ACC player of the year Malcolm Brogdon scored 24 points and No. 4 Virginia beat No. 11 Miami, 73-68, on Friday night to set up a showdown with North Carolina in the conference title game.
Virginia (26-6) and No. 7 North Carolina could each become NCAA tournament No. 1 seeds after impressive showings this week. Against Miami (25-7), the Cavaliers led wire-to-wire to the delight of the crowd that made Verizon Center feel like a home game.
Ja’Quan Newton had 19 points off the bench to lead Miami.
Beginning with Brogdon’s 3-pointer 48 seconds into the game, Virginia led the entire first half. The Cavaliers went up by as many as 11 points as eight different players scored but watched as Miami went on a 6-0 run to end the half and cut the margin to five.
Facing the same kind of hostile environment as Thursday night against Virginia Tech, Miami cut its deficit to three points. A series of turnovers stunted the comeback bid, and Brogdon went to work scoring and playmaking.
With help from Marial Shayok, who scored 10 points, and London Perrantes, who added 11 points, Virginia pulled away to lead by 13 points with 3:10 left. The Hurricanes must now turn their attention to the NCAA tournament, where they’re expected to be a high seed.
North Carolina routed Notre Dame earlier Friday to make it to the title game. Virginia won the teams’ only meeting on Feb. 27 in Charlottesville. The game features the top two seeds after the top four reached the semifinals.
Virginia reached the ACC final for the sixth time in school history and last won the conference tournament in 2014.
“The ACC is a great conference,” North Carolina forward Justin Jackson said. “So, at the end of the day, that’s what you expect in the championship game: to have two really good teams.”
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