Jumat, 29 Maret 2019

March Madness roundup: Virginia beats Oregon in Sweet 16, advance to Elite Eight - Fox News

No. 1 seed Virginia, reaching its second regional final in four years, beat No. 12 Oregon 53-49 on Thursday night in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Oregon was on a roll and leading, but the Cavaliers kept them from reaching the regional final. Virginia’s Ty Jerome gave his team a three-point lead with 3:34 remaining, and then they used their trademark defense to solidify their lead against the Ducks.

The Cavaliers (32-3) shot 36 percent and matched a season-low in scoring, but managed to outlast the Ducks (25-13). Jerome's 3 was the biggest as he took Kihei Clark's pass and converted from deep to make it 48-45.

Also advancing Thursday were Texas Tech, Purdue and Gonzaga.

Texas Tech forward Tariq Owens (11) shoots over Michigan defenders during the second half an NCAA men's college basketball tournament West Region semifinal. (Associated Press)

Texas Tech forward Tariq Owens (11) shoots over Michigan defenders during the second half an NCAA men's college basketball tournament West Region semifinal. (Associated Press)

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TEXAS TECH 63, MICHIGAN 44

No. 3 seed Texas Tech easily clinched a 63-44 win against No. 2 Michigan in the West Region, positioning them for a showdown against Gonzaga.

Texas Tech (29-6) is back to this point for the second straight year. The Red Raiders held an efficient-if-not-spectacular Michigan (30-7) offense to 16 field goals, 32 percent shooting and only a single 3-point basket on 19 attempts.

Purdue's Carsen Edwards shoots a free throw in the final seconds of the second half of a men's NCAA Tournament college basketball South Regional semifinal game against Tennessee. (Associated Press)

Purdue's Carsen Edwards shoots a free throw in the final seconds of the second half of a men's NCAA Tournament college basketball South Regional semifinal game against Tennessee. (Associated Press)

PURDUE 99, TENNESSEE 94

Carsen Edwards finished with 29 points as Purdue advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000, beating Tennessee 99-94 on Thursday night after blowing an 18-point lead.

Gonzaga forward Rui Hachimura, right, and forward Brandon Clarke celebrate the team's win against Florida State during an NCAA men's college basketball tournament West Region semifinal. (Associated Press)

Gonzaga forward Rui Hachimura, right, and forward Brandon Clarke celebrate the team's win against Florida State during an NCAA men's college basketball tournament West Region semifinal. (Associated Press)

GONZAGA 72, FLORIDA STATE 58

The top-seeded Bulldogs beat Florida State 72-58 in a Sweet 16 rematch Thursday night that moved Gonzaga to a regional final for the fourth time.

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Gonzaga (33-3) is back in the Elite Eight for the second time in three years after Florida State ended the Bulldogs' season last year. That defeat, as well as games this season against North Carolina, Duke and Tennessee, is what Zach Norvell Jr. said prepared Gonzaga to face fourth-seeded Florida State (29-8) again.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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https://www.foxnews.com/sports/march-madness-virginia-wins-second-regional-final-in-four-years

2019-03-29 11:07:34Z
52780253873718

March Madness roundup: Virginia beats Oregon in Sweet 16, advance to Elite Eight - Fox News

No. 1 seed Virginia, reaching its second regional final in four years, beat No. 12 Oregon 53-49 on Thursday night in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

Oregon was on a roll and leading, but the Cavaliers kept them from reaching the regional final. Virginia’s Ty Jerome gave his team a three-point lead with 3:34 remaining, and then they used their trademark defense to solidify their lead against the Ducks.

The Cavaliers (32-3) shot 36 percent and matched a season-low in scoring, but managed to outlast the Ducks (25-13). Jerome's 3 was the biggest as he took Kihei Clark's pass and converted from deep to make it 48-45.

Also advancing Thursday were Texas Tech, Purdue and Gonzaga.

Texas Tech forward Tariq Owens (11) shoots over Michigan defenders during the second half an NCAA men's college basketball tournament West Region semifinal. (Associated Press)

Texas Tech forward Tariq Owens (11) shoots over Michigan defenders during the second half an NCAA men's college basketball tournament West Region semifinal. (Associated Press)

CLICK HERE FOR ALL MARCH MADNESS COVERAGE

TEXAS TECH 63, MICHIGAN 44

No. 3 seed Texas Tech easily clinched a 63-44 win against No. 2 Michigan in the West Region, positioning them for a showdown against Gonzaga.

