Virginia advances to Emerald Coast Classic Finals with win over Iowa

Iowa’s Nicholas Baer made two free throws to go up 2-0 on the Virginia Cavaliers, and that’s the last the Hawkeyes were in the game. Darius Thompson drained a three to go up 3-2, and the Hoos never looked back as they ran away with a 74-41 win over Iowa.

Iowa came into the game as one of the most unselfish teams in the country, averaging a whopping 22.0 assists per game, good for fourth in the nation. But on Friday night, it was the Virginia Cavaliers who used a balance, unselfish approach to win the game, with 18 assists, 13 of which came in the first half alone.

Jared Reuter (!) led the scoring for the Hoos at 14 points, but three other Cavaliers hit double digits as Reuter is joined by London Perrantes (12), Isaiah Wilkins (11) and Darius Thompson (10). Iowa, who came into the night averaging 96.3 points per game (sixth in the NCAA), was held to less than half of their regular production.

Meanwhile, Virginia committed only five turnovers on the evening, down from its 9.8 average, which was already good for 10th best in the country.

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Virginia will play the winner of Memphis and Providence on Saturday night in the Emerald Coast Classic championship game.