Virginia at Virginia Tech, 9 p.m. ESPNU
Virginia played one of its best games of the season Saturday in a big 71-44 victory over Maryland. Mike Scott put up an ACC career high 25 points, as did Malcolm Brogdon, who had 14. Sammy Zeglinski made two 3s and finished with 11 points, and Akil Mitchell pulled down a career high 10 boards.
Maryland tied UVa at 31 going into halftime because it was able to make 7 of 13 3s in the first half. The Terrapins' strong play was built on sand, though, as they scored only 13 points in the second half and didn't make any more 3s.
There were a lot of things to like about this game. Scott was brilliant, once again. He was on fire with his mid-range game right away, and even came close to extending his game to the 3-point line. He was close a couple of his shots being 3s, but his feet were just inside the 3-point arc. He appeared to be getting tired in the second half, though, and was off on his jump shot a bit. So he brought himself down low and posted up more and got some baby hooks to fall. Zeglinski made two 3s, which is good, but it didn't stop there for him. What I liked even more was that he was more active than recent games and shot more than just 3s and even made it to the free-throw line for four shots. Joe Harris sank 3 of his 7 shots for six points. Nice little jumpers about 15-feet out, nothing special, but showing maybe that he is getting comfortable playing with a cast on his fractured left hand. Brogdon had the best game of his career. He scored two more points earlier in the season against Michigan, but against Maryland, he had zero turnovers, which is something he had been struggling with. Also, he did a good job guarding Maryland's Terrell Stoglin. Jontel Evans picked up a third foul early in the second half guarding Stoglin, and Brogdon did a solid job while Evans was out of the game. Stoglin was held to 14 points, most of which if not all was in the first half. He's averaged about 22 points per contest during the ACC so Virginia did a great job limiting him. Paul Jesperson finally hit another 3-pointer -- he hadn't made one since Jan. 19 against Georgia Tech. Even walk-on Doug Browman made a 3-pointer in the closing minutes. Virginia hit seven 3-pointers overall, its best total since it made seven against Florida State on Feb. 4. The Cavs also did an excellent job on free throws, making 13 of 15. Virginia played tough defense on Maryland, and honestly, the Terps didn't deserve 44 points. The way they were making 3s in the first half was crazy. They ended up scoring just 23 points on free throws and 2-pointers. I expected a better game out of Maryland overall. It was sloppy with the ball and didn't look interested in trying to fight back from a deficit once UVa built a 10-point lead. The Terps turned the ball over 15 times, with seven of those being Virginia steals.
Now, Virginia (20-6, 7-5 ACC) hits the road for a tilt at Virginia Tech (15-12, 4-8) tonight. The two rivals already met Jan. 22 in Charlottesville. The game was a defensive battle/cover-your-eyes offensive affair. However you look at, neither team looked that great but the Hokies pulled out a tight win, 47-45. It was perhaps the Cavaliers' worst game of the year. They made just five shots in the first half and 15 overall for a 32.6 field goal percent percentage. Virginia made only 1 of 14 3-point shots and also struggled from the line, making 14 of 22. Mike Scott, Joe Harris, and Jontel Evans shared the UVa scoring lead with 10 points each. Virginia Tech had two players in double figures -- Erick Green with 15 and Dorenzo Hudson with 12. One player the Hokies could be without in this game is forward Victor Davila, who has a groin strain. He only produced two points in the Jan. 22 meeting but had five rebounds and is a defensive presence inside for the Hokies. He has also picked up his game of late, recording 10.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game his last six games. Cadarian Raines and CJ Barksdale filled in nicely for Davila in their last game, a 74-73 overtime win over Georgia Tech at home Saturday (Hudson made a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer). Raines had a career high 13 points and added two steals and two assists. Barksdale also had a career high with eight points and grabbed four rebounds. Another player Virginia might need to contend with more in this meeting than the last one is highly touted freshman Dorian Finney-Smith. The forward played well at the beginning of the year but started slumping once ACC play hit. In his last fives games, though, he's put up five points or more four times and scored 12 and 17 on different occasions (the 17 was a career high).
Virginia did a good job defensively on the Hokies on Jan. 22, though they were able to drive to the hoop a little more easily than usual. That was the Cavaliers' first game playing without center Assane Sene. Now, Virginia is used to playing without the big man, so the players have adjusted and the defense should play a little differently in this meeting. Hopefully, the team can clamp down on Green a little more this game like they did with Maryland's Stoglin on Saturday. Green is the Hokies' go-to man, and I think they will struggle to find scoring if Virginia bothers him a lot.
