The No. 2 Virginia men’s basketball team clinched the ACC regular season title for the second consecutive year with a dominating 59-47 victory over Syracuse at the Carrier Dome Monday night. The Cavaliers (28-1, 16-1 ACC) defeated Syracuse at home a year ago to clinch the same honor.
Virginia struggled mightily in the beginning of the half with the Orange’s (18-12, 9-8 ACC) zone. It took the Cavaliers over eight minutes to make their first bucket, and the team would stay at two points for more than five minutes after that. However, once junior forward Evan Nolte sank a three-pointer with 6:06 to play in the half, the floodgates opened. Virginia closed the half on a 21-7 run and took a 23-20 lead into the break.
The Cavaliers did not take their foot off the gas when play resumed. The man who started the run nailed another three 15 seconds into the second half, and Virginia was off to the races. While the offense continued to pick up steam, the defense was steady as always and held the Orange to just 38 percent shooting on the game.
While Nolte’s threes undoubtedly energized the team, the true turning point came when Virginia figured out it could dominate in the paint. Junior forward Anthony Gill and junior center Mike Tobey shot a combined 12-18 from the field, with Tobey picking up 10 points and Gill adding a game-high 17.
Virginia also dominated on the glass, where it doubled Syracuse in total rebounds, 42-23. Unsurprisingly, this effort on the boards was spearheaded by Gill, who grabbed eight offensive boards to keep several key offensive possessions alive. Tobey added eight total rebounds as well.
The Cavaliers close out their 2014-15 regular season campaign Saturday at Louisville. Virginia won the first matchup in Charlottesville, 52-47. Tip-off for the season finale is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
—compiled by Ryan Taylor
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