Texas Tech (29-6) is back to this point for the second straight year. The Red Raiders held an efficient-if-not-spectacular Michigan (30-7) offense to 16 field goals, 32 percent shooting and only a single 3-point basket on 19 attempts.

Purdue's Carsen Edwards shoots a free throw in the final seconds of the second half of a men's NCAA Tournament college basketball South Regional semifinal game against Tennessee. (Associated Press)

Purdue's Carsen Edwards shoots a free throw in the final seconds of the second half of a men's NCAA Tournament college basketball South Regional semifinal game against Tennessee. (Associated Press)

PURDUE 99, TENNESSEE 94

Carsen Edwards finished with 29 points as Purdue advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2000, beating Tennessee 99-94 on Thursday night after blowing an 18-point lead.

Gonzaga forward Rui Hachimura, right, and forward Brandon Clarke celebrate the team's win against Florida State during an NCAA men's college basketball tournament West Region semifinal. (Associated Press)

Gonzaga forward Rui Hachimura, right, and forward Brandon Clarke celebrate the team's win against Florida State during an NCAA men's college basketball tournament West Region semifinal. (Associated Press)

GONZAGA 72, FLORIDA STATE 58

The top-seeded Bulldogs beat Florida State 72-58 in a Sweet 16 rematch Thursday night that moved Gonzaga to a regional final for the fourth time.

GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Gonzaga (33-3) is back in the Elite Eight for the second time in three years after Florida State ended the Bulldogs' season last year. That defeat, as well as games this season against North Carolina, Duke and Tennessee, is what Zach Norvell Jr. said prepared Gonzaga to face fourth-seeded Florida State (29-8) again.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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https://www.foxnews.com/sports/march-madness-virginia-wins-second-regional-final-in-four-years

2019-03-29 10:40:37Z
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Texas Tech passes Michigan exam ... but bigger test awaits - ESPN

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- As Texas Tech made its way through the Honda Center corridor Thursday after holding Michigan to 44 points -- the lowest-ever tally for the Wolverines in the NCAA tournament -- Meek Mill's "Dreams and Nightmares" thumped so loudly in the team's locker room that the doors rattled.

The Philly rapper's ode to overcoming the odds -- "I used to pray for times like this/To rhyme like this/So I had to grind like this" -- could be the theme for a program that's reached the Elite Eight for the second consecutive season under third-year coach Chris Beard.

Now, Texas Tech, which plays the best defense in America, will face Gonzaga, the best offense in the country, in a Saturday battle that could send the Red Raiders to the first Final Four in the history of the program.

"Yeah, I'm already kinda shaking, thinking about how good Gonzaga is, but I didn't know they were the best team offensively," Beard told ESPN after the game. "I've got great respect for their coach and their program, as does everybody in our locker room. We'll have to guard at a high level because that's who we are. I've always thought when you get to this tournament you've gotta be who you are. That's obviously who we are, and we gotta figure out a way to score some points, too."

It's easy to forget about the West Regional.

Zion Williamson is not in Anaheim. North Carolina and Kentucky are elsewhere, too. Tennessee and Purdue staged one of the best games of the year on Thursday. They played in Louisville, where Virginia also held off a game Oregon team. The bulk of the sexy, pre-Final Four storylines include teams that did not make the trip to the Honda Center, a 3.5-mile drive from Disneyland. Yet Saturday's meeting between Gonzaga and Texas Tech will be a stat freak's dream. Gonzaga, the nation's most efficient offensive team, and Texas Tech, the country's most efficient defense -- all attributes equally supported by ESPN Analytics, Synergy Sports and KenPom alike -- will compete in the most intriguing battle of the weekend.

"We haven't watched any film on them yet," projected lottery pick Jarrett Culver said. "We was just focused on Michigan, but, we know [Gonzaga is] a great team, one of the best teams in the country, so we're gonna have to play one of our best games to compete with them."

There was notable offense for Tech -- Culver poured in a game-high 22 points and fellow guard Davide Moretti added 15 just hours after viral video surfaced of Moretti's family surprising him with a visit from Italy -- but as usual with this team, it was defense that carried the day.

