College Basketball

Virginia 84, Iowa State 71

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:44 a.m. ET

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CHICAGO -- Forward Anthony Gill had 23 points and eight rebounds and Virginia led wire to wire for a 84-71 win over Iowa State on Friday night in an NCAA Midwest Regional semifinal at the United Center.

Center Mike Tobey added 18 points and seven rebounds as top-seeded Virginia (29-7) advanced to the regional final. Guard Malcolm Brogdon and forward Isaiah Wilkins scored 12 points apiece for Virginia, which moved within one win of its first Final Four appearance since 1984.

Fourth-seeded Iowa State (23-12) lost in the regional semifinal for the second time in the past three seasons. The Cyclones fell behind by 17 points in the first half and never recovered.

Senior guard Georges Niang led the Cyclones with 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field. Guard Matt Thomas added 12 points.

The Cavaliers turned to the low-post presence of Tobey and Gill after Iowa State climbed within seven points early in the second half.

Tobey grabbed an offensive rebound and put back a layup after a missed 3-pointer by guard Marial Shayok to increase the Virginia lead to 15 with 9:09 to go. Gill mimicked Tobey with an offensive rebound and putback layup less than two minutes later to make it 67-53.

Virginia pulled away late behind back-to-back dunks from Gill and Wilkins.

Iowa State opened the second half on a 13-6 run to trim Virginia's lead to 51-44 with 14:05 to play.

Niang spun toward the rim for two layups during the run. Senior forward Jameel McKay threw down a two-handed dunk to pull the Cyclones within single digits.

Virginia built a 45-31 lead at halftime after making 17 of 28 shots from the field (60.7 percent) in the first 20 minutes.

Iowa State trailed by as many as 17 points in the first half before going on an 11-4 run to pull within 41-31. Niang made 3 of 5 shots from beyond the arc to keep Iowa State in contention.

Iowa State struggled defensively as Virginia made eight of its first 12 shots from the field.

Sophomore guard Darius Thompson flipped a behind-the-back pass to Wilkins for a fast-break layup that increased the Cavaliers' lead to 26-9.

Iowa State responded with two 3-pointers from Thomas and forward Abdel Nader to cut the deficit to 14 with 8:49 remaining in the first half.

Virginia jumped to a 12-2 lead in the first four minutes. Guard London Perrantes fired a pass from beyond the arc to Brogdon for an open layup. Two possessions later, Perrantes hit a 3-pointer that bounced high off the back of the rim and dropped through the net to put the Cavaliers up by double digits.

NOTES: Iowa State G Matt Thomas made at least one 3-pointer for the 25th consecutive game. ... Virginia F Anthony Gill remained in the game despite losing his balance and falling hard on his back late in the first half. ... Chicago Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg visited with his former Iowa State players this week. Hoiberg led the Cyclones for five years before leaving in June for the NBA. "I think the biggest thing he told us was enjoy the moment," G Georges Niang said. ... Virginia and Iowa State met for the fourth time overall and the first time since 2010.

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