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    Ty Jerome, No. 1 Virginia Beat Louis King, No. 12 Oregon to Advance to Elite 8

    Paul KasabianSenior ContributorMarch 29, 2019

    Virginia's Ty Jerome (11) is defended by Oregon's Payton Pritchard during the first half of a men's NCAA Tournament college basketball South Regional semifinal game, Thursday, March 28, 2019, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
    Timothy D. Easley/Associated Press

    Ty Jerome posted 13 points, six rebounds and six assists as No. 1 seed Virginia beat No. 12 Oregon 53-49 in the NCAA men's basketball tournament at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky on Thursday.

    Kihei Clark added 12 points and six assists for the Cavaliers, who will play No. 3 seed Purdue in the Elite Eight on Saturday. UVA will make the Final Four for the first time since 1984 with a win.

    Louis King scored 16 points for the 25-13 Ducks, who were the only double-digit seed in this year's Sweet 16.

    The Ducks hung tough with the Cavaliers and even took a 45-42 lead with 5:44 left after a King three-pointer.

    However, Clark immediately responded with his own three to tie the game. Brad Franklin of CavsCorner.com explained his importance to the team:

    Brad Franklin @Cavs_Corner

    Once again for #UVa it’s Kihei Clark carrying the water and chopping wood, as Tony Bennett likes to say.

    After the two teams traded a few empty possessions, Jerome put the Hoos up for good with 3:33 left thanks to another three-pointer.

    Ty Jerome, No. 1 Virginia Beat Louis King, No. 12 Oregon to Advance to Elite 8
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    Norm Wood of the Daily Press noted that clutch plays aren't uncommon for Jerome:

    Norm Wood @normwood

    Ty Jerome doing Ty Jerome things. Clutch again. Hits a 3-pointer with 3:33 left to put #UVa up 48-45, 3:26 left.

    Neither team scored again until there were 27 seconds left on the clock, as Kyle Guy found De'Andre Hunter wide-open under the basket for any easy layup. Oregon guard Payton Pritchard responded with two free throws, but Hunter hit two of his own to effectively put the game away.

    Virginia's defense came to play: King and Pritchard were the only two Ducks to score in the final 14:39 of the game, and Oregon did not make a field goal in the last 5:43.

    Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports was impressed by UVA's efforts on that end, at least:

    Jon Rothstein @JonRothstein

    Virginia Basketball. A thing of beauty.

    That performance was crucial on a night when the offense got next to nothing going. No Cavalier made at least half of his shots, with the team shooting just 35.7 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from beyond the arc.

    Guy was particularly cold, making four of 15 field goals and just two of 11 three-pointers. He's now 3-of-26 from three-point range for the tournament.

    Hunter went just 4-of-13 and 1-of-6 from three-point range.

    As Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports mentioned, UVA's path to the Elite Eight hasn't been easy:

    Pat Forde @YahooForde

    Virginia staggers into the regional final. Been a gilded path through this region and it still hasn't been easy.

    The Cavaliers trailed by double digits versus No. 16 Gardner-Webb before pulling out a win. UVA didn't have much issue against No. 9 Oklahoma, but the Oregon game was anyone's contest until the final minutes.

    Fran Fraschilla of ESPN gave credit to the Ducks, who snuck into the NCAA tournament field after winning the Pac-12 title:

    Fran Fraschilla @franfraschilla

    Regardless of the outcome tonight, @OregonMBB has made Virginia look like a Pac-12 team. Not a knock but a realization of how much Ducks have improved last 6 weeks. Ducks D like trying to hit Greg Maddox’s 5 pitches.

    As for the Cavaliers, they'll play Purdue on Saturday at 8:49 p.m. ET.