UVA
The Cavaliers picked up a 69-58 victory over the Wolfpack on Tuesday, Senior Night, and both seniors, Mustapha Farrakhan and Will Sherrill, played huge roles in the win. Sherrill finished with 14 points, a season-high for him, and Farrakhan poured in 15 points. Freshman Joe Harris led the team in scoring with 19 points.
It was a great, solid, feel good win for the Hoos on Senior Night. Farrakhan and Sherrill are guys you can really pull for. Obviously I like them because they are Hoos, but they also seems like high character guys and their career arcs at UVA were full of hardship.
Farrakhan didn't see the floor too much under previous coach Dave Leitao, or under Tony Bennett last year for that matter. This year, however, Farrakhan has played a lot and assumed the position as leader on the floor. I wasn't sure if he could handle the job when Mike Scott went down, but Farrakhan embraced the burden and really rose to the occasion this season. Without his contributions and willingness to step up, Virginia could not have gotten to six ACC wins.
Farrakhan was always known throughout his career as a streaky shooter, but this year, he seemed to leave his slumps in the past. I kept waiting for a three to four game stretch where he was cold, but it never happened. The only times he seemed to be cold were when the whole team was cold. But once the team got going, Farrakhan was usually leading the way. I heard or read a stat that Farrakhan has scored more points this season that all hi other seasons combined. That stat is telling of how much more valuable Mu has been to the squad that in years past.
Sherrill came to the team as a walk-on. How can you not root for a walk-on who ends up being a major contributor? He barely sniffed the floor under Leitao, but has flourished at times in his two seasons under Bennett. His pick-and-pop play has become legendary. Ok, not really, but it really has ended up being his bread and butter. He'll pick an opponent, then slide to just beyond the 3-point line near the baseline and assume a ready-to-shoot position and wait for a pass. Teams have still not learned to respect his shot, and every now and again, Sherrill gets hot. He hasn't really had multiple games where he's been hot, but it happens on occasion. It happened Tuesday. Sherrill hit 4 of his 5 3s, and without those points, I don't know if Virginia gets this victory. So Sherrill picked a doubly nice night to get hot--on his Senior Night, and during a game where we definitely needed his firepower.
Virginia finishes up its regular season Saturday at Maryland. I think Virginia finishes 8th or 9th no matter what happens with the remaining ACC games, meaning the Cavs will play the No. 8 or 9 seed in the first round of the ACC tourney.
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ACC's BUBBLE TEAMS
Virginia Tech helped itself tremendously Saturday with a victory over Duke, but then embarassed itself Tuesday with a blowout loss to Boston College in Blacksburg. BC actually has the best RPI left of the ACC's bubble teams. I think Tech or BC has the best chance right now of making the tourney. Clemson hosts Tech on Saturday, so the winner of that game could position itself for a bid, while the loser will need to do extra work in the ACC tourney. Maryland lost Wednesday to Miami, pretty much sealing their fate as an NIT team. Florida State nearly picked up a huge win over UNC last night, but should be a lock for the NCAA tourney anyway. I think it's coming down to BC, Clemson, and Virginia Tech for one, possibly two spots. The loser of the Tech-Clemson matchup will be in a bad spot. Meanwhile, BC only has to play Wake Forest on Sunday, so, barring a first-round exit in the ACC tourney, they could stand a good chance of picking up a bid.
The Cavaliers picked up a 69-58 victory over the Wolfpack on Tuesday, Senior Night, and both seniors, Mustapha Farrakhan and Will Sherrill, played huge roles in the win. Sherrill finished with 14 points, a season-high for him, and Farrakhan poured in 15 points. Freshman Joe Harris led the team in scoring with 19 points.
It was a great, solid, feel good win for the Hoos on Senior Night. Farrakhan and Sherrill are guys you can really pull for. Obviously I like them because they are Hoos, but they also seems like high character guys and their career arcs at UVA were full of hardship.
Farrakhan didn't see the floor too much under previous coach Dave Leitao, or under Tony Bennett last year for that matter. This year, however, Farrakhan has played a lot and assumed the position as leader on the floor. I wasn't sure if he could handle the job when Mike Scott went down, but Farrakhan embraced the burden and really rose to the occasion this season. Without his contributions and willingness to step up, Virginia could not have gotten to six ACC wins.
Farrakhan was always known throughout his career as a streaky shooter, but this year, he seemed to leave his slumps in the past. I kept waiting for a three to four game stretch where he was cold, but it never happened. The only times he seemed to be cold were when the whole team was cold. But once the team got going, Farrakhan was usually leading the way. I heard or read a stat that Farrakhan has scored more points this season that all hi other seasons combined. That stat is telling of how much more valuable Mu has been to the squad that in years past.
Sherrill came to the team as a walk-on. How can you not root for a walk-on who ends up being a major contributor? He barely sniffed the floor under Leitao, but has flourished at times in his two seasons under Bennett. His pick-and-pop play has become legendary. Ok, not really, but it really has ended up being his bread and butter. He'll pick an opponent, then slide to just beyond the 3-point line near the baseline and assume a ready-to-shoot position and wait for a pass. Teams have still not learned to respect his shot, and every now and again, Sherrill gets hot. He hasn't really had multiple games where he's been hot, but it happens on occasion. It happened Tuesday. Sherrill hit 4 of his 5 3s, and without those points, I don't know if Virginia gets this victory. So Sherrill picked a doubly nice night to get hot--on his Senior Night, and during a game where we definitely needed his firepower.
Virginia finishes up its regular season Saturday at Maryland. I think Virginia finishes 8th or 9th no matter what happens with the remaining ACC games, meaning the Cavs will play the No. 8 or 9 seed in the first round of the ACC tourney.
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ACC's BUBBLE TEAMS
Virginia Tech helped itself tremendously Saturday with a victory over Duke, but then embarassed itself Tuesday with a blowout loss to Boston College in Blacksburg. BC actually has the best RPI left of the ACC's bubble teams. I think Tech or BC has the best chance right now of making the tourney. Clemson hosts Tech on Saturday, so the winner of that game could position itself for a bid, while the loser will need to do extra work in the ACC tourney. Maryland lost Wednesday to Miami, pretty much sealing their fate as an NIT team. Florida State nearly picked up a huge win over UNC last night, but should be a lock for the NCAA tourney anyway. I think it's coming down to BC, Clemson, and Virginia Tech for one, possibly two spots. The loser of the Tech-Clemson matchup will be in a bad spot. Meanwhile, BC only has to play Wake Forest on Sunday, so, barring a first-round exit in the ACC tourney, they could stand a good chance of picking up a bid.
md got handled by miami. god.
ReplyDeletetech, bc, and clemson are really making this interesting. i say its hard to vote tech out after the win vs duke, even if they do lose to clemson next. late season signature wins help a lot.
yeah maryland is out barring a run to the title game, and they might have to win it. i think the winner of tech-clemson has the inside track to making the dance, and the loser would maybe have to make the acc title game. the tech win over duke is quality, but it was at home, where tech has been strong anyway, and duke was not a unanimous no. 1 or anything. theyve had their flaws. uva led them until midway through the 2nd half at cameron.
ReplyDeleteBC only has to play wake so i think they are in unless they lose in the first round of the acc tourney.
The last game was probably one of the most inspiring that I have seen in my last 2 years following UVA basketball. You could tell that Sherrill and Mu really fed off the energy of Senior Night. But an almost as big story was that UVa's streakiness continued. We sprinted out to a 16-0 lead to begin the game then let NC State back in it with a 17-2 run of their own. Luckily, we got back out to around a 10 point lead and never let them back in it, which means the streakiness could be improving.
ReplyDelete