, finishing with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from three-point range.
Gill finished with 16.
White had only four points after halftime to finish with 17 to lead Florida State.
Virginia outrebounded FSU 30-25 and shot 47.9 percent (23-of-48) from the field for the game.
Florida State shot 42.6 percent for the game.