The Cavaliers host the Hokies today at a sold out JPJ. As I alluded to in my last blog post, the Hokies have been struggling as of late, but I expect them to come out clawing in this rivalry and make it a close game at least for the first half and possibly until the end of the contest.
Virginia is without center Assane Sene, who fractured his right ankle against Georgia Tech on Thursday. It was announced a couple days ago that Sene underwent surgery and will be out for about six weeks. While he isn't a force on offense, he is a strong presence inside for the Hoos defense, even when it doesn't show in rebounds or blocked shots. He has kind of been the glue guy for Virginia this year on 'D,' much like Will Sherrill was last year. He will be missed but I think Virginia can overcome his injury. I expect Akil Mitchell and Darion Atkins to see more minutes. Both bring a stronger offensive game than Sene and both are probably steps down in defense, but still solid. Atkins in particular has shown a talent for blocking shots. He's shown some sparks on offense as well, not only with his jumping and dunking ability, but with his post game. He made a strong move and baby hook in the second half of the Miami game Jan. 7.
Virginia Tech is 0-4 in the ACC. The Hokies lost 58-55 to Wake Forest, 63-59 to Florida State, 61-59 to Boston College, and 82-68 to North Carolina. So with the exception of the UNC game, all the Hokies' conference losses have been close and they could easily be 3-1 in the ACC. The four-point loss to FSU is especially impressive now since the Seminoles have beaten North Carolina and Duke. Obviously the 'Noles are improved, but that was still a solid effort by the Hokies.
The Virginia Tech offense is missing both Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen a lot this year. I think they provided 2/3 of the Hokies offense last season. This season, junior guard Erick Green leads them in scoring at 16.1 points per game. He's also hitting 40 percent of his 3-pointers and close to 90 percent of his free throws. Senior Dorenzo Hudson is second on the team averaging 11.7 points per game. Sophomore forward Jarell Eddie is athletic, tall, and can also drive to the hoop. He's averaging 9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Senior forward Victor Davila provides 6.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He's been dangerous but inconsistent this season. He's scored in double figures five times with a high of 15 points but also scored below five points five times, and scored zero points in two of those games. Freshman post player Dorian Finney-Smith is making his presence known already in his first season averaging 6.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Virginia Tech is shooting 36.3 percent from 3-point land, which is pretty good, but just 43.2 percent overall, which is a little low. The Hokies don't turn it over much and have the ability to force turnovers. Virginia will need to be careful in this game but it should win if it plays close to its best. Still, the Hokies and Cavaliers have played some close games recently (last five have been decided by single digits) and I wouldn't be surprised if this one is similar.
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NFL
AFC Championship
Ravens at Patriots, 3 p.m. CBS
No team has ever gotten to the playoffs with a defense as bad as the Patriots'. I think that changes this year. While the New England 'D' isn't overwhelming, coach Bill Belichick has seemed to been able to get his defense to play well when it needs to. I think he will come up with a good plan to stifle Ravens RB Ray Rice and then Joe Flacco will have to win it for Baltimore and he won't be able to.
Patriots 26, Ravens 23
NFC Championship
Giants at 49ers, 6:30 p.m. FOX
I'm looking for a rematch of Super Bowl XLII. I think the Giants are playing well enough to reach the big game again and they'll meet the Patriots, like they did in that memorable Super Bowl four years ago when the Giants knocked off the undefeated Patriots 17-14. I expect New York's defense to give 49ers QB Alex Smith some problems his offense won't be able to overcome. Meanwhile, Eli Manning will make some mistakes, but just enough plays against the San Fran defense to send his team to the Super Bowl. This game is a rematch a Nov. 13 game that the 49ers won 27-20, also at home.
Giants 25, 49ers 17
Virginia is without center Assane Sene, who fractured his right ankle against Georgia Tech on Thursday. It was announced a couple days ago that Sene underwent surgery and will be out for about six weeks. While he isn't a force on offense, he is a strong presence inside for the Hoos defense, even when it doesn't show in rebounds or blocked shots. He has kind of been the glue guy for Virginia this year on 'D,' much like Will Sherrill was last year. He will be missed but I think Virginia can overcome his injury. I expect Akil Mitchell and Darion Atkins to see more minutes. Both bring a stronger offensive game than Sene and both are probably steps down in defense, but still solid. Atkins in particular has shown a talent for blocking shots. He's shown some sparks on offense as well, not only with his jumping and dunking ability, but with his post game. He made a strong move and baby hook in the second half of the Miami game Jan. 7.
Virginia Tech is 0-4 in the ACC. The Hokies lost 58-55 to Wake Forest, 63-59 to Florida State, 61-59 to Boston College, and 82-68 to North Carolina. So with the exception of the UNC game, all the Hokies' conference losses have been close and they could easily be 3-1 in the ACC. The four-point loss to FSU is especially impressive now since the Seminoles have beaten North Carolina and Duke. Obviously the 'Noles are improved, but that was still a solid effort by the Hokies.
The Virginia Tech offense is missing both Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen a lot this year. I think they provided 2/3 of the Hokies offense last season. This season, junior guard Erick Green leads them in scoring at 16.1 points per game. He's also hitting 40 percent of his 3-pointers and close to 90 percent of his free throws. Senior Dorenzo Hudson is second on the team averaging 11.7 points per game. Sophomore forward Jarell Eddie is athletic, tall, and can also drive to the hoop. He's averaging 9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Senior forward Victor Davila provides 6.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. He's been dangerous but inconsistent this season. He's scored in double figures five times with a high of 15 points but also scored below five points five times, and scored zero points in two of those games. Freshman post player Dorian Finney-Smith is making his presence known already in his first season averaging 6.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game.
Virginia Tech is shooting 36.3 percent from 3-point land, which is pretty good, but just 43.2 percent overall, which is a little low. The Hokies don't turn it over much and have the ability to force turnovers. Virginia will need to be careful in this game but it should win if it plays close to its best. Still, the Hokies and Cavaliers have played some close games recently (last five have been decided by single digits) and I wouldn't be surprised if this one is similar.
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NFL
AFC Championship
Ravens at Patriots, 3 p.m. CBS
No team has ever gotten to the playoffs with a defense as bad as the Patriots'. I think that changes this year. While the New England 'D' isn't overwhelming, coach Bill Belichick has seemed to been able to get his defense to play well when it needs to. I think he will come up with a good plan to stifle Ravens RB Ray Rice and then Joe Flacco will have to win it for Baltimore and he won't be able to.
Patriots 26, Ravens 23
NFC Championship
Giants at 49ers, 6:30 p.m. FOX
I'm looking for a rematch of Super Bowl XLII. I think the Giants are playing well enough to reach the big game again and they'll meet the Patriots, like they did in that memorable Super Bowl four years ago when the Giants knocked off the undefeated Patriots 17-14. I expect New York's defense to give 49ers QB Alex Smith some problems his offense won't be able to overcome. Meanwhile, Eli Manning will make some mistakes, but just enough plays against the San Fran defense to send his team to the Super Bowl. This game is a rematch a Nov. 13 game that the 49ers won 27-20, also at home.
Giants 25, 49ers 17
dang, pretty much nailed this week.
ReplyDeleteyeah real close on the football games and close on the bball game in the fact that i wasnt feeling as confident as lots of people.
ReplyDelete