ACC First Round Recap

No. 8 Virginia 83, No. 9 Clemson 79 (OT)
The Cavaliers needed a small miracle to keep their faint NCAA at-large dreams alive. Virginia trailed by five with under a minute remaining in the second half. After a basket cut the lead to three, Virginia forced a turnover as Clemson attempted to move the ball up the court. Freshman guard J.R. Reynolds took the ball and went straight up, making an off balance layup and drawing the foul. The free throw tied the game at 67, and neither team could break the tie in the closing seconds of regulation.

In overtime, Clemson’s season-long Achilles heal – turnovers – cursed the Tigers once again. Three consecutive turnovers turned into six points for Virginia as the Cavaliers captured the lead. Reynolds again played the hero by draining the go-ahead three pointer. He also sealed the game with two free throws in the final ten seconds of overtime to stretch the lead to four. Virginia’s win gives the daunting task of beating No. 1 Duke just 14 hours after this game ended. The Cavaliers must find a way to win to have any prayer of making the NCAA Tournament without winning the ACC tournament.