On Thursday, the Red Raiders made history for Michigan basketball (the bad kind), which missed its first 18 3-point attempts. This all came after Buffalo, which was averaging 84.5 PPG and had scored 91 points in the first round against Arizona State, was held to just 58 points against Texas Tech in the second round. Northern Kentucky, Buffalo and Michigan averaged just 53.0 PPG against Texas Tech, a team that has held seven teams under 50 points this season.

"You know, whoever we play, it's going to be just a phenomenal defensive team," Mark Few said after Gonzaga's win over Florida State without knowing which team he'd face in the Elite Eight. "And probably just as hard or harder to score than it was [Thursday]. So we're going to have to really buckle down and be tough."

The hype surrounding this matchup will not surpass the hype around the other Elite Eight games.

Virginia can complete the exorcism of last season's demons and a first-round loss to UMBC with a Final Four run. The Cavaliers will face a Purdue squad that somehow lost a talented senior class and still managed to enter Saturday's game just one win from the program's first Final Four appearance since 1980.

Some combination of Duke, Virginia Tech, Kentucky, Houston, North Carolina, Auburn, LSU and Michigan State will create more nationally relevant matchups Sunday than anything that will unfold Saturday.

Let's just be honest.

Gonzaga versus Texas Tech can't compete. But if you believe the numbers, no other Elite Eight encounter will top the purity of the one that will be staged in Anaheim. We might see Culver and Texas Tech suffocate a Gonzaga squad that won seven West Coast Conference games by 30 points or more. Or, we could see the Bulldogs and their two projected first-round picks, Brandon Clarke and Rui Hachimura, reel off a crippling run and dominate Texas Tech, as it has other opponents throughout the season.

It's an efficiency-fueled meeting with a trip to the Final Four on the line.

Does it get much better than that? Not for the analytics acolytes.

"We show our team clips of winning basketball," Beard said. "We show a lot of Gonzaga clips. Their passion, their togetherness, their courage, how aggressive they are. At this point, I'm a fan, and here in the next hour or so, I've got to flip that and start to get ready to try to prepare against them."

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http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/26385405/texas-tech-passes-michigan-exam-bigger-test-awaits

2019-03-29 06:36:32Z
52780250130740

Virginia takes another step toward elusive Final Four - ESPN

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- On a night when both Gene Keady and Ralph Sampson were in the building, Purdue and Virginia each gave themselves a chance to add another long-awaited chapter to their respective program histories.

Purdue blew an 18-point lead to Tennessee in the second half, but Carsen Edwards hit two free throws with 1.7 seconds left to send the game to overtime. The Boilermakers pulled away for a 99-94 win in the extra session.

Virginia had a similarly strong finish, holding Oregon without a field goal for the last 5:43 en route to a 53-49 victory.

Now, both programs will have the opportunity Saturday night to reach the Final Four for the first time in 30-plus years. Purdue was last in the national semifinals in 1980, and Virginia reached it in 1984.

For Virginia, there's a stark contrast to its NCAA tournament performance from a year ago, when the Cavaliers made history by becoming the first 1-seed to lose to a 16-seed. All season long, Tony Bennett hasn't shied away from what happened, choosing instead to embrace it as a learning experience. Forty minutes from the ultimate redemption story, Bennett is doing much of the same.

"Last year was an amazing year, you know, and then we got to the NCAA tournament, and that was so hard," Bennett said. "And I knew this was gonna be an important year for all of us, in our lives, whatever it brought. And we needed to kind of band together and needed each other to go through it and to respond, up to this point, the way they have -- in the regular season and then to get into the NCAA tournament and be in that spot when we were down 14 and fight, and continue to advance. That stuff will stay with these guys, so again, very thankful, and you know you just want an opportunity and here we are."

Purdue hasn't been at this stage since 2000, but Virginia is on the cusp yet again. The Cavaliers were in this position in 2016, as the 1-seed under Bennett, but were stunned by 10-seed Syracuse and Jim Boeheim.

Given Thursday night's game ended around 12:30 a.m. local time, it's a short turnaround for Virginia to face Purdue on Saturday night -- especially considering Bennett didn't make a single substitution for the final 15:20 of the contest. All five starters played at least 36 minutes.

"We've been preparing for this during the regular season too," junior guard Ty Jerome said. "Coach said he looked at the schedule when it first came out and he saw three Saturday-Monday games. He was upset at first. To start March off, he was happy because it prepared us for this tough team, one day of preparation and another tough team. So we've been preparing for this all season. The ACC did a great job of preparing us for this moment."

play

0:16

Virginia moves the ball around before Kyle Guy finds a wide-open De'Andre Hunter for the layup to give the Cavaliers a two-possession lead.

