The Virginia men and women begin their seasons today. The men face George Mason in Fairfax at 7 p.m. and the women host JMU, also at 7. At the women's game, Wahoo greats Debbie Ryan and Monica Wright will be honored at halftime. The Dukes ended the Cavaliers' season in the WNIT quarterfinals last year so UVa will be looking for some revenge.
On the men's side, some fans from both sides might need to help the teams on the court. George Mason suspended two players for the game and Virginia has only eight scholarship players available as Jontel Evans and Malcolm Brogdon are out with injures and Teven Jones is suspended. Evans had foot surgery in early October and should be back next week when UVa plays its first home game. Brogdon had a more serious foot issue which kept him out at the end of last season. He should hopefully play this season but it could be a few weeks or a month. Jones is suspended for just the first game. The bad news is that all of these players play/can play point guard. As a result, true freshman Taylor Barnette was announced as the starting point guard for the game against the Patriots. Two other freshmen will be in the starting lineup: big man Mike Tobey and highly touted guard Justin Anderson. The other two starters will be juniors Akil Mitchell and Joe Harris.
Anyone who followed Virginia last year knows the injuries that plagued the 'Hoos, especially toward the end of the season and unfortunately, this season is starting out the same way. Hopefully Evans and Brogdon can return soon and Jones won't be a bonehead so that Virginia can have more depth at the point.
Last year's Cavaliers finished 22-10 (9-7 ACC regular season; fourth place) and made the NCAA tournament but was blown out by Florida in the first round. Mike Scott was of course the centerpiece of the team, averaging over 18 points and eight rebounds per game. His fallaway 15-footer was money all year as he boasted a field goal percentage in the high 50 percent range. Sammy Zeglinski had a bit of a rough year from the beyond the stripe but provided senior leadership. Assane Sene, the other senior, really came into his own early in the season on both offense and defense but experienced an injury vs. Miami in January that kept him out for the rest of the season. He was also suspended at the end of the regualr season, which also would have kept him out for the remainder of the year even if he had recovered fully from his injury. Sophomores James Johnson and KT Harrell transferred in mid-season, limiting coach Tony Bennett's roster options. As the season progressed, it seemed like everyone except Scott had some sort of injury. At one point, Harris was playing with a broken hand. Scott carried Virginia to the NCAA tournament but the Wahoos were lucky he never got hurt (he was coming off offseason surgery himself on his ankle) because Virginia did not have a lot of offensive prowess without him. That will be the challenge this year -- finding production on offense. The defense should be there. Maybe not at first, with such a young team, but eventually you know the Bennett defense will come around. The question is can the offense give the defense a break. And can the Cavaliers stay healthier than last year. Expectations are lower than last year so I think this team will not be under as much pressure and will be able to develop at a slower pace. I think it will be a frustrating team to watch, as most Bennett teams are, even the good ones. The offense will undoubtedly struggle at times. But you know the team will get better and probably pick up a couple surprising wins. And it will play solid defense and be fundamentally sound -- something that will come as a breath of fresh air after some of the problems the football team has had this season.
Now here is my annual (two years running) game-by-game guess for Virginia this season. One thing to note for this season is this year, the ACC schedule is 18 games, not 16. I just about hit the nail on the head last season with my preseason guess of 22-9 for the regular season (and 10-6 in the ACC). I actually accidentally added one game to the schedule in the Paradise Jam so I guess my real guess was 21-9 for the regular season. Also, my guess of 21-22 wins was thinking Virginia would have stayed healthier than it did. I would have adjusted my victory total down if I had known about all the injuries. What Bennett got out of the guys was impressive. Virginia's schedule this season is harder and the team is not as good so it will definitely be a challenging year. This first game against Mason will be particularly tough. The Patriots will no doubt have a fired up crowd looking to knock off a an in-state team that went to the NCAA tournament last year. I think the Cavs lose bit it will be a close, close game.
at George Mason - L
vs. Fairfield in NIT season tip-off - W
vs. Delaware or Penn in NIT season tip-off - W
vs. Seattle - W (an independent team that won in JPJ two years ago and took UVa to the brink last year in Seattle. The weird thing is, they were a bad team record-wise both years.)
vs. NIT season tip-off semifinals at Madison Square Garden - L (not sure if there is another game if the Cavs lose in the NIT semifinals but I don't think there is).
at Wisconsin - L
vs. Green Bay - W
vs. Tennessee - L
vs. Mississippi Valley State - W
vs. Morgan State - W
vs. Old Dominion in inaugural Governor's Holiday Hoops Classic in Richmond - W (other game that day is George Mason vs. Richmond)
vs. Wofford- W
vs. North Carolina - L
at Wake Forest - W
at Clemson - L
vs. Florida State - L
at Virginia Tech - L
vs. Boston College - W
vs. N.C. State - L
at Georgia Tech - W
vs. Clemson - W
at Maryland - L
vs. Virginia Tech - W
at North Carolina - L
at Miami - L
vs. Georgia Tech - W
vs. Duke - L
vs. Boston College - W
at Florida State - L
vs. Maryland - W
Prediction: 16-14 (8-10 ACC)
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| Taylor Barnette |
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| Mike Tobey |
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| Justin Anderson |
Last year's Cavaliers finished 22-10 (9-7 ACC regular season; fourth place) and made the NCAA tournament but was blown out by Florida in the first round. Mike Scott was of course the centerpiece of the team, averaging over 18 points and eight rebounds per game. His fallaway 15-footer was money all year as he boasted a field goal percentage in the high 50 percent range. Sammy Zeglinski had a bit of a rough year from the beyond the stripe but provided senior leadership. Assane Sene, the other senior, really came into his own early in the season on both offense and defense but experienced an injury vs. Miami in January that kept him out for the rest of the season. He was also suspended at the end of the regualr season, which also would have kept him out for the remainder of the year even if he had recovered fully from his injury. Sophomores James Johnson and KT Harrell transferred in mid-season, limiting coach Tony Bennett's roster options. As the season progressed, it seemed like everyone except Scott had some sort of injury. At one point, