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 Entering Monday night's contest with Virginia, the Wolfpack hadn't
recorded a win against the Cavaliers in the commonwealth since 2007
-- two years before head coach Tony Bennett took over the coaching
duties for Virginia.
Enjoying a hot shooting night despite the frigid temperatures
outside, No. 7 Virginia used a dominant second-half performance and
continued their dominance at home, dismantling North Carolina State
73-53 at John Paul Jones Arena.
"I liked what I saw in the second half from everybody," Bennett
said. "That was a real nice second half for us. I thought tonight we
played great team ball especially in the second half."
With the win, Virginia improved its home record to 13-0 this season
and the Cavaliers have now won 17-straight overall at home.
With former Cavaliers standout and current Dallas Mavericks swingman
Justin Anderson sitting courtside, Virginia (21-5, 10-4 Atlantic
Coast Conference) put on a shooting clinic in the second half.
The Cavaliers shot 65 percent in the second half and 53.7 percent
for the game, including 55.6 percent from beyond the arc, where they
made 10 of 18.
"They (Virginia) played fantastic in the second half," North
Carolina State head coach Mark Gottfried said. "You have to give
them credit and it was a tale of two halves for us. I thought we
played great in the first half and in the second half, Virginia was
just terrific."
After starting the second half on a 6-0 run, Virginia showed why it
is one of the country's best teams on both ends of the floor,
outscoring the Wolfpack 42-22 in the half. The Cavaliers led by as
many as 24.
Virginia guard Malcolm Brogdon, one of the most prolific defenders
in the ACC, scored a game-high 22 points and dished out five
assists.
Brogdon was tasked with slowing North Carolina State guard Anthony
Barber, the fifth-leading scorer in the nation, and held him to 14
points on 4-for-11 shooting.
"He was complete," Bennett said of his senior. "I love complete
players. Offensively he was complete and defensively we did a good
job of helping him. He did a good job defensively against Ingram and
Allen on Saturday, and a great job tonight against a different kind
of player."
Virginia guard London Perrantes connected on five of his eight
3-point attempts and scored 19 points.
North Carolina State (13-13, 3-10) was held to 40.4 percent shooting
and made just three of 16 3-point attempts. Guard Cody Martin
chipped in with 12 points and six rebounds for the Wolfpack.
"They (Virginia) went 6-for-9 from 3 in the second half and we went
0-for-9," Gottfried said. "That's probably the biggest difference.
We had some shots we didn't make and they capitalized on it. They
seemed to really get their offense clicking."
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Virginia dished out 21 assists on the night, including five apiece
from Brogdon and Perrantes. Cavaliers forward Isaiah Wilkins
recorded a career-high 13 rebounds.
"He got them all, he didn't really leave many for anybody else,"
Bennett said of Wilkins' performance on the glass. "He was snatching
them and he was alert and anticipating them."
North Carolina State connected on its first six shots of the game
and didn't miss until 13:07 remained in the first half.
After hitting their first six shots, the Wolfpack came up empty on
their next six possessions, allowing Virginia to get back into the
game.
North Carolina State led by as many as six points in the first half,
but the teams played to a 31-31 halftime stalemate.
The Wolfpack shot 52.2 percent during the first 20 minutes, while
the Cavaliers shot 44.4 percent.
Brogdon scored 12 first-half points, while guard London Perrantes
added seven.
North Carolina State forward Lennard Freeman produced eight points
on 4-for-4 shooting before the break, and Barber had seven
first-half points. Freeman finished the night with nine points.
The Cavaliers will be back in action Feb. 22 when they travel to
play Miami (Fla.). North Carolina State plays host to Clemson on
Saturday.
NOTES: Virginia won its ninth consecutive regular-season meeting
with North Carolina State and beat the Wolfpack for the seventh time
in a row at home. ... The Wolfpack have three wins over ranked
opponents this season, two of those on the road. ... North Carolina
State G Anthony "Cat" Barber entered play with 20 points total in
three career games against the Cavaliers. ... Virginia's loss at
Duke on Saturday snapped the Cavaliers' seven-game winning streak.
... Through the weekend, Virginia led the Atlantic Coast Conference
in field-goal percentage, 3-point percentage and scoring defense.
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