LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Virginia’s clutch baskets alone were cause enough for players to leap off the bench in celebration. The Cavaliers’ whooping was even louder because of the reward those big shots earned. Sam Hauser scored a season-high 24 points, Trey Murphy III added 17 and No. 21 Virginia beat Louisville 68-58 on Saturday to win the Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship.
Assured of least a No. 2 seed entering the regular-season finale, the Cavaliers (17-6, 13-4) received a huge opportunity for even more when first-place and No. 11 Florida State lost 83-73 earlier in the day at Notre Dame. Virginia then methodically took care of the Cardinals (13-6, 8-5) to leapfrog the Seminoles by percentage points (.765 to .733) despite a blowout loss at FSU in the season’s lone meeting on Feb. 15.
