Forty-eight hours after letting a late lead get away in an emotional home loss against Duke, Virginia showed it will not let a special season also slip through its fingers.
The third-ranked Cavaliers bounced back in impressive fashion Monday night at 12th-ranked North Carolina, retaining first place in the ACC by pulling away for a 75-64 victory.
Virginia's comfortable road victory was partially a product of an inspired performance from the Cavaliers and partially a product of a terrible matchup for North Carolina. The Tar Heels thrive in transition, on the offensive glass and scoring around the rim, but two of Virginia's greatest strengths are its ability to wall off the paint on defense and to force opponents to play at a methodical pace.*
The key stretch of the game began at the 13-minute mark of the second half when Virginia was clinging to a two-point lead. The Cavaliers outscored North Carolina 24-8 over the next 10 minutes, scoring with ease at one end and keeping the cold-shooting Tar Heels out of transition and off the offensive boards at the other.
Whereas the way Virginia attacked Duke's zone through the high post took the ball out of the hands of its primary scorers and forced big men Mike Tobey and Darion Atkins to create, it was the Cavaliers perimeter players who carried the offense against North Carolina. Malcolm Brogdon, Justin Anderson and London Perrantes combined for an efficient 48 points and sank a combined five 3-pointers. Six-foot-8 forward Anthony Gill also contributed 13 points off the bench.
Recovering quickly from the Duke loss was critical for Virginia because the Cavaliers (20-1, 8-1) are in the midst of the toughest stretch of their schedule. In addition to the back-to-back games against the Blue Devils and Tar Heels, Virginia hosts Louisville on Saturday and visits dangerous NC State a week from Wednesday.*
Monday's win eases the pressure on Virginia in those two games.

Virginia boasts a one-game lead over Notre Dame in the ACC title race and quality road wins at Maryland, VCU, Notre Dame and now North Carolina. Allowing an 11-point second-half lead to slip away against Duke was certainly a disappointment, but the Cavaliers showed Monday night they're mentally tough enough not to let that loss linger.
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Jeff Eisenberg is the editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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