How Sweet It Is: UVA Drops Sooners, Moves Onto Sweet 16

By Scott Ratcliffe

COLUMBIA, S.C. — It’s on to the Sweet 16 as No. 1 Virginia got a huge spark on both ends of the floor from junior forward Mamadi Diakite, and the Cavaliers built a comfortable lead in the first half and kept it up in the second to eliminate No. 9 Oklahoma, 63-51, in the NCAA Tournament’s South Region second round Sunday at Colonial Life Arena.

The Cavaliers (31-3) will be moving onto the Sweet 16 for the 10th time in program history on Thursday night at 9:59 p.m. in Louisville against No. 12 Oregon on TBS. It’s the first trip to the Regional Semifinal round for the ‘Hoos since 2016.

“It means everything to me, honestly,” said UVA junior guard Ty Jerome. “It’s my first time in the Sweet 16… Everyone is talking about a Final Four, but I’ve never been to a Sweet 16. Just the opportunity to play with this group again for a whole ‘nother week and practicing with this group and travelling with this group, that’s what means the most.”

The Sooners conclude their up-and-down season with a record of 20-14.

Diakite got the start over senior center Jack Salt (who only played five minutes in Friday’s win over Gardner-Webb) and delivered for the ‘Hoos. The move paid off, as the 6-foot-9, 228-pounder from Guinea led the team in scoring (14 points on 7-of-9 shooting), rebounding (he and Braxton Key each hauled down 9) and blocked shots (three of them, all in the first half), and proved that Coach Tony Bennett’s decision to give him the start was a smart one.

“[Diakite] started the second half against Gardner-Webb and we thought, well, Jack Salt is so physical and we thought maybe he could play one-on-one against [Oklahoma’s Kristian Doolittle],” Bennett explained afterwards. “But what we wanted to do offensively, I thought there was some more scoring opportunities for how we were going to attack for Mamadi, how to roll and get on the rim and make some plays.

“And then [Diakite’s] quickness, I thought, might be a factor.”

Diakite answered the call, posting three big baskets from in close and swatting three Sooner attempts in the first half as the Cavaliers used an 18-2 scoring run — after falling behind by four at the 12-minute mark — to change the complexion of the game, and it was pretty much all Wahoos from there.

“I’ve just been very patient and letting the game come to me,” said Diakite, when asked what the secret has been to his improved offensive play as of late. “I wasn’t trying to force anything. … I was locked in, and I was trying to respond to the challenge [Coach Bennett] gave me. He started me tonight, and I wanted to prove to him that I was ready to play, so I did so.”

Bennett explained that he was contemplating the decision to start Diakite Sunday morning, and Diakite said that Bennett pulled him aside and let him know that he had a “responsibility to help the team, and we’re trusting you,” as Diakite recalled.

“He’s matured,” added Bennett. “I think a key is he allowed us to play Doolittle one-on-one in the post. Mamadi’s quickness off the floor to bother maybe his mid-range shot and just work so we didn’t have to come and trap.

“That puts a lot of pressure on their defense with your ability to shoot from three, especially their 4-man, Brady Manek. When we could go one-on-one, that was significant.”

The ‘Hoos grabbed an early 7-0 lead, but it evaporated just as quickly as it was built. The Sooners went on a 13-2 run over the next four-plus minutes — as UVA misfired on 8 straight shots — to take a 4-point lead, which turned out to be their final lead of the ballgame.

Manek, who had scored in double figures in 10 of his last 12 games coming in, was on fire early on. He had 13 points — including three 3-pointers — in the first half, which culminated with a layup to beat the first-half buzzer. From that point on, Manek did not score.

Doolittle, who put up 19 and 15 in his first-round contest against Ole Miss, was limited to 6 points in the first half and 8 for the game, thanks in large part to Diakite’s defense.

“Him being 6-10 and being very athletic,” Doolittle said of Diakite, “he was able to alter my shot and block a few of them there at the beginning of the game. Credit to him for playing really good defense. He made it really tough on me to get the shots that I wanted, and even when I was open, just kind of wasn’t in a rhythm.”

The 18-2 Cavalanche, which spanned the following nine minutes, swung the momentum over to Virginia and it was relatively easy sailing from that point on, as UVA went into the locker room with a 31-22 advantage.

Down 13-9, Diakite sparked the run with a putback before back-to-back drives by Kyle Guy, his only two baskets of the night, put UVA in front to stay, 15-13, with 9 minutes left in the half.

Diakite scored again before Jay Huff chipped in with a 3-pointer, then pump-faked from beyond the arc and jammed one home. Key followed with a 3-ball of his own before Kihei Clark capped the spurt with a pair of free throws to make it a 12-point game.

Virginia’s “Big Three” of Guy, Jerome and De’Andre Hunter struggled in the first half, shooting a combined 5 for 16 and 1 for 5 from deep across the opening 20 minutes, but the supporting cast of Diakite, Key, Huff and Clark all contributed heavily to the halftime edge.

Clark scored on a scoop shot to start the second half before the teams traded baskets over the next five minutes. Diakite scored six straight at one point early in the half. Jerome got going with a jumper and a pair of triples to stretch the lead to 16 (53-37), the largest of the night, with just over 7 minutes remaining.

OU senior Christian James, the team’s leading scorer who had zero points at the break, did all he could to keep the Sooners in it, scoring all 13 of his points after halftime. After a James 3 cut it to 13, Jerome & Company came away with the highlight of the night.

Jerome nabbed an Oklahoma pass in midair and kicked it over to Hunter, who found Guy under the basket. In one motion, Guy went behind the back to a wide-open Key, who laid it in to a large roar from the UVA faithful.

“Kyle, he’s an underrated passer,” said Key. “He can make a lot of plays passing the ball, creating for teammates, stuff like that, but he just has eyes in the back of his head. It was a good find. I should have dunked it, but my legs were a little tired.”

Hunter’s two-hand flush with 20 seconds left put the icing on the cake.

It was an off night shooting-wise for Guy, who finished the game 2 for 15 from the floor and 0 for 10 from 3-point land. He finished with just 4 points, but he assuredly was only worried about one number — the final score.

Manek and James each scored 13 to lead Oklahoma. No other teammates reached double figures. The Sooners shot 37 percent for the game (19 for 52) and 36 percent from deep (8 for 22).

UVA outscored Oklahoma, 32-12, in the paint and out-rebounded the Sooners, 36-29, committing just 6 turnovers on the night. The Wahoos shot 48 percent from the field (27 for 56) but just 29 percent from downtown (7 for 24).

Jerome had 12 points, Hunter had 10. Clark and Key each scored 9 points.

Up next is a meeting with the Ducks, a team that may not have even qualified for the Big Dance had they not won the Pac-12 Tournament last week. The Wahoos will celebrate their achievement, and then it’s right back to work.

“We’re nowhere near relaxed, nowhere near satisfied,” said Jerome. “We’re not even close to our end goal.”

Added Diakite: “We try to enjoy every step that we have, but, again, the job is not done yet. We’ve got more games to go, more preparations, and we have to know what other teams have for us. In order to get to the next phase, we need to prepare ourselves.”

A win over Oregon Thursday night would pit the Cavaliers against either No. 2 seed Tennessee or No. 3 Purdue, which will play first at 7:29 p.m. at the KFC Yum! Center.