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Virginia routs Memphis to book Sweet 16 trip

Mar 24, 2014 - 5:13 AM Raleigh, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Sunday's third-round game was a lot easier for top-seeded Virginia than its second.

Joe Harris had 16 points and five rebounds and the Cavaliers routed Memphis, 78-60, to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1995.

Virginia (30-6), which is a No. 1 seed for the first time since 1983, tied a single-season record for victories with the triumph.

The Cavs survived a scare from 16th-seeded Coastal Carolina in the second round. The contest was tied 47-47 with under nine minutes left before they embarked on an 18-5 run that finally put the game away.

Anthony Gill tallied 13 points and eight rebounds, while Mike Tobey added 11 points and six boards for Virginia, which will face fourth-seeded Michigan State in the East Regional semifinals Friday at Madison Square Garden.

"We know who's waiting, we know how good they are, and it will be us trying to test our game against one of the teams that's playing its best basketball right now," UVA head coach Tony Bennett said.

The Cavaliers shot 55.6 percent (30-of-54) from the floor.

Austin Nichols had 15 points to lead the eighth-seeded Tigers (23-10), who beat George Washington in the second round on Friday.

"They've got to be the best defensive team I've ever played against in college," Memphis' leading scorer and senior Joe Jackson said.

Memphis has not reached the Sweet 16 during head coach Josh Pastner's tenure. The last time the Tigers reached the regional semifinals was 2009, John Calipari's final year as head coach before Pastner took over.

After Jackson's dunk got Memphis within 19-18 with 6:34 left in the opening half, Virginia netted 10 straight points to seize control of the contest.

Following back-to-back triples by Harris and London Perrantes, Malcolm Brogdon capped the surge with a layup for a 29-18 cushion.

Gill's tip-in with three seconds remaining in the half gave the Cavs a healthy 35-20 advantage at the break.

The Tigers never cut the deficit below 13 over the final 20 minutes as Virginia led by as many as 27 before cruising to the easy win.

Game Notes

The Cavaliers were 45.5 percent (5-of-11) from beyond the arc and 81.3 percent (13-of-16) from the foul line ... Virginia outrebounded Memphis, 40-28 ... The Tigers shot 40.7 percent (24-of-59) from the field.