The NCAA tournament has continued the tests for Virginia, as the Cavaliers have not made things easy on themselves. They trailed 16-seed Gardner-Webb by 14 points in the first round before cruising to a win in the second half, and then trailed Oregon by three with 5:43 left after Louis King buried a 3-pointer to cap an 11-3 run by the Ducks.

But the Cavaliers locked down the rest of the game, holding Oregon to only four free throws over the final 5:43.

"We're in March, and it's 40-minute territory, as Coach always tells us," junior guard Kyle Guy said. "So it helps that we try to stay calm under pressure and that we try to execute and get stops defensively, no matter what the score is or how hectic the game is going. That will always be in our advantage, and we're going to try to continue to bring that to every game."

Saturday will be the ultimate test of Virginia's mental toughness. Whether Virginia can truly rid itself of the 16-over-1 demons from last year; whether the Cavaliers can get Bennett over the hump and into the Final Four; and whether one of the best programs in college basketball over the past six years can put its stamp on the sport.

And on the other side will be Purdue and its own Final Four drought, led by a head coach in Matt Painter who just won his first Sweet 16 game in five tries.

History -- and a trip to Minneapolis -- is on the line.

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http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/26385529/virginia-takes-another-step-elusive-final-four

2019-03-29 07:18:18Z
52780253873718

Virginia takes another step toward elusive Final Four - ESPN

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- On a night when both Gene Keady and Ralph Sampson were in the building, Purdue and Virginia each gave themselves a chance to add another long-awaited chapter to their respective program histories.

Purdue blew an 18-point lead to Tennessee in the second half, but Carsen Edwards hit two free throws with 1.7 seconds left to send the game to overtime. The Boilermakers pulled away for a 99-94 win in the extra session.

Virginia had a similarly strong finish, holding Oregon without a field goal for the last 5:43 en route to a 53-49 victory.

Now, both programs will have the opportunity Saturday night to reach the Final Four for the first time in 30-plus years. Purdue was last in the national semifinals in 1980, and Virginia reached it in 1984.

For Virginia, there's a stark contrast to its NCAA tournament performance from a year ago, when the Cavaliers made history by becoming the first 1-seed to lose to a 16-seed. All season long, Tony Bennett hasn't shied away from what happened, choosing instead to embrace it as a learning experience. Forty minutes from the ultimate redemption story, Bennett is doing much of the same.

"Last year was an amazing year, you know, and then we got to the NCAA tournament, and that was so hard," Bennett said. "And I knew this was gonna be an important year for all of us, in our lives, whatever it brought. And we needed to kind of band together and needed each other to go through it and to respond, up to this point, the way they have -- in the regular season and then to get into the NCAA tournament and be in that spot when we were down 14 and fight, and continue to advance. That stuff will stay with these guys, so again, very thankful, and you know you just want an opportunity and here we are."

Purdue hasn't been at this stage since 2000, but Virginia is on the cusp yet again. The Cavaliers were in this position in 2016, as the 1-seed under Bennett, but were stunned by 10-seed Syracuse and Jim Boeheim.

Given Thursday night's game ended around 12:30 a.m. local time, it's a short turnaround for Virginia to face Purdue on Saturday night -- especially considering Bennett didn't make a single substitution for the final 15:20 of the contest. All five starters played at least 36 minutes.

"We've been preparing for this during the regular season too," junior guard Ty Jerome said. "Coach said he looked at the schedule when it first came out and he saw three Saturday-Monday games. He was upset at first. To start March off, he was happy because it prepared us for this tough team, one day of preparation and another tough team. So we've been preparing for this all season. The ACC did a great job of preparing us for this moment."

play

0:16

Virginia moves the ball around before Kyle Guy finds a wide-open De'Andre Hunter for the layup to give the Cavaliers a two-possession lead.

The NCAA tournament has continued the tests for Virginia, as the Cavaliers have not made things easy on themselves. They trailed 16-seed Gardner-Webb by 14 points in the first round before cruising to a win in the second half, and then trailed Oregon by three with 5:43 left after Louis King buried a 3-pointer to cap an 11-3 run by the Ducks.

