North Carolina at Virginia, 4 p.m. ESPN
On Valentine's Day, Virginia lost to a mediocre Clemson team on the road 60-48. The Cavaliers were coming into that game after losing at North Carolina on Feb. 11, where they fought valiantly and even led for parts of the first half but ended up getting blown out in the second half. Joe Harris had his left hand stepped on and fractured. Against the Tigers, Virginia turned the ball over 18 times. Since that loss to Clemson, however, Virginia has responded with wins it needed to have over Maryland and Virginia Tech.
Tuesday night, the Hoos battled a Hokie team desperate to inflict damage on UVa's NCAA tournament resume but came out with a hard-fought 61-59 victory. The Hokies came out firing on all cylinders and making crazy 3s, similar to what Maryland did in the first half against Virginia on Feb. 18. The Cavaliers hung tough, though, and after being down 31-22 with about three minutes to go in the first half, went on a 10-4 run to close to within 35-32 at the half. In the second half, Virginia got down 47-39 before going on a 10-2 run to tie it at 49 with 9:36 remaining. The Cavs inched ahead, building a 59-51 lead with three minutes left. Jontel Evans made a shot clock buzzer-beating banked-in 3-pointer to push the lead from five to eight during that run. Down the stretch, Virginia held on despite some strange circumstances. The play clock started malfunctioning whenever Virginia had the ball (come to your own conclusions) and the game had to be stopped for a few minutes on more than one occasion, throwing off UVa's momentum and the general flow of the game. Additionally, lots of fouls were called on Virginia, allowing the Hokies to close the lead with free throws (again, form your own conclusions). Two of Virginia's primary ballhandlers, Evans and Sammy Zeglinski, even fouled out of the game. It was the first time all year any Cavaliers had fouled out of a game. With under a minute left, and the lead down to 59-55, Mike Scott missed a shot, which was rebounded by freshman Paul Jesperson and put back in for two points to give Virginia a little more cushion, a cushion it would need to survive and leave Blacksburg with a 'W.'
Jesperson came up big in this game for the Hoos, recording a career-high seven points. In addition to the putback, he also made a 3-pointer and a long 2-pointer. Mike Scott led the team with 20 points and nine boards while Evans and Sammy Zeglinski chipped in with 13 points. Zeglinski has come to life a bit the last two games, making five 3s, three of which came against Virginia Tech. Joe Harris struggled with his shooting and finished with just two points, and Malcolm Brogdon, coming off the best game of his career, was bothered by foot problems and scored just two points as well. It was revealed after the game that Brogdon has flat feet, and the pressure exerted on them can become very painful and the condition flared up during the game. Brogdon only played 13 minutes as a result (which pushed Jesperson into a bigger role -- 28 minutes) but he came off the bench in the final minutes once Evans and Zeglinski so that there would be a legitimate ballhandler on the floor for the Hoos. Perhaps Brogdon's biggest contribution came on defense, though. Virginia Tech was down 61-59 and had a 17-second final offensive possession to either win it or tie it. Brogdon stole a pass with a couple seconds left, hung on, and got fouled, ensuring the win for the Hoos.
Much should be said for the determination and grittiness the team has shown over the past week. When Virginia lost to Clemson and North Carolina, it was the first time all year the team had lost consecutive games. The Cavaliers have responded nicely. They took Maryland's best shot in the first half and then blew them out. Virginia Tech was, I'm sure, really hoping to flip the script on UVa hurt its NCAA resume with two losses to the Hokies, something Cavaliers did to Virginia Tech last year. The Hoos battled through lots of adversity and were down throughout much of the game but came up with a win when they needed it. Scott carried the team (and Evans on his back, literally after the game) and Virginia got contributions from unlikely sources -- Zeglinski stepped up for the second straight game with Harris ailing, and Jesperson filled in nicely for Brogdon on the offensive end. Even Darion Atkins, who didn't fill up the stat sheet on the offensive end, stepped up with two blocks which, who knows, could have been the difference in the game. It was a true team win.
Now, the Hoos get another shot at North Carolina, exactly two and a half weeks after their visit to Chapel Hill. Virginia (21-6, 8-5 ACC) is sitting by itself in fourth place in the ACC, one game ahead of 7-6 Miami and N.C. State. North Carolina (24-4, 11-2) is tied for first with Duke, which beat Florida State last night to knock the Seminoles back into third place by themselves. If the season ended today, UVa would likely be in the NCAA tournament, but another win or two wouldn't hurt to ensure Virginia's berth. A victory over the Tar Heels --ranked No. 7 in the nation by the AP, would go a long way to locking up UVa's bid.
To win, a few things will have to happen. Virginia got massively outrebounded in the first meeting, 52-32. The Cavs will have to do a better job on the boards. One of the things that goes into that is foul trouble. Scott got two fouls early in that one but still finished with 18 points in 27 minutes. Are the refs going to call cheap fouls on Scott again? Are they going to let UNC bang around down low and get lots of physical rebounds when fouls could maybe be called? The philosophy and mindset of the refs coming in will play a big role. Virginia is going to have to get some breaks from the zebras to win. Somehow, the Cavs are going to have to figure out a way to try the limit the effectiveness of John Henson, Tyler Zeller, and Harrison Barnes on the glass. The trio combined for 30 of UNC's rebounds Feb. 11.
