Virginia looked good at times and bad at times Thursday in its win over Boston College but ended the game on a 22-5 run to beat the Eagles 66-49. The defense was good once again with the exception of giving up seven 3-pointers, which were able to keep the Eagles in the game.
Virginia led 31-23 at halftime and 34-23 after a Joe Harris 3-pointer to open the second half (his second of the game) but BC was able to tie it at 44 with about 10 minutes left. That's when the Cavaliers went on their final run that finally clinched the victory.
Virginia made 4 of 10 3-pointers, an improvement over the 1 out of 14 it made vs. Virginia Tech and also sunk all eight of its free throws. Sammy Zeglinski hit two 3-pointers in the latter part of the contest which was great to see, as he has been slumping badly lately. Mike Scott was his usual self, scoring 18 points to lead the Cavaliers. Jontel Evans took advantage of a defense sagging off him to make 5 of 9 field goals to finish with 10 points. Hopefully, he can continue to become a better offensive threat to loosen up the offense and allow the team to score more points. Akil Mitchell was another big-time performer. He managed just two points against the Hokies but scored 10 points on 4 of 7 shooting and made a couple of nice post moves against Boston College. He also sunk his two free throws, also great to see because he is shooting 44 percent from the charity stripe this season, so maybe he is improving in that department.
Tonight, Virginia plays at N.C. State, a team in similar standing in the ACC. The Wolfpack (15-6, 4-2 ACC) played Thursday against UNC and got blown out 74-55. So both teams have little rest before this game. N.C. State has beaten Maryland, Wake Forest, Boston College, and Miami and their only other conference loss besides UNC is to, inexplicably, Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets topped the Pack 82-71 in Raleigh. Virginia beat Ga. Tech 70-38 in Atlanta. That loss for the Pack paired with the blowout to UNC I think shows that the jury is still out on how good N.C. State is. They played some tough teams before the ACC schedule, including Syracuse, Indiana, Vanderbilt, and Texas, and only beat one of them, Texas. The Wolfpack struggled in wins over Campbell (87-81), N.C. Central (65-60), and St. Bonaventure (67-65).
N.C. State has five players who score in double figures per game -- Scott Wood (13.2), C.J. Leslie (12.6), Lorenzo Brown (12.2), C.J. Williams (11.8), and Richard Howell (11.7, 9 rebounds per game) -- so scoring has not been a huge issue for State. It is shooting 47.2 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3, and 74.4 percent from the line. One of N.C. State's issues has been on the defensive side of the court as evidence by some of the point totals they've given up to teams this season (over 80 points to Vanderbilt, Indiana, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, and Campbell).
N.C. State is led on the bench by coach Mark Gottfried, who is in his first year in Raleigh. He was the coach of Alabama and then was an ESPN commentator for two years before coming to State. He is a solid coach and even though previous coach Sydney Lowe was not a good coach, he did get some good recruits and Gottfried has this team playing pretty well.
This is going to be a tough game on the road but another that UVa could definitely win. It is an important game for positioning in the ACC. Virginia will be 4th in the ACC with a win and 5th with a loss. Florida State, with its two wins over Duke and UNC, and has established itself as a top 3 team, as have the Blue Devils and Tar Heels. I would guess those three teams will make the NCAA tournament and maybe one more will get in, and that would maybe be either UVa or State. The Cavaliers could help their chances in March with a win tonight in Raleigh. If they lose, the sledding will be tougher to get to the Big Dance.
Virginia led 31-23 at halftime and 34-23 after a Joe Harris 3-pointer to open the second half (his second of the game) but BC was able to tie it at 44 with about 10 minutes left. That's when the Cavaliers went on their final run that finally clinched the victory.
Virginia made 4 of 10 3-pointers, an improvement over the 1 out of 14 it made vs. Virginia Tech and also sunk all eight of its free throws. Sammy Zeglinski hit two 3-pointers in the latter part of the contest which was great to see, as he has been slumping badly lately. Mike Scott was his usual self, scoring 18 points to lead the Cavaliers. Jontel Evans took advantage of a defense sagging off him to make 5 of 9 field goals to finish with 10 points. Hopefully, he can continue to become a better offensive threat to loosen up the offense and allow the team to score more points. Akil Mitchell was another big-time performer. He managed just two points against the Hokies but scored 10 points on 4 of 7 shooting and made a couple of nice post moves against Boston College. He also sunk his two free throws, also great to see because he is shooting 44 percent from the charity stripe this season, so maybe he is improving in that department.
Tonight, Virginia plays at N.C. State, a team in similar standing in the ACC. The Wolfpack (15-6, 4-2 ACC) played Thursday against UNC and got blown out 74-55. So both teams have little rest before this game. N.C. State has beaten Maryland, Wake Forest, Boston College, and Miami and their only other conference loss besides UNC is to, inexplicably, Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets topped the Pack 82-71 in Raleigh. Virginia beat Ga. Tech 70-38 in Atlanta. That loss for the Pack paired with the blowout to UNC I think shows that the jury is still out on how good N.C. State is. They played some tough teams before the ACC schedule, including Syracuse, Indiana, Vanderbilt, and Texas, and only beat one of them, Texas. The Wolfpack struggled in wins over Campbell (87-81), N.C. Central (65-60), and St. Bonaventure (67-65).
N.C. State has five players who score in double figures per game -- Scott Wood (13.2), C.J. Leslie (12.6), Lorenzo Brown (12.2), C.J. Williams (11.8), and Richard Howell (11.7, 9 rebounds per game) -- so scoring has not been a huge issue for State. It is shooting 47.2 percent from the field, 37 percent from 3, and 74.4 percent from the line. One of N.C. State's issues has been on the defensive side of the court as evidence by some of the point totals they've given up to teams this season (over 80 points to Vanderbilt, Indiana, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, and Campbell).
N.C. State is led on the bench by coach Mark Gottfried, who is in his first year in Raleigh. He was the coach of Alabama and then was an ESPN commentator for two years before coming to State. He is a solid coach and even though previous coach Sydney Lowe was not a good coach, he did get some good recruits and Gottfried has this team playing pretty well.
This is going to be a tough game on the road but another that UVa could definitely win. It is an important game for positioning in the ACC. Virginia will be 4th in the ACC with a win and 5th with a loss. Florida State, with its two wins over Duke and UNC, and has established itself as a top 3 team, as have the Blue Devils and Tar Heels. I would guess those three teams will make the NCAA tournament and maybe one more will get in, and that would maybe be either UVa or State. The Cavaliers could help their chances in March with a win tonight in Raleigh. If they lose, the sledding will be tougher to get to the Big Dance.
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