Pitt, Virginia see each other again in ACC tournament (Mar 08, 2017)

By AP
Published

Just four days after meeting in both teams' regular-season finale in Charlottesville, No. 14 seed Pittsburgh will battle No. 6 seed Virginia in the second round of the ACC tournament on Wednesday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Cavaliers handled the Panthers easily on senior day last Saturday as London Perrantes dropped in 22 points in a 67-42 Virginia victory. That win came after Pittsburgh upset Virginia in early January behind hot 3-point shooting from Jamel Artis and Michael Young.

Artis and Young combined to go 2 of 11 from beyond the arc in Pittsburgh's 61-59 win over Georgia Tech on Tuesday night, but they did enough to lead the Panthers past the Yellow Jackets and into a third matchup against Virginia this season.

The Panthers made just 6 of 23 3-point shots against the Yellow Jackets, which continued a decline in their outside shooting that was in full effect against the Cavaliers.

"Let's make them earn," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said of his team's defensive performance against the Panthers on Saturday. "We found that formula that we have been working toward."

Virginia is playing some of its best basketball of the season during the current three-game winning streak, which followed a four-game losing streak -- their longest in seven years.

After having almost zero success in the ACC tournament during the past decade, the Cavaliers have recently thrived in the tournament, reaching the title game in two of the last three seasons, including an ACC tournament title in 2014.

The Cavaliers' quest to reach another title game could be easier than some may have thought after drawing the No. 6 seed and staying away from No. 1 seed North Carolina's side of the bracket.

If Pittsburgh wants to keep their hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid alive, they will need to have more success from deep, especially from Artis and Young.

"Offensively, we could never generate enough to keep it going," Pitt coach Kevin Stallings said after the loss to the Cavaliers on Saturday. "At our place, we hit shots and could sustain the times where we didn't. Today, we were not able to do that."

The Panthers will have just over 24 hours of rest and will be greeted by a Cavaliers defense that has allowed just 85 total points in their last two wins over North Carolina and Pitt.

If that continues, the Panthers' season will end and the Cavaliers will continue into Thursday's quarterfinals.

The teams will tip off at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.