Virginia vs. Miami: Score and Twitter Reaction for Cavaliers' Narrow Win

In one of the best college basketball games of the season so far, the Virginia Cavaliers extended their winning streak to start the year to 13 games—and in dramatic fashion, no less, thanks to an 89-80 double-overtime win against the Miami Hurricanes.

The Cavaliers entered play as one of the best teams in the country, winning their first 12 games by an average of 22.3 points per game. They were ranked third this week by The Associated Press and USA Today, and despite the challenge against Miami, they will likely keep that ranking next week.

Whether it was complacency or just a bad stretch, Miami made a furious comeback after trailing by 18 at halftime. The Hurricanes outscored Virginia 43-25 in the second half, which included a 5-1 run in the final 16 seconds to force overtime. 

Angel Rodriguez was the star of the show for Miami. The junior guard finished with 25 points and seven assists for the Hurricanes, and he was tremendous from the free-throw line, via Matt Porter of The Palm Beach Post:

In fact, Rodriguez had the big play near the end of regulation when he was fouled on a three-point attempt and hit all three free throws to tie the game, via Seth Davis of Sports Illustrated:

Despite the loss, Josh Klingler of 610 Sports Radio in Kansas City was complimentary of the 'Canes and Rodriguez:

Rodriguez did have a gaffe at the end of the first overtime, holding the ball as the clock was winding down and waiting too long to either pass or attempt a shot. Time ran out before Miami could get a shot off to win the game. 

Jeff Goodman of ESPN noted that Rodriguez made a mistake by giving up the ball in that spot, especially since he was the only scoring threat for the Hurricanes most of the day:

Justin Anderson played the hero for Virginia, hitting a game-tying three-pointer with 12 seconds left in the first overtime. He gave way to his teammates in the second overtime. 

Specifically, London Perrantes played a key role in sealing the game for Virginia. He made eight of nine free-throw attempts in the second OT, adding an assist on a Darion Atkins jumper. 

As Goodman noted on Twitter, this was a breakout game for Perrantes and a huge step forward for Virginia:

Last year, Virginia won the ACC thanks to one of the nation's top defenses and despite an offense that was lacking true scorers. Perrantes has been a non-factor most of this season, averaging just 3.1 points per game coming into Saturday, but he was tremendous in space at creating his own shot and distributing the ball. 

This is shaping up to be Bennett's best offensive team at Virginia. Matthew Giles of The Washington Post broke down how efficient the Cavaliers have been coming into Saturday's game:

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The Cavaliers are converting 53 percent of their two-point shots, nearly 40 percent of their three-pointers, and scoring 1.16 points per possession, which ranks fourth nationally. According to Hoop-Math.com, the team ranks just outside the top 20 for field goal attempts at the rim, and it is making 62 percent of those shots. 

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Time will tell as Virginia gets deeper into ACC play and the schedule gets tougher if Bennett's team really is better offensively or if this start has been a lot of smoke and mirrors because of inferior competition. 

As for Miami, even though this loss stings since it had a chance to win in overtime, this is the kind of performance that can catapult a young team to the next level. The Hurricanes dropped to 10-4 with the loss, but they already hold wins over Florida and Illinois. 

The ACC looks like the best conference in college basketball on paper. Virginia and Duke are two legitimate national title contenders, but as of right now, there are no teams under .500 this season. Three teams are tied for the worst record at 8-6, so expect a lot of shuffling as the conference schedule kicks into gear.