RALEIGH, N.C. -- Virginia has spent the entire season punishing opponents by locking down on them defensively or forcing them to guard their steady-paced offence until deep in the shot clock. Mistakes add up, the frustration builds and the Cavaliers capitalize -- a withering formula that now has Tony Bennetts club following its Atlantic Coast Conference championship with its deepest NCAA tournament push in two decades. Joe Harris scored 16 points and top-seeded Virginia shot 56 per cent to beat Memphis 78-60 on Sunday night, earning its first trip to the round of 16 since 1995. Anthony Gill added 13 points for the Cavaliers (30-6), who turned in a dominating performance while controlling the tempo and shutting down the eighth-seeded Tigers (24-10) at nearly every turn. "Of course we try to come out and impose our will from the beginning," said sophomore Malcolm Brogdon, one of five Cavaliers in double figures. "But if that doesnt happen and we dont break them right off the bat, were going to keep going and keep playing our type of defence and offence. "And at some point, were going to wear them down and break their back." Virginia led by 15 at halftime and pushed that to 27 points late, picking up right where it left off in its strong finish to Fridays win against Coastal Carolina. Its already been the programs most successful season in decades, from winning the programs first ACC tournament title since 1976 to tying the school single-season record for victories Sunday night. Now Virginia has another milestone: its first regional semifinal appearance since making it to a regional final in 1995. And the Cavaliers, carrying a No. 1 seed for the first time since the days of Ralph Sampson, look ready to go even farther. Next up is a trip to New York to face fourth-seeded Michigan State (28-8) on Friday night in the East Regional semifinals at Madison Square Garden. "To get to the Sweet 16, thats the rarefied air of college basketball, and youre going to have to play," Bennett said. "We know whos waiting, we know how good they are, and it will be us trying to test our game against one of the teams thats playing its best basketball right now." On top of that, its Virginia -- not traditional powers Duke and North Carolina or league newcomer Syracuse -- that stands as the only ACC team still alive in the round of 16. The reasons were all on display against a Memphis team eager to speed up the Cavaliers and score in transition to avoid Virginias stingy set defence. Instead, the Cavaliers checked nearly everything off their to-do list, steadily overpowering the Tigers with confident efficiency. They knocked down open looks. They played tough in the paint to contest Tigers drives. They patiently ran their offence and snatched down every loose rebound when the Tigers missed chances to cut into the deficit. "This is just the way we play," Harris said. "If people are not familiar with watching us, we love to just grind it out. We love the long defensive possessions. We love just making teams work when theyre defending us. Its just kind of what Virginia basketball is all about." There was no sign of the Virginia team that looked out of sorts while falling behind by 10 in the first half against the 16th-seeded Chanticleers. Only the one that put Coastal Carolina away in the final 9 minutes. While Harris led the offensive effort, Virginia also had a 40-28 rebounding advantage while backed by a loud crowd filled with Cavs fans who made the drive one state south for the start of the tournament push. Austin Nichols scored 15 points to lead the Tigers, who shot 41 per cent -- including 3 of 13 from 3-point range -- and scored 17 points fewer than their season average. Leading scorer Joe Jackson, who was averaging 14.3 points, finished with seven on 3-for-6 shooting. "Theyve got to be the best defensive team Ive ever played against in college," Jackson said. "They never lose sight of the basketball, and they just help each other out on every possession. You will never get an easy layup on them." Memphis was looking for its first trip to the round of 16 since 2009, John Caliparis final year as coach before Josh Pastner took over. Senior Geron Johnson promised shortly after the American Athletic Conference tournament that this year would be different and the Tigers would get two NCAA wins. Instead, their season ended on the tournaments opening weekend for the fourth straight year. "Virginia came out, played Virginia basketball: out-toughed us, out-aggressived us," Johnson said. "They made shots. Every time we made a mistake, they capitalized on it with a bucket. Theres no excuses. They beat us fair and square." Milan Lucic Jersey . New York then missed its next six shots and scored only two points the rest of the night. The Los Angeles Clippers defence and the Knicks general ineptitude both played a role in the unsurprising finish to a meeting of two teams headed in opposite directions. Bobby Orr Jersey .ca. Kerry, In the first period of Saturdays Montreal-Ottawa game, Brendan Gallagher is called for goaltender interference. Craig Anderson is outside the blue paint trying to make the save. http://www.bruinsstore.com/authentic-derek-sanderson-bruins-jersey/ . -- Phil Mickelson will be watching the final two rounds of the Masters from home for the first time in 17 years. Terry OReilly Jersey . Not that he was complaining. Davis had 13 points, nine rebounds and a career-high eight blocks, and the New Orleans Pelicans emphatically snapped a three-game skid with a 135-98 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday night. Boston Bruins Jerseys . If Vettel wins at Suzuka on Sunday, and his nearest rival Fernando Alonso finishes worse than eighth, the German driver will join his compatriot Michael Schumacher and Argentine Juan-Manuel Fangio as the only men to win four consecutive titles.The San Jose Sharks signed defenceman Jason Demers to a two-year contract on Wednesday. The 26-year-old scored five goals and added 29 assists in 75 games with the Sharks last season. "Jason has been a solid, offensive defenseman and is coming off a good season," general manager Doug Wilson said in a statement..dddddddddddd "His skill set and his age mesh well within our overall group and were happy to have him signed for two more years." In 280 career NHL games with the Sharks, Demers has scored 16 goals and tallied 75 assists. Demers was drafted in the seventh round, 186th overall, of the 2008 NHL Draft. ' ' '