But the Cavaliers locked down the rest of the game, holding Oregon to only four free throws over the final 5:43.

"We're in March, and it's 40-minute territory, as Coach always tells us," junior guard Kyle Guy said. "So it helps that we try to stay calm under pressure and that we try to execute and get stops defensively, no matter what the score is or how hectic the game is going. That will always be in our advantage, and we're going to try to continue to bring that to every game."

Saturday will be the ultimate test of Virginia's mental toughness. Whether Virginia can truly rid itself of the 16-over-1 demons from last year; whether the Cavaliers can get Bennett over the hump and into the Final Four; and whether one of the best programs in college basketball over the past six years can put its stamp on the sport.

And on the other side will be Purdue and its own Final Four drought, led by a head coach in Matt Painter who just won his first Sweet 16 game in five tries.

History -- and a trip to Minneapolis -- is on the line.

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http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/26385529/virginia-takes-another-step-elusive-final-four

2019-03-29 07:01:32Z
52780253873718

Michigan basketball's biggest flaw returns at the worst time - Detroit Free Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. — In a year that featured so much promise and so much outstanding play, there was always something lingering over Michigan's basketball team. 

This team could defend anyone. But the offense, especially against teams like Texas Tech, just couldn't keep up. 

It was the story in three brutal losses to Michigan State this season. And, in the end, it was the final chapter of Michigan's 2018-19 season.

The Wolverines won 30 games this year, but after bowing out with an offensive collapse during a 63-44 loss to Texas Tech in the Sweet 16, this Michigan team will go in the books as John Beilein's best club that went without a banner of any kind. 

To be clear: Michigan lost three games to MSU and one to Texas Tech. Those are two outstanding basketball teams, two of the best in the country. Against everyone else, the Wolverines are 30-3. 

More: Michigan's historically bad Sweet 16 loss to Texas Tech: By the numbers

But they'll finish 30-7 with some real emptiness in the offseason. Because this is how college basketball works on the big stage: You're ultimately judged in March. Back-to-back 30-win seasons is a great thing, something undreamed of in Ann Arbor a decade ago.

But Beilein has raised the bar here. And when you don't quite reach it, it stings.  

The Wolverines couldn't finish off the Big Ten regular-season title. They couldn't quite finish off the Big Ten tournament title. And Thursday night in Anaheim, every one of this team's flaws caught up with them, two wins shy of a return trip to the Final Four. 

For Michigan basketball, this is mostly uncharted territory. 

The Wolverines spent so many years under Beilein trying to establish themselves as a top-flightprogram. Just getting to the NCAA tournament was a cause for celebration not that long ago. Five Sweet 16s and two trips to the national title game in seven years later, March success feels normal. 

More: Last perfect NCAA bracket busted with Tennessee's loss in Sweet 16

But with that, the feeling of ending short of the ultimate goal — make no mistake, that ultimate goal was to get back to the national title game and win it — but still priding yourself on moving forward is no longer bittersweet. 

These losses are just bitter. And they'll no doubt serve as fuel as Beilein enters another offseason likely rife with change and development. 

A few Wolverines will ponder the NBA in the coming weeks. Charles Matthews has one year of eligibility left, but he decided to go through his senior day earlier this year after testing the NBA waters last spring. Thursday may have been his final college game. 

Ignas Brazdeikis, the team's leading scorer and the Big Ten freshman of the year, will also have a decision to make. So will Jordan Poole, who — like every other underclassman on the roster — will have the opportunity to work out for pro teams this summer if he chooses. 

Regardless, Michigan will enter an offseason where offensive improvement has to be the top priority. This team never had Michigan's typical brand of shooting. It never quite replaced Duncan Robinson, Moritz Wagner and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman, three players who were capable of busting droughts with a big shot. 

Those droughts popped up when opponents forced Michigan into one-on-one situations. The Wolverines were never a good one-on-one basketball team. When teams were athletic enough to switch everything, Michigan struggled without Wagner's pick-and-pop game or Abdur-Rahkman's ability to just grind out a bucket.

Michigan won 30 games because its defense is outstanding. Texas Tech's was just a bit better. And when faced with a defensive challenge this year, Michigan couldn't score enough. 

More: Michigan basketball's next great point guard? David DeJulius still learning

That's the frustrating news. 

The good news? 

John Beilein is still John Beilein. And his program is still considered one of the best and most consistent in America. 

