around the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament a little

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linhe
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around the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament a little

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GREENSBORO, N. Nick Powell Manchester United Jersey .C. -- Its been a season of firsts for No. 6 Virginia. The Cavaliers are savoring their latest one by sticking around the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament a little while longer than usual. Virginia advanced to the ACC semifinals for the first time since 1995 by pulling away to beat Florida State 64-51 in a quarterfinal Friday. Joe Harris matched a season high with 20 points and Anthony Gill added 16 for the top-seeded Cavaliers (26-6). They shot 48 per cent, forced 15 turnovers and earned their third double-digit victory over the Seminoles this season while winning their 14th in 15 games. "We really just wanted to go out there and prove to everybody that we deserve to be here, we deserve the No. 1 seed," Gill said. Okaro White scored 17 points and Aaron Thomas added 13 for the ninth-seeded Seminoles (19-13). They shot 43 per cent against one of the nations best defences but couldnt keep the Cavaliers off the boards when it counted most, and were denied their third victory over a top-seeded team since 2009. A victory would have gone a long way toward propelling them back into the NCAA tournament. Instead, the Seminoles can only sweat it out until selection Sunday. "Our record speaks for us to be on the bubble, but I think were a great team," White said. "We had a tough time throughout the course of the season, but I think weve shown everyone were a team that should be out there. I think were a team thats up to the level of a lot of the teams that are going to be in the NCAA tournament, but its hard." Virginia established a 31-25 rebounding advantage -- 21-13 in the second half -- and finished with 17 second-chance points. "We talk about outlasting people all the time," freshman London Perrantes said. "We know that nobodys going to want to guard us 35 seconds every time down the court, so we know that if we keep running our offence, theyre going to get frustrated and were going to get good shots." White pulled Florida State to 61-49 with his jumper through contact with 3:25 left. But he missed the free throw and the Seminoles didnt hit another field goal the rest of the way. Virginia will face fifth-seeded Pittsburgh, which beat No. 15 North Carolina 80-75, on Saturday in the first semifinal. Thats unfamiliar territory for a Cavaliers program that hadnt reached the semifinals in nearly two decades -- the longest drought in the conference. In matching a league record with 16 conference victories, Virginia earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament for just the second time and first since 1981. The Cavaliers only tournament title came in 1976 and until Friday they had won only four ACC tournament games since that last semifinal appearance -- and none since 2010. "Weve done a lot of things that we havent done for years," Perrantes said. "So for this to happen for us now is definitely a relieving experience." They led for all but about eight minutes of this one and were in control throughout -- even if it took a while for the scoreboard to finally reflect that. "Its very hard to come back on a team like Virginia when theyre coming down and using 30 seconds of the shot clock," White said. "You cant get down on them." Harris, who matched the season high of 20 points against Hampton on Nov. 26, was 7 of 12 and hit at least half of his shots for the first time since a win against Maryland on Feb. 10. "He has a good feel when to let it come and when to be assertive," ACC coach of the year Tony Bennett said. "He senses. He doesnt get it right all of the time (but) he senses when something is required of him." Virginia pushed its lead into double figures for the first time on Gills free throw with 13:57 left that made it 43-33. Harris bounced in a 3-pointer four possessions later to make it 48-37, Darion Atkins followed that with a jumper and then hit two free throws to make it a 15-point game with 9:51 remaining. Ian Miller finished with 10 points for the Seminoles. Robin van Persie Manchester United Jersey . SPURS WIN TITLE: The model NBA franchise. Luke Shaw Manchester United Shirts . The Predators announced that Rinne had been cleared for the next step of his recovery after meeting with doctors earlier Monday. Coach Barry Trotz said a meeting was planned for later Monday to set a weekly plan for Rinne.SUNRISE, Fla. - After spending most of the previous two games watching from the bench, Floridas Jose Theodore sent the New Jersey Devils to the brink of elimination. Theodore made 30 saves for his second post-season shutout, Kris Versteeg scored a goal and used a burst of speed to set up another, and the Panthers moved a win away from their first series triumph in 16 years with a 