Virginia Beats Maryland and Georgia Defeats North Carolina

Virginia nipped Maryland 87-83 on Friday in an ACC showdown featuring a stunning second-half surge.

Maryland played quite well in the first half, but Virginia rallied after the break by shooting 76.9 percent and outscoring the Terrapins 51-36. The result pushes Virginia’s recent dominance in the matchup to 10 wins in their last 11 games going back to the 2010-11 season.

For Maryland fans, the adjustment to head coach Buzz Williams remains rocky. Williams is now 0-10 against ranked teams since arriving in College Park.

“We did not have the physical, mental, emotional stamina, endurance from start to finish that’s required,” Williams told reporters after the game.

Across the conference, Georgia dealt North Carolina a 78-70 loss inside the Dean Dome. The Tar Heels shot just 29 percent in the first half, tying their third-lowest field-goal percentage in a half in Smith Center history.

After falling behind 38-31 at halftime, UNC opened the second period with a 29-13 run before hitting a four-and-a-half-minute scoring drought. Georgia’s Blue Cain, standing 6-5, and 6-1 Marcus Millender repeatedly outrebounded UNC’s 7-1 Sayon Keita.

“Our habits are not good right now,” UNC coach Michael Malone noted, pointing to a lack of boxing out, comical turnovers, and poor perimeter tracking on Georgia’s shooters.

In other non-conference and league play on Friday, Clemson fell to Georgetown 85-78 despite an 18-point effort from Ace Buckner and 14 points from Cole Certa, while Pitt erased a 12-point halftime deficit to defeat Butler 76-64 at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

Miami knocked down 20 three-pointers in a 94-52 rout of North Alabama, and Virginia Tech forced 23 turnovers to put Mount St. Mary’s on notice with Amani Hansberry finishing with 20 points in an 82-62 win.