Virginia basketball stumbles down the stretch but makes NCAA tournament; UVa women get snubbed; Virginia baseball team downs Hokies
VIRGINIA MEN
The Virginia men's basketball team lost to N.C. State 67-64 last Friday in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. It was not that surprising of a result given the Wolfpack were in desperate need of a win or two in the ACC tournament to make its case for getting into the Big Dance to the NCAA selection committee. They beat Boston College and then the UVa win, combined with a strong showing the ACC semifinals against North Carolina (a 69-67 loss) pushed the Wolfpack into the NCAA tournament.
For the Cavaliers, the story remained the same. They haven't made it to the ACC tournament semifinals since 1995, the longest streak in conference. Even newer conference members Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College have all been there at least once. Virginia's stumble down the final stretch of the regular season and into the ACC tournament was not enough to keep it out of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007, however. Virginia heard its name called in the West Region as No. 10 seed, and it will face No. 7 seed Florida on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in Omaha, Neb. The Gators will provide a tough test, and I'll provide a few more specifics about the game before Friday and maybe some other second-round (yes, the Thursday-Friday games are officially called the second round, since the first round is technically tonight and Wednesday with the Western Kentucky-Mississippi Valley State, Iona-BYU, Vermont-Lamar, and South Florida-California matchups) picks and/or observations, depending on when I post.
Until then, happy filling out brackets and happy March Madness!
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VIRGINIA WOMEN
Speaking of the NCAA tournament, the women's tournament teams were selected last night and the Cavaliers failed to get a bid. They were one of the first teams out of the tournament, according to the head of the selection committee. I was quite surprised the ladies did not receive a bid. They went 22-10, 9-7 in the ACC (fifth place) and beat Tennessee early in the year. The Virginia women's profile was a lot like the Virginia men's. Neither team was able to beat the teams above it in the ACC standings, but both finished 9-7 and each had just one marquee non-conference win (the women over the Lady Vols and the men over Michigan), yet the men made it into the field and the women didn't. One of the things that made it harder on the ladies is that the women's tournament is still just 64 teams, whereas the men's is up to 68. I think the Cavaliers would have been in the tournament if there had been four more teams allowed in. Nevertheless, it was good year for Virginia and its season isn't it over. The Cavs host Howard in first-round women's NIT action Thursday at JPJ.
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VIRGINIA BASEBALL
The Virginia baseball team has experienced some struggles early in the year but over the weekend, the Cavaliers may have grown up a bit, to put it in the words of coach Brian O'Connor. UVa has lost to Boston College, Liberty, Wright State, Seton Hall, and tied JMU all early in the year but Virginia took 2 of 3 games from Virginia Tech over the weekend, and really, the Cavs should have swept the series. On Friday, Virginia blew a four-run ninth-inning lead and lost 10-8 in 11 innings. Saturday's game, one that I attended, was very exciting. Neither team had more than a one-run lead and the game was tied at 3 in the eighth inning until Mitchell Shifflett hit an RBI-single to put the Cavs ahead 4-3, the score they would win by. Starting pitcher Scott Silverstein allowed two home runs, but was solid otherwise, striking out nine and allowing just three runs on three hits over six innings. Shane Halley came in out of the bullpen and earned the win for UVa by pitching two shutout innings. Justin Thompson pitched the ninth to snag a save. On Sunday, Virginia was down 5-2, but scored two runs each in the eighth and ninth innings to take the win and the series from the Hokies, who are now 12-3 on the year. Great wins for the Hoos against a team that looks like it might be able to make some noise this season.
The Virginia men's basketball team lost to N.C. State 67-64 last Friday in the ACC tournament quarterfinals. It was not that surprising of a result given the Wolfpack were in desperate need of a win or two in the ACC tournament to make its case for getting into the Big Dance to the NCAA selection committee. They beat Boston College and then the UVa win, combined with a strong showing the ACC semifinals against North Carolina (a 69-67 loss) pushed the Wolfpack into the NCAA tournament.
For the Cavaliers, the story remained the same. They haven't made it to the ACC tournament semifinals since 1995, the longest streak in conference. Even newer conference members Miami, Virginia Tech, and Boston College have all been there at least once. Virginia's stumble down the final stretch of the regular season and into the ACC tournament was not enough to keep it out of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007, however. Virginia heard its name called in the West Region as No. 10 seed, and it will face No. 7 seed Florida on Friday at 2:30 p.m. in Omaha, Neb. The Gators will provide a tough test, and I'll provide a few more specifics about the game before Friday and maybe some other second-round (yes, the Thursday-Friday games are officially called the second round, since the first round is technically tonight and Wednesday with the Western Kentucky-Mississippi Valley State, Iona-BYU, Vermont-Lamar, and South Florida-California matchups) picks and/or observations, depending on when I post.
Until then, happy filling out brackets and happy March Madness!
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VIRGINIA WOMEN
Speaking of the NCAA tournament, the women's tournament teams were selected last night and the Cavaliers failed to get a bid. They were one of the first teams out of the tournament, according to the head of the selection committee. I was quite surprised the ladies did not receive a bid. They went 22-10, 9-7 in the ACC (fifth place) and beat Tennessee early in the year. The Virginia women's profile was a lot like the Virginia men's. Neither team was able to beat the teams above it in the ACC standings, but both finished 9-7 and each had just one marquee non-conference win (the women over the Lady Vols and the men over Michigan), yet the men made it into the field and the women didn't. One of the things that made it harder on the ladies is that the women's tournament is still just 64 teams, whereas the men's is up to 68. I think the Cavaliers would have been in the tournament if there had been four more teams allowed in. Nevertheless, it was good year for Virginia and its season isn't it over. The Cavs host Howard in first-round women's NIT action Thursday at JPJ.
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VIRGINIA BASEBALL
The Virginia baseball team has experienced some struggles early in the year but over the weekend, the Cavaliers may have grown up a bit, to put it in the words of coach Brian O'Connor. UVa has lost to Boston College, Liberty, Wright State, Seton Hall, and tied JMU all early in the year but Virginia took 2 of 3 games from Virginia Tech over the weekend, and really, the Cavs should have swept the series. On Friday, Virginia blew a four-run ninth-inning lead and lost 10-8 in 11 innings. Saturday's game, one that I attended, was very exciting. Neither team had more than a one-run lead and the game was tied at 3 in the eighth inning until Mitchell Shifflett hit an RBI-single to put the Cavs ahead 4-3, the score they would win by. Starting pitcher Scott Silverstein allowed two home runs, but was solid otherwise, striking out nine and allowing just three runs on three hits over six innings. Shane Halley came in out of the bullpen and earned the win for UVa by pitching two shutout innings. Justin Thompson pitched the ninth to snag a save. On Sunday, Virginia was down 5-2, but scored two runs each in the eighth and ninth innings to take the win and the series from the Hokies, who are now 12-3 on the year. Great wins for the Hoos against a team that looks like it might be able to make some noise this season.
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