Virginia 61, N.C. State 60
Virginia needed all the points it could get Saturday in a narrow defeat of N.C. State. In the first half, the script was flipped for the Cavaliers -- who have been stout on defense and average-to-below-average on offense -- as they scored 38 points and allowed 31. Virginia shot 60 percent in the first half while State shot 46.2 percent. The Hoos went back to the norm though in the second half as they scored just 23 points and made just four field goals on offense but allowed State to score 30 points but shoot just 35.2 percent. Virginia played great defense on N.C. State's last play and Lorenzo Brown put up a lazy 3-pointer which fell well short and the Hoos preserved the victory.
Virginia, which had been in a 3-point shooting slump since the LSU game Jan. 2, came out of the funk in a big way with seven 3-pointers (out of 15 attempts), four by Sammy Zeglinski, who was taking the brunt of the 3-point drought. Obviously every single one of those 3-pointers was of paramount importance since Virginia one by just one point. Something else the Cavaliers did fairly well was shoot free throws as they made 16 of 23 (69.6 percent), not great, but better than N.C. State's 12 of 21 (57.1 percent), which had to be feeling like the Hoos when they faced Virginia Tech and failed to make the necessary number of free throws to overcome a small deficit.
Mike Scott led Virginia with 18 points for the second straight game and the Hoos got sizable contributions from Zeglinski and Joe Harris with 12 points each and Malcolm Brogdon with seven points. Jontel Evans, who had taken on an increased offensive role in recent games, didn't need to shoot as much with Zeglinski and Harris bombing away from 3 and making them. Evans had a quiet five points on 1 of 3 shooting.
The glaring weakness from this game came on the glass as N.C. State out-rebounded Virginia 42-25. The Wolfpack's Richard Howell grabbed an incredible 18 boards by himself and might have single-handedly helped State win the game had he not fouled out with a few minutes left. The early portion of the first half was especially embarrassing and State got second, third, fourth, and maybe even fifth chances at shots on its offensive possessions. Overall, because of the rebounds, State shot the ball 14 more times than UVa. At the post game news conference, UVa coach Tony Bennett quipped, "...Fortunately there wasn't too much time left or they might have gotten a 19th offensive rebound...." when referring to the missed final shot for the Wolfpack.
The N.C. State fans were loud and Virginia had to stave off two rallies in the second half. It's a game that the Cavaliers feel fortunate to win I'm sure. It was a very hard-fought contest and a great gut-check road win for the Hoos. The mini offensive explosion in the first half should be a great confidence builder and then the ability to deny a solid home team the upset win a couple times in the second half in front of a hostile crowd with tough defense is a good character-builder.
One thing I just noticed while watching the game highlights on virginiasports.com is the example Scott provides his teammates. If you watch closely at the end of the game, Scott barely showed any reaction or emotion. The rest of the players begin to celebrate and the players on the floor run toward the bench and the players on the bench run on the floor. You can see Scott just walking back to the bench and I don't think he's doing any sort of celebration. He acted like he had been there before. He's a quiet and humble leader for the Hoos.
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Clemson at Virginia, 7 p.m. ESPN2 tonight
Virginia returns to Charlottesville to take on Clemson tonight and you can probably expect a game similar to last season at JPJ when the Hoos squeaked out a 49-47 win. Virginia is first in the ACC in points per game allowed (50.6) while Clemson is second (59.9) so scoring will probably be difficult. But if Virginia play as well or close to as well as it did on offense in the first half against N.C. State, the Hoos should win. Clemson (11-9, 3-3 ACC) has struggled this season, losing to UTEP, College of Charleston, Coastal Carolina, South Carolina, Hawaii, and Boston College. There have also been glimmers of hope, though, for the Tigers, who somehow beat Florida State by 20 points, 79-59. That was before FSU got hot, but still that was a solid effort by the Tigers. Clemson followed that nice victory up with the loss to Boston College, and also lost to Duke and Miami, all in close games (59-57, 73-66, 76-73, respectively). Most recently, the Tigers have beaten Georgia Tech and Wake Forest by two and 11 points. Andre Young (13.9), Tanner Smith (11.1), and Devin Booker (10.7) are Clemson's leading scorers. I read on espn.com today in its power rankings for the ACC that when Young shoots over 40 percent in ACC play, the team is 3-0 and 0-3 when he shoots less than 40 percent. So stopping him will be important for the Hoos. Not surprisingly, Clemson is not a good shooting team (43.5 percent from the field, 33.4 percent from 3, and 67.8 percent from the free throw line). More good news for UVa is that Clemson is 234th in the country in rebounds per game, so the team should have an easier time on the boards than it did against N.C. State.
Like most of UVa's games this season, this is one the Hoos could easily win, but could also lose if they shoot poorly. While Virginia is now 4-2 and 4th in the ACC, it is an important game because it has to play at Florida State on Saturday, and I think that will be an extremely tough game to win. If UVa trips up tonight against Clemson, it could find itself 4-4 in the ACC and in trouble after Saturday. So this is an important game for the Hoos to get some more distance between its ACC wins and its ACC losses. I'm still thinking Virginia needs to get to 10-6 in the ACC to feel relatively safe at making the tournament. With four games against FSU and UNC coming up, this game against Clemson is another great opportunity for Virginia to inch its way closer to a tourney berth.
