After a tough loss at Florida State, the Virginia men's basketball team returns to Charlottesville to take on a two-ACC win Wake Forest team, which is still expected to be a challenge for the Hoos. It's tough for Virginia (18-4, 5-3 ACC) to overlook any ACC team with its slow style, and the Hoos are even more vulnerable since losing Assane Sene to injury. Sene will be missed tonight because Wake Forest (11-12, 2-7 ACC) has three capable scorers. C.J. Harris leads the team at 17.5 points per game, Travis McKie, a sophomore from Richmond whom Virginia recruited heavily, is second on the team at 15.8 ppg, and Tony Chennault scores 10 ppg for the Demon Deacons. Wake also has some length, which Sene could help deter with his 7-foot frame. McKie is an athletic, long 6-foot-7 and is a handful on the boards, averaging 7.2 rebounds per game. Then Wake also boasts two 7-footers in Ty Walker (5.3 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and Carson Desrosiers (4.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg). They are also each capable shot blockers. Wake Forest is not a good 3-point shooting team. Harris is very good from beyond the arc at 45.6 percent, but the team as a whole shoots just 33.2 percent. From the field, Wake shoots 43.2 percent and a respectable 72 percent from the free-throw line.
Wake's Achilles' heel this season has been defense. It allows the most points per game in the ACC (70.7) and allows opponents to shoot almost 43 percent from the field. The Deacons have allowed Georgia Southern, North Carolina Central, Dayton, Arizona State, Richmond, High Point, UNC Wilmington, Yale, Maryland, N.C. State (twice), Duke, Florida State, and Clemson to all score at least 70 points and some of those teams are not very good.
Not all of those games were losses but some of them were. Richmond and Arizona State were losses and both of those teams are right at or below .500. Wake Forest also lost to Wofford 56-52. The Terriers are 15-10 but come from the lowly Southern Conference.
There is a lot on Wake Forest's resume that suggests Virginia can blow them out. It just isn't that common for the Hoos, though, with the way they play. Also, Wake was terrible last year and just won one ACC game, but which team did it beat? That's right, UVa. The Demon Deacons seem to have the Cavaliers' number recently, too, as they are on a six-game win streak in the series, which includes a 3-0 mark against Tony Bennett. Also, and I'd have to think Bennett is warning against this with his players, but Virginia has a big game coming up Saturday at North Carolina. The players need to make sure they aren't looking ahead.
Hopefully, though, Virginia can snap some of these streaks and hand Wake another ACC loss as the Cavaliers continue to pile up wins toward its NCAA tournament resume.
Wake's Achilles' heel this season has been defense. It allows the most points per game in the ACC (70.7) and allows opponents to shoot almost 43 percent from the field. The Deacons have allowed Georgia Southern, North Carolina Central, Dayton, Arizona State, Richmond, High Point, UNC Wilmington, Yale, Maryland, N.C. State (twice), Duke, Florida State, and Clemson to all score at least 70 points and some of those teams are not very good.
Not all of those games were losses but some of them were. Richmond and Arizona State were losses and both of those teams are right at or below .500. Wake Forest also lost to Wofford 56-52. The Terriers are 15-10 but come from the lowly Southern Conference.
There is a lot on Wake Forest's resume that suggests Virginia can blow them out. It just isn't that common for the Hoos, though, with the way they play. Also, Wake was terrible last year and just won one ACC game, but which team did it beat? That's right, UVa. The Demon Deacons seem to have the Cavaliers' number recently, too, as they are on a six-game win streak in the series, which includes a 3-0 mark against Tony Bennett. Also, and I'd have to think Bennett is warning against this with his players, but Virginia has a big game coming up Saturday at North Carolina. The players need to make sure they aren't looking ahead.
Hopefully, though, Virginia can snap some of these streaks and hand Wake another ACC loss as the Cavaliers continue to pile up wins toward its NCAA tournament resume.
Comments
Post a Comment