It's hard to imagine UVa being as bad offensively as it was Jan. 22. It'll come down to making shots and limiting turnovers. Virginia turned the ball over 12 times last game against the Hokies and two games ago, against Clemson, the Cavaliers shot 50 percent but turned the ball over 18 times. Against Maryland, UVa cleaned up and turned it over only seven times, and I think just one of those was in the second half. I think Virginia is capable of blowing out the Hokies, even in Blacksburg, but it won't be easy and the team could certainly lose again. The last several games against the Hokies have been real battles, with the last five being decided by single digits. I expect another slugfest tonight, with a little more scoring than last meeting. Don't expect a track meet into the 60-point range to break out between these two defensive-oriented teams, however. This is another crucial game for UVa's NCAA tourney hopes. With a win, UVa would have eight ACC wins and would need just one more against UNC, FSU, or Maryland to get to 9-7 and have a solid chance at making the tournament. Lose, and the climb gets steeper. The Hokies aren't going to back down in this one and have the extra motivation of trying to do what UVa did last year them -- beat them twice and inflict serious damage on that NCAA tournament resume. The Hokies went 9-7 last year in the ACC but it was likely two losses to barely-.500 UVa knocked them out of the NCAA tournament.
Now, Virginia (20-6, 7-5 ACC) hits the road for a tilt at Virginia Tech (15-12, 4-8) tonight. The two rivals already met Jan. 22 in Charlottesville. The game was a defensive battle/cover-your-eyes offensive affair. However you look at, neither team looked that great but the Hokies pulled out a tight win, 47-45. It was perhaps the Cavaliers' worst game of the year. They made just five shots in the first half and 15 overall for a 32.6 field goal percent percentage. Virginia made only 1 of 14 3-point shots and also struggled from the line, making 14 of 22. Mike Scott, Joe Harris, and Jontel Evans shared the UVa scoring lead with 10 points each. Virginia Tech had two players in double figures -- Erick Green with 15 and Dorenzo Hudson with 12. One player the Hokies could be without in this game is forward Victor Davila, who has a groin strain. He only produced two points in the Jan. 22 meeting but had five rebounds and is a defensive presence inside for the Hokies. He has also picked up his game of late, recording 10.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game his last six games. Cadarian Raines and CJ Barksdale filled in nicely for Davila in their last game, a 74-73 overtime win over Georgia Tech at home Saturday (Hudson made a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer). Raines had a career high 13 points and added two steals and two assists. Barksdale also had a career high with eight points and grabbed four rebounds. Another player Virginia might need to contend with more in this meeting than the last one is highly touted freshman Dorian Finney-Smith. The forward played well at the beginning of the year but started slumping once ACC play hit. In his last fives games, though, he's put up five points or more four times and scored 12 and 17 on different occasions (the 17 was a career high).
Virginia did a good job defensively on the Hokies on Jan. 22, though they were able to drive to the hoop a little more easily than usual. That was the Cavaliers' first game playing without center Assane Sene. Now, Virginia is used to playing without the big man, so the players have adjusted and the defense should play a little differently in this meeting. Hopefully, the team can clamp down on Green a little more this game like they did with Maryland's Stoglin on Saturday. Green is the Hokies' go-to man, and I think they will struggle to find scoring if Virginia bothers him a lot.
It's hard to imagine UVa being as bad offensively as it was Jan. 22. It'll come down to making shots and limiting turnovers. Virginia turned the ball over 12 times last game against the Hokies and two games ago, against Clemson, the Cavaliers shot 50 percent but turned the ball over 18 times. Against Maryland, UVa cleaned up and turned it over only seven times, and I think just one of those was in the second half. I think Virginia is capable of blowing out the Hokies, even in Blacksburg, but it won't be easy and the team could certainly lose again. The last several games against the Hokies have been real battles, with the last five being decided by single digits. I expect another slugfest tonight, with a little more scoring than last meeting. Don't expect a track meet into the 60-point range to break out between these two defensive-oriented teams, however. This is another crucial game for UVa's NCAA tourney hopes. With a win, UVa would have eight ACC wins and would need just one more against UNC, FSU, or Maryland to get to 9-7 and have a solid chance at making the tournament. Lose, and the climb gets steeper. The Hokies aren't going to back down in this one and have the extra motivation of trying to do what UVa did last year them -- beat them twice and inflict serious damage on that NCAA tournament resume. The Hokies went 9-7 last year in the ACC but it was likely two losses to barely-.500 UVa knocked them out of the NCAA tournament.
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