UVa did a good job overall on defense in the first meeting against UNC -- a 70-52 loss. UNC didn't shoot incredibly well and the Cavs were right in the game at halftime, down just 35-32. A few minutes into the second half, they even had a 41-39 lead. But they couldn't make shots down the stretch -- just eight made field goals in the second half -- and that was how UNC was able to eventually put away the Hoos for good. Hopefully UVa, with this contest being played in Charlottesville, can knock down a few more shots and have the encouragement of the crowd to pump them up. It's likely UVa will be down for some of the game, perhaps most, but the team has to be willing to not give in and not give up -- stay in it until the end. A win over the Heels would be a great way for the Hoos to kick off its final three games of the regular season.
On Valentine's Day, Virginia lost to a mediocre Clemson team on the road 60-48. The Cavaliers were coming into that game after losing at North Carolina on Feb. 11, where they fought valiantly and even led for parts of the first half but ended up getting blown out in the second half. Joe Harris had his left hand stepped on and fractured. Against the Tigers, Virginia turned the ball over 18 times. Since that loss to Clemson, however, Virginia has responded with wins it needed to have over Maryland and Virginia Tech.
Tuesday night, the Hoos battled a Hokie team desperate to inflict damage on UVa's NCAA tournament resume but came out with a hard-fought 61-59 victory. The Hokies came out firing on all cylinders and making crazy 3s, similar to what Maryland did in the first half against Virginia on Feb. 18. The Cavaliers hung tough, though, and after being down 31-22 with about three minutes to go in the first half, went on a 10-4 run to close to within 35-32 at the half. In the second half, Virginia got down 47-39 before going on a 10-2 run to tie it at 49 with 9:36 remaining. The Cavs inched ahead, building a 59-51 lead with three minutes left. Jontel Evans made a shot clock buzzer-beating banked-in 3-pointer to push the lead from five to eight during that run. Down the stretch, Virginia held on despite some strange circumstances. The play clock started malfunctioning whenever Virginia had the ball (come to your own conclusions) and the game had to be stopped for a few minutes on more than one occasion, throwing off UVa's momentum and the general flow of the game. Additionally, lots of fouls were called on Virginia, allowing the Hokies to close the lead with free throws (again, form your own conclusions). Two of Virginia's primary ballhandlers, Evans and Sammy Zeglinski, even fouled out of the game. It was the first time all year any Cavaliers had fouled out of a game. With under a minute left, and the lead down to 59-55, Mike Scott missed a shot, which was rebounded by freshman Paul Jesperson and put back in for two points to give Virginia a little more cushion, a cushion it would need to survive and leave Blacksburg with a 'W.'
 |
| UVa forward Paul Jesperson virginiasports.com |
Much should be said for the determination and grittiness the team has shown over the past week. When Virginia lost to Clemson and North Carolina, it was the first time all year the team had lost consecutive games. The Cavaliers have responded nicely. They took Maryland's best shot in the first half and then blew them out. Virginia Tech was, I'm sure, really hoping to flip the script on UVa hurt its NCAA resume with two losses to the Hokies, something Cavaliers did to Virginia Tech last year. The Hoos battled through lots of adversity and were down throughout much of the game but came up with a win when they needed it. Scott carried the team (and Evans on his back, literally after the game) and Virginia got contributions from unlikely sources -- Zeglinski stepped up for the second straight game with Harris ailing, and Jesperson filled in nicely for Brogdon on the offensive end. Even Darion Atkins, who didn't fill up the stat sheet on the offensive end, stepped up with two blocks which, who knows, could have been the difference in the game. It was a true team win.
Now, the Hoos get another shot at North Carolina, exactly two and a half weeks after their visit to Chapel Hill. Virginia (21-6, 8-5 ACC) is sitting by itself in fourth place in the ACC, one game ahead of 7-6 Miami and N.C. State. North Carolina (24-4, 11-2) is tied for first with Duke, which beat Florida State last night to knock the Seminoles back into third place by themselves. If the season ended today, UVa would likely be in the NCAA tournament, but another win or two wouldn't hurt to ensure Virginia's berth. A victory over the Tar Heels --ranked No. 7 in the nation by the AP, would go a long way to locking up UVa's bid.
UVa did a good job overall on defense in the first meeting against UNC -- a 70-52 loss. UNC didn't shoot incredibly well and the Cavs were right in the game at halftime, down just 35-32. A few minutes into the second half, they even had a 41-39 lead. But they couldn't make shots down the stretch -- just eight made field goals in the second half -- and that was how UNC was able to eventually put away the Hoos for good. Hopefully UVa, with this contest being played in Charlottesville, can knock down a few more shots and have the encouragement of the crowd to pump them up. It's likely UVa will be down for some of the game, perhaps most, but the team has to be willing to not give in and not give up -- stay in it until the end. A win over the Heels would be a great way for the Hoos to kick off its final three games of the regular season.
Comments
Post a Comment