Virginia needed all the points it could get Saturday in a narrow defeat of N.C. State. In the first half, the script was flipped for the Cavaliers -- who have been stout on defense and average-to-below-average on offense -- as they scored 38 points and allowed 31. Virginia shot 60 percent in the first half while State shot 46.2 percent. The Hoos went back to the norm though in the second half as they scored just 23 points and made just four field goals on offense but allowed State to score 30 points but shoot just 35.2 percent. Virginia played great defense on N.C. State's last play and Lorenzo Brown put up a lazy 3-pointer which fell well short and the Hoos preserved the victory.
Virginia, which had been in a 3-point shooting slump since the LSU game Jan. 2, came out of the funk in a big way with seven 3-pointers (out of 15 attempts), four by Sammy Zeglinski, who was taking the brunt of the 3-point drought. Obviously every single one of those 3-pointers was of paramount importance since Virginia one by just one point. Something else the Cavaliers did fairly well was shoot free throws as they made 16 of 23 (69.6 percent), not great, but better than N.C. State's 12 of 21 (57.1 percent), which had to be feeling like the Hoos when they faced Virginia Tech and failed to make the necessary number of free throws to overcome a small deficit.
Mike Scott led Virginia with 18 points for the second straight game and the Hoos got sizable contributions from Zeglinski and Joe Harris with 12 points each and Malcolm Brogdon with seven points. Jontel Evans, who had taken on an increased offensive role in recent games, didn't need to shoot as much with Zeglinski and Harris bombing away from 3 and making them. Evans had a quiet five points on 1 of 3 shooting.
The glaring weakness from this game came on the glass as N.C. State out-rebounded Virginia 42-25. The Wolfpack's Richard Howell grabbed an incredible 18 boards by himself and might have single-handedly helped State win the game had he not fouled out with a few minutes left. The early portion of the first half was especially embarrassing and State got second, third, fourth, and maybe even fifth chances at shots on its offensive possessions. Overall, because of the rebounds, State shot the ball 14 more times than UVa. At the post game news conference, UVa coach Tony Bennett quipped, "...Fortunately there wasn't too much time left or they might have gotten a 19th offensive rebound...." when referring to the missed final shot for the Wolfpack.
The N.C. State fans were loud and Virginia had to stave off two rallies in the second half. It's a game that the Cavaliers feel fortunate to win I'm sure. It was a very hard-fought contest and a great gut-check road win for the Hoos. The mini offensive explosion in the first half should be a great confidence builder and then the ability to deny a solid home team the upset win a couple times in the second half in front of a hostile crowd with tough defense is a good character-builder.
One thing I just noticed while watching the game highlights on virginiasports.com is the example Scott provides his teammates. If you watch closely at the end of the game, Scott barely showed any reaction or emotion. The rest of the players begin to celebrate and the players on the floor run toward the bench and the players on the bench run on the floor. You can see Scott just walking back to the bench and I don't think he's doing any sort of celebration. He acted like he had been there before. He's a quiet and humble leader for the Hoos.
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Clemson at Virginia, 7 p.m. ESPN2 tonight
Virginia returns to Charlottesville to take on Clemson tonight and you can probably expect a game similar to last season at JPJ when the Hoos squeaked out a 49-47 win. Virginia is first in the ACC in points per game allowed (50.6) while Clemson is second (59.9) so scoring will probably be difficult. But if Virginia play as well or close to as well as it did on offense in the first half against N.C. State, the Hoos should win. Clemson (11-9, 3-3 ACC) has struggled this season, losing to UTEP, College of Charleston, Coastal Carolina, South Carolina, Hawaii, and Boston College. There have also been glimmers of hope, though, for the Tigers, who somehow beat Florida State by 20 points, 79-59. That was before FSU got hot, but still that was a solid effort by the Tigers. Clemson followed that nice victory up with the loss to Boston College, and also lost to Duke and Miami, all in close games (59-57, 73-66, 76-73, respectively). Most recently, the Tigers have beaten Georgia Tech and Wake Forest by two and 11 points. Andre Young (13.9), Tanner Smith (11.1), and Devin Booker (10.7) are Clemson's leading scorers. I read on espn.com today in its power rankings for the ACC that when Young shoots over 40 percent in ACC play, the team is 3-0 and 0-3 when he shoots less than 40 percent. So stopping him will be important for the Hoos. Not surprisingly, Clemson is not a good shooting team (43.5 percent from the field, 33.4 percent from 3, and 67.8 percent from the free throw line). More good news for UVa is that Clemson is 234th in the country in rebounds per game, so the team should have an easier time on the boards than it did against N.C. State.
Like most of UVa's games this season, this is one the Hoos could easily win, but could also lose if they shoot poorly. While Virginia is now 4-2 and 4th in the ACC, it is an important game because it has to play at Florida State on Saturday, and I think that will be an extremely tough game to win. If UVa trips up tonight against Clemson, it could find itself 4-4 in the ACC and in trouble after Saturday. So this is an important game for the Hoos to get some more distance between its ACC wins and its ACC losses. I'm still thinking Virginia needs to get to 10-6 in the ACC to feel relatively safe at making the tournament. With four games against FSU and UNC coming up, this game against Clemson is another great opportunity for Virginia to inch its way closer to a tourney berth.
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