Michigan will lose pieces this offseason, just like every year. Beilein's been able to make fixes with expertise a number of times. Michigan's been through a lot worse and gone on to win championships. 

This program has evolved constantly. 

The odds suggest it will again. 

​​​​​​Contact Nick Baumgardner at nbaumgardn@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @nickbaumgardner. Read more on the Michigan Wolverines and sign up for our Wolverines newsletter.

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https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/university-michigan/wolverines/2019/03/29/michigan-basketball-score-texas-tech/3272606002/

2019-03-29 04:27:41Z
52780250130740

Virginia takes another step toward elusive Final Four - ESPN

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- On a night when both Gene Keady and Ralph Sampson were in the building, Purdue and Virginia each gave themselves a chance to add another long-awaited chapter to their respective program histories.

Purdue blew an 18-point lead to Tennessee in the second half, but Carsen Edwards hit two free throws with 1.7 seconds left to send the game to overtime. The Boilermakers pulled away for a 99-94 win in the extra session.

Virginia had a similarly strong finish, holding Oregon without a field goal for the last 5:43 en route to a 53-49 victory.

Now, both programs will have the opportunity Saturday night to reach the Final Four for the first time in 30-plus years. Purdue was last in the national semifinals in 1980, and Virginia reached it in 1984.

For Virginia, there's a stark contrast to its NCAA tournament performance from a year ago, when the Cavaliers made history by becoming the first 1-seed to lose to a 16-seed. All season long, Tony Bennett hasn't shied away from what happened, choosing instead to embrace it as a learning experience. Forty minutes from the ultimate redemption story, Bennett is doing much of the same.

"Last year was an amazing year, you know, and then we got to the NCAA tournament, and that was so hard," Bennett said. "And I knew this was gonna be an important year for all of us, in our lives, whatever it brought. And we needed to kind of band together and needed each other to go through it and to respond, up to this point, the way they have -- in the regular season and then to get into the NCAA tournament and be in that spot when we were down 14 and fight, and continue to advance. That stuff will stay with these guys, so again, very thankful, and you know you just want an opportunity and here we are."

Purdue hasn't been at this stage since 2000, but Virginia is on the cusp yet again. The Cavaliers were in this position in 2016, as the 1-seed under Bennett, but were stunned by 10-seed Syracuse and Jim Boeheim.

Given Thursday night's game ended around 12:30 a.m. local time, it's a short turnaround for Virginia to face Purdue on Saturday night -- especially considering Bennett didn't make a single substitution for the final 15:20 of the contest. All five starters played at least 36 minutes.

"We've been preparing for this during the regular season too," junior guard Ty Jerome said. "Coach said he looked at the schedule when it first came out and he saw three Saturday-Monday games. He was upset at first. To start March off, he was happy because it prepared us for this tough team, one day of preparation and another tough team. So we've been preparing for this all season. The ACC did a great job of preparing us for this moment."

play

0:16

Virginia moves the ball around before Kyle Guy finds a wide-open De'Andre Hunter for the layup to give the Cavaliers a two-possession lead.

The NCAA tournament has continued the tests for Virginia, as the Cavaliers have not made things easy on themselves. They trailed 16-seed Gardner-Webb by 14 points in the first round before cruising to a win in the second half, and then trailed Oregon by three with 5:43 left after Louis King buried a 3-pointer to cap an 11-3 run by the Ducks.

But the Cavaliers locked down the rest of the game, holding Oregon to only four free throws over the final 5:43.

"We're in March, and it's 40-minute territory, as Coach always tells us," junior guard Kyle Guy said. "So it helps that we try to stay calm under pressure and that we try to execute and get stops defensively, no matter what the score is or how hectic the game is going. That will always be in our advantage, and we're going to try to continue to bring that to every game."

Saturday will be the ultimate test of Virginia's mental toughness. Whether Virginia can truly rid itself of the 16-over-1 demons from last year; whether the Cavaliers can get Bennett over the hump and into the Final Four; and whether one of the best programs in college basketball over the past six years can put its stamp on the sport.

And on the other side will be Purdue and its own Final Four drought, led by a head coach in Matt Painter who just won his first Sweet 16 game in five tries.

History -- and a trip to Minneapolis -- is on the line.

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http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/26385529/virginia-takes-another-step-elusive-final-four

2019-03-29 07:10:44Z
52780253873718