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Podcast: UVA advances to Elite Eight

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uva basketballAugusta Free Press staffers Chris Graham and Scott German talk UVA basketball with the top seed Cavs advancing to the Elite Eight.

The Cavs defeated #4 seed Iowa State, 84-71, on Friday night. Chris and Scott break down the game, and look ahead to the Midwest Regional final on Sunday.

 

Podcast: UVA Sports Today


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Game Notes

  • With the win, Virginia earned its sixth trip to the Elite Eight and first since 1995
  • Virginia is 28-19 all-time in 20 NCAA Tournament appearances and 6-3 in NCAA Regional semifinal play
  • Tony Bennett is 9-5 career in five trips to the NCAA Tournament, including a 6-3 mark at Virginia, and also is making his first Elite 8 appearance
  • Virginia recorded its most assists ever in an NCAA Tournament game with 26 (previous was 23 against Michigan in 1989); it also was a season high
  • Georges Niang scored 30 points, most by a UVA opponent in an NCAA game since Arizona’s Khalid Reeves recorded 30 on March 20, 1994

 

Team Notes

  • Virginia has recorded 89 wins over the last three seasons, setting a program record (88, 1981-83)
  • UVA’s senior class scored its 112th victory – matching a school record, set by the 1983 squad
  • UVA scored its 29th win, tied for fifth most in program history
  • UVA is 80-4 when scoring at least 70 points under Tony Bennett
  • Virginia is 23-2 this year when leading at the half
  • Virginia earned its eighth win over a ranked team, its most since eight in 1980-81
  • Virginia hit the 80-point plateau for the eighth time and the second time in the NCAA Tournament
  • Virginia improved to 2-2 all-time against Iowa State
  • UVA hit eight of its first 12 field-goal attempts in the first half to bolt to a 20-5 lead just under seven minutes into the game
  • UVA recorded assists on 15 of its 17 first-half field goals
  • UVA shot 60.7 percent in the first half, its best first-half shooting percentage of the season (60 percent against George Mason)
  • The 45-point effort in the first half was UVA’s second best in the opening half this year, bested only by a 47-point performance against George Mason (11/22)
  • This marks just the fourth game this year in which UVA scored more points in the first half than the second (Syracuse, Duke, Clemson)
  • Niang  was the third UVA opponent to hit for 30 points this year – Kay Felder (Oakland, 30) and Jaron Blossomgame (Clemson, 31)
  • UVA held a 54-46 lead at the 13:11 mark when Niang committed his fourth foul; UVA extended its lead to 63-48 at the 9:02mark when he re-entered. The UVA lead remained in double figures the rest of the way
  • Virginia scored a season-high 52 points in paint (previous high was 44 against West Virginia)
  • ISU had just two fastbreak points and did not get a fastbreak bucket until the 7:57 mark of the second half
  • Virginia dished out a season-high 26 assists on 32 field goals

 

Player Notes

  • Anthony Gill had a season-high 23 points (22 vs. Villanova), just two points off his career high
  • Mike Tobey scored a season-high 18 points (previous high was 16 against Oakland); it was one off his career high, set Dec. 30, 2012, against Wofford
  • With a season-high 23 points, Anthony Gill has scored at least 19 points in each of UVA’s 2016 tournament games (previous season high was 22 against Villanova)
  • Isaiah Wilkins (12 points) scored in double figures for the third time this season and the first time since a career-high 14-point game against Virginia Tech (2/9)
  • London Perrantes had a hand in six of UVA’s first eight field goals in the first half (four assists, two three-pointers)
  • Perrantes recorded nine assists, his second most this season (11 against George Mason)

 

About Chris Graham

chris grahamChris Graham will mark his 21st year in the media industry in 2016. An award-winning journalist and editor, Chris has also hosted local TV news programs, a syndicated sports talk show and served as the play-by-play announcer for a two-time championship winning summer college baseball team.

A 1994 graduate of the University of Virginia, Chris is the editor of AugustaFreePress.com, a daily news source based in Waynesboro, Va., that provides readers with in-depth coverage of news, sports, politics and culture in Virginia.

An author of five books, Chris also co-wrote a book on the history of UVA basketball, Mad About U: Four Decades of Basketball at University Hall, which was published in 2006.

Contributors

Contributors

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPandora and YouTube.