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GREENSBORO, N.C. — A short-term memory is a good thing this time of year.
No. 13 Virginia had little time to nurse its wounds following its 59-49 ACC Tournament championship loss to No. 21 Duke on Saturday night at Greensboro Coliseum. The message in the solemn locker room afterward was one of resilience in the face of adversity.
The players talked about quickly turning the page and focusing on the next task at hand with the NCAA Tournament approaching this week.
“We have a game coming up. We’ve just got to put this to bed, take what we need from it and just move on from it,” senior guard Armaan Franklin said.
That game will be at 12:40 p.m. Thursday in Orlando, Florida, on truTV against Furman. The Cavaliers are seeded fourth and the Southern Conference Tournament champion Paladins 13th in the South Region.
The Cavaliers (25-7) had plenty of good things to take away from the ACC Tournament. They defeated North Carolina and Clemson, two teams hungry to bolster their tenuous NCAA Tournament résumés, and continued their offensive resurgence before falling flat against the red-hot Blue Devils.
UVA shot 49.5% in its wins over the Tar Heels and Tigers. In the semifinal victory over Clemson, the Cavaliers logged 18 assists and posted their highest point total (76) in six weeks. But they struggled mightily against a defensively stout Duke team that has won nine straight games since losing at UVA on Feb. 11.
Against the Blue Devils, Virginia made a season-low 16 field goals on 48 attempts (33.3%) and dished out only nine assists, matching a season low. Moreover, the Cavaliers turned the ball over 12 times.
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“Obviously we wanted to win, but we’re playing for something bigger,” freshman guard Isaac McKneely said. “So we’ll take the next couple days to rest up and then get right back at it. I’m really proud of our effort (against Duke). Shots weren’t falling like they did in the past two games, but I know once we get into the postseason, we’re going to be ready, so I’m excited for that.”
Despite the offensive struggles, UVA had some encouraging takeaways from its defensive success throughout the tournament, especially against a Duke team that boasts a slew of NBA draft prospects, most notably ACC Rookie of the Year Kyle Filipowski, who won tournament MVP honors after averaging 19.7 points and seven rebounds over three games.
The Cavaliers held Duke to its lowest point total since its Feb. 6 loss at Miami and forced 11 turnovers. Despite its poor offensive performance, UVA was still in the game down the stretch thanks to its defense. The Cavaliers cut the deficit to four in the final minute before the Blue Devils closed the door by making all six of their free throws while forcing misses on the Cavaliers’ final three field-goal attempts.
“I think the main thing is just looking forward, not looking backwards,” said junior forward Kadin Shedrick, who seemed to return to the circle of trust with a resurgent performance in the conference tournament. “We had an opportunity here. We didn’t seize it, and that’s OK because there’s a bigger trophy to play for these next few weeks.”
UVA’s focus now turns to March Madness. The Cavaliers are making their 25th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and ninth in coach Tony Bennett’s 14 seasons. They hope to continue the trend set by past ACC Tournament runners-up in making deep runs in the NCAAs.
Four of the last six ACC Tournament runners-up have made it to at least the Sweet 16, with Duke making the Final Four in 2022, Virginia advancing to the Elite Eight in 2016 and Florida State getting to the Sweet 16 in 2019 and ‘21.
“The effort was there, and this was a good experience to be in,” Bennett said. “Let’s use it, absolutely learn from it and get ready to play.”