Senior center Mike Tobey scored a season-high 18 points off the bench as No. 1 seed Virginia dismissed No. 4 seed Iowa State 84-71 in the Midwest Regional Semifinals in Chicago, Ill.
The Cavaliers (29-7) led the entire way and took a 45-31 advantage into the half. Senior forward Georges Niang kept the Cyclones (23-12) in the game in the first half. The Methuen, Mass. native scored 15 first-half points on 5-of-10 shooting. The rest of Iowa State shot a combined 38.4 percent (5-of-13).
Virginia’s attack was extremely balanced in the first 20 minutes. Eight Cavaliers scored, led by senior forward Anthony Gill’s nine on perfect two-of-two shooting. Also contributing was Tobey with eight points and five rebounds.
A quick 9-4 Iowa State spurt to open the second half made it a 49-40 game with 15:25 remaining. The Cyclones remained within striking distance of the Cavaliers, but Niang picked up his fourth foul at the 13:11 mark.
With Niang on the bench Virginia rebuilt its lead to double digits, leading 63-48 after a Tobey layup at 9:09. Niang then returned, but the Cyclones would never trail by less than 10 points again.
Niang scored another 15 points in the second half with a game-high 30 on 11-for-20 shooting. Junior guard Monte Morris scored 10 points and dished a game-high eight assists. As a team, Iowa State shot 27-for-52, including 7-for-18 from three-point range.
Gill led Virginia with 23 points and eight rebounds. The Cavaliers shot 32-for-57 and 16-for-24 from the free throw line but missed four of their 11 three-point attempts. Of Virginia’s 32 made field goals, 26 were assisted.
Behind Tobey’s 18, the Cavalier bench outscored Iowa State’s bench 26-11. Ten Virginia players saw the court to the Cyclone’s seven.
The win propels Virginia to their first Elite Eight since 1995. The Cavaliers play Sunday night against the winner of Friday night’s game between No. 10 seed Syracuse and No. 11 Gonzaga.
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