Everything went according to script for Virginia in the ACC Tournament final. Well, almost everything.
Tempo: 59 possessions. Check.
Control the boards: UVA outrebounded Carolina 36-28, surrendering just five offensive rebounds to the Heels. Check.
Oddly, Virginia, 13th in the ACC in offensive rebounding percentage, had 16 offensive rebounds.
Keep the Tar Heels from getting out on fast breaks: the final tally there was six points apiece, so … check.
Marcus Paige (13 points), Brice Johnson (12 points, nine rebounds) and Justin Jackson (six points) had pedestrian games for them.
Check, check, check.
What didn’t go according to script: that 8:12 stretch of the second half without a field goal.
UNC went on a 15-2 run to take a nine-point lead inside of two minutes to go before Malcolm Brodgon finally broke through the force field with a three from the left corner, and Evan Nolte hit one from the right corner on Virginia’s next possession to cut the deficit to three just like that.
The margin for error was razor-thin, though, and when an Isaiah Hicks runner with 30 seconds left did a victory lap before dropping, the writing was on the wall.
The Cavs beat a hot-shooting Carolina team two weeks ago in Charlottesville in a high-scoring affair. UNC evened the score Saturday night in Washington by beating Virginia on Virginia’s terms.
Awful night for Brogdon, Perrantes
Malcolm Brogdon broke tendencies in two ways: shooting a lot (13 attempts in the first half, 22 for th game), and misfiring.
Brogdon finished 6-of-22 from the field on the night, 2-of-9 from three-point range, and only got to the line once in 36 minutes.
London Perrantes was similarly chatty with the trigger finger and unfortunately unproductive: 3-of-14 from the field and 2-of-8 from three, with just two assists in 34 minutes.
Pitch it to Gill, then … don’t
It seemed that the emphasis in the locker room at halftime was: get the ball to AG.
Anthony Gill got the ball on Virginia’s first two second-half possessions and converted a pair of tough post buckets.
Then … it was raining missed threes.
AG went 4-for-5 from the field in the second half, scoring 11 points.
Keeping score, Brogdon was 2-of-9 from the field in the second half, and Perrantes was 2-of-8.
Defensive inefficiency
For the second straight night, Virginia allowed its opponent to shoot 50 percent-plus from the floor. Carolina shot 51.1 percent (24-of-47).
The Heels scored 1.034 points per possession, their efficiency limited by their 10 turnovers, though they only had two in the last 27:26.
Column by Chris Graham
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