Virginia vs. UNC: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 ACC Tournament

Down goes No. 1.

Virginia was the top seed in the ACC tournament, but it was North Carolina that controlled Friday's contest against the Cavaliers. The Tar Heels never trailed and fought off a late Cavs rally to prevail 71-67.

Justin Jackson turned in a career performance in the pressure-packed March environment and finished with 22 points and four rebounds on 8-of-10 shooting from the field, and Marcus Paige added 14 points and arguably the most important shot of the game at the end.

Malcolm Brogdon spearheaded the Virginia attack with 25 points and an incredible individual effort in the second half. He almost single-handedly brought the Cavaliers back from a double-digit deficit in the final 10 minutes.

There was an important development early in the first half that will affect Virginia outside of just this one game.

Justin Anderson returned to the floor after a prolonged absence with a serious hand injury, which will certainly be a boost for the Cavaliers in the NCAA tournament. After all, he was playing at an All-American level before the injury, and he gives this team a potent scoring option.

However, there was some understandable rust, as Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports pointed out:

Even with Anderson back on the floor, North Carolina controlled the first half and took a 30-23 lead into the locker rooms.

The Tar Heels carried that momentum over into the second half and opened up a commanding 40-27 advantage. Virginia may have been the team known for its defense heading into this contest, but it was North Carolina controlling the pace. 

ESPN’s Seth Greenberg was impressed with North Carolina’s defensive efforts:

The Tar Heels looked like a different team than the one that lost at home to the Cavaliers in the regular season. Paige discussed what he and his teammates learned from that experience and carried over to this game, via Mike Barber of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

“We learned that you have to stay disciplined, stay the course against a team like Virginia, that’s not going to beat themselves," Paige said. "They do a great job of getting the shot they want, taking care of the ball, slowing the tempo down. We have to be extremely disciplined.” 

However, Virginia is one of the best teams in the country and the No. 1 seed in the ACC tournament for a reason. It responded to the double-digit deficit accordingly.

The Cavaliers got hot on the offensive end and closed the gap all the way to 60-57 with less than four minutes remaining. It wasn't the Cavaliers that got hot as much as Brogdon, who scored 15 of Virginia's 21 points from 10:13 remaining to 3:26 remaining.

It was a dazzling individual stretch and elicited a reaction from Rob Dauster of NBC Sports:

As if there was any doubt what would happen next, Brogdon drilled a three-pointer to cut the lead to 61-60 with two minutes remaining and then answered a North Carolina basket with a running layup in the lane to make it 63-62 with a minute left.

Jeff Borzello of ESPN described the individual takeover: 

Paige answered Brogdon's run with a cold-blooded shot of his own with 41 seconds left to expand the lead to 65-62. Virginia had two looks from deep to tie the game in the closing seconds, but they rimmed out. The Tar Heels then iced the game from the charity stripe with multiple clutch free throws.

ESPN commentator Jay Williams was complimentary of North Carolina's gritty postseason effort:

While the result may have been an upset, ESPN Stats & Info pointed out that it was business as usual in this matchup when it comes to the postseason:

What’s Next?

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

North Carolina will now play in the ACC tournament championship game Saturday against the winner of Duke and Notre Dame.

Regardless of which team it is, the Tar Heels will have to deal with one of the ACC's brightest stars. The Blue Devils count on Jahlil Okafor to dominate the post, while the Fighting Irish have Jerian Grant to create shots on the outside and off the dribble.

North Carolina is safely in the NCAA tournament, but a victory over a top-notch team like Duke or Notre Dame would go a long way toward boosting its resume for seeding purposes. It would also give the Tar Heels a championship in one of the toughest conferences in America.