Virginia Advances to ACC Semifinals, Faces Miami in Rematch

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The No. 2 seed Virginia Cavaliers defeated the No. 7 seed NC State Wolfpack 81-74 in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, securing a spot in the semifinals. Virginia will face No. 3 seed Miami on Friday at 7:00 PM at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

Cavaliers Overcome Wolfpack Challenge

Virginia (28-4) faced a tougher-than-expected challenge from NC State (20-13), a team they had defeated comfortably twice during the regular season. The Wolfpack started strong, taking an early lead, but the Cavaliers rallied to lead at halftime, 33-32.

A key performance off the bench came from Ugonna Onyenso, who contributed eight points, six rebounds, and an impressive eight blocks. “It’s hard to beat a team three times,” UVA forward Devin Tillis said after the game.

Looking Ahead: Rematch with Miami

This semifinal matchup is a rematch of a close regular-season contest, where Virginia edged Miami 86-83 at John Paul Jones Arena. Miami had a strong shooting performance in that earlier game, but Virginia prevailed with contributions from Jacari White, Chance Mallory, Malik Thomas, Sam Lewis, Thijs De Ridder, and Johann Grunloh, each scoring over ten points.

Miami (25-7) advanced to the semifinals with a 78-73 win over Louisville on Thursday. Malik Reneau led the Hurricanes with 24 points.

Key Matchup: Miami’s Interior Offense vs. Virginia’s Interior Defense

Miami excels at driving to the basket and is ranked among the top 25 nationally in field-goal percentage inside the three-point arc, and in the top 10 in overall shooting percentage at 50.6%. Virginia’s challenge will be to defend the paint without getting into foul trouble. Johann Grunloh, Ugonna Onyenso, and Thijs De Ridder will be crucial in this effort.

Interestingly, Miami is last in the ACC in opponent three-point field goal percentage, allowing teams to shoot nearly 36% from beyond the arc, which is also Virginia’s average. The Cavaliers may look to exploit this weakness, as they shot 12-24 from three-point range in their previous matchup against Miami.

Game Prediction

Virginia opened as a 3.5-point favorite according to Las Vegas odds.

Prediction: Virginia 83, Miami 77