Virginia sends Cinderella Oregon home, advance to Elite 8 vs. Purdue

The Virginia Cavaliers are headed to the Elite 8 after beating Oregon in the Sweet 16, and they did it the only way they know how.

Virginia writes last chapter in Oregon’s Cinderella story

Virginia had to sweat out another close game to send home Oregon and advance to the second Elite 8 under Tony Bennett. No. 12 Oregon was the lowest seed still alive but their Cinderella story doesn’t have a chapter on the Elite 8.

Oregon was able to stay in the game because Kyle Guy was 2-of-11 from 3 and Deandre Hunter was 1-of-6. Despite the poor shooting, Virginia played enough defense to win, 53-49.

It’s the only way they know how. They suffocated the Ducks on defense when it counted the most. Down the stretch, if the Ducks weren’t turning it over they were forced to take tough shots. This was the 11th game this season where the Cavaliers allowed fewer than 50 points, three more than any other team in the country.

When you can win games with your best players having sub-par nights on offense then you’ve set yourself up for success. Speaking of best players, Mamadi Diakite was by far the teams best player Thursday night. He only finished with seven points, but he pulled down 11 boards, added a couple of blocks and played some excellent defense all night.

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This win gets the Cavaliers to their seventh Elite 8 appearance with a chance for Bennett to get to his first Final Four with a win against Purdue on Saturday night.

Virginia can’t play like this and expect to beat the Boilermakers. They’ll need to be much better offensively, and more specifically Guy has to start making shots. He shot 43 percent from three during the season but is struggling in the Tournament, missing16 straight at one point.

Just do what you do best. Defend and hit shots when they count. Seems simple enough, but you know the old saying. Survive and advance.

“It wasn’t a masterpiece, Bennett said after the win. But as the saying goes, ‘survive and advance’. And we survived.”