3-0 victory over the Devils on Saturday night. Scottie Upshall and Tomas Kopecky also scored for Florida, which leads the Eastern Conference first-round series 3-2. The Panthers last series victory came in the 1996 East finals, and theyll have two chances to snap that drought. "A huge win, obviously," Theodore said. "I keep saying this: The next game is always the biggest in the playoffs." Martin Brodeur made 30 saves for New Jersey, which hosts a win-or-else Game 6 on Tuesday night. If necessary, Game 7 is at Florida on Thursday night. "They did a lot of things better than we did tonight," Devils coach Pete DeBoer said. "It was a good lesson for us. The fourth game is always the toughest to win and were going to make it as tough as possible." New Jersey forward Ilya Kovalchuk said after Game 4 that he thought Saturdays outcome would decide the series. And now? "Nobody said it was going to be easy," Kovalchuk said. Heres one that few hockey fans might have expected a few weeks ago: Of the Easts top three seeds, the Panthers are in the best position. The top-seeded New York Rangers trail their series with Ottawa 3-2. The reigning Stanley Cup champion and No. 2 seed Boston Bruins trail Washington 3-2. The Panthers? One win from the second round. Go figure. "Theres a lot of wins left to get," Panthers defenceman Brian Campbell said. Clinging to a one-goal lead for more than half the game, Florida had plenty of chances for the insurance score. It came with 6:43 left — and was earned. With the sellout crowd already roaring as Upshall and Shawn Matthias battled to fight the puck up the boards and eventually clear it into the New Jersey zone, Brodeur skated around his net to make a play. On a forecheck, Versteeg beat Brodeur to the puck, sending it in front for Upshall, who had empty net to shoot at and give Florida a 2-0 lead. "I saw the puck kind of slow-rolling," Versteeg said. "I dont know if he kind of double-guessed himself whether he could get it or not. But obviously, it was a great finish by Uppy." From there, red towels waved, people stomping and clapping in unison, a scene that Panthers fans havent enjoyed often over the past decade. Theodore gave them plenty to celebrate. He shut the door, and when Brodeur got to the bench with 2:14 left annd the Devils down by two, Theodore never got rattled, either. Michael Keane Manchester United Shirts. New Jersey had a 6-on-4 when Erik Gudbranson was called for roughing with 2:08 left, but never solved Theodore. "We didnt challenge him enough," Devils forward Zach Parise said. "He got real lucky on a lot of them." The Devils had the best penalty-killing percentage in the NHLs modern era this season, thwarting power plays 89.6 per cent of the time. But in the series, Florida has thrived when it has the extra skater on the ice. And the trend continued. On a play that started with a faceoff win — another Florida strength over large stretches of this series — Stephen Weiss got the puck between the circles, then sent a sharp pass to the left corner of the rink to Versteeg, who fired a one-timer by Brodeur for a 1-0 lead at exactly 4:00 of the second period. It was Floridas first goal in nearly two full games, a span of 117 minutes, 26 seconds. Teams had gone 7 for 77 on the power play against New Jersey to close the regular season. After Versteegs goal, the Panthers were 7 for 17 in the series with the man advantage. Turns out, the way Theodore was playing, Florida only needed one goal anyway. "I just think we got outworked today," New Jerseys Travis Zajac said. "We didnt win enough battles to create scoring chances." Though Dineen didnt blame Scott Clemmensen for the 4-0 loss at New Jersey on Thursday night, it was little surprise he went back to Theodore — the No. 1 goalie option in Florida this season — for Game 5. Theodore was pulled after giving up three goals in the first 6:16 of Game 3, one where Clemmensen was perfect in relief and Florida eventually won 4-3. If anyone wondered if Theodore was up to the task, he tried to provide the answer in the early going. Patrik Elias had a chance to stuff in the rebound of his own blocked shot with 7:20 left in the opening period, only to have Theodore kick it aside. Two minutes later, Zajac tried to score from down low, with Theodore again holding his ground. And with Florida caught in a change with 4 minutes left, Stephen Gionta had a clear shot from the top of the right circle, which Theodore smothered. That set the trend for the night. "For me, thats Theo," Dineen said. "Thats what I expected from him." NOTES: Theodores only other playoff shutout was April 19, 2004, 2-0 for Montreal at Boston. ... The teams combined for one shot in the first 6 1/2 minutes. ... Florida has outscored New Jersey 7-1 in second periods of the series. ... With defencemen Jason Garrison and Keaton Ellerby out with injuries, the Panthers called up D Tyson Strachan from San Antonio of the AHL for the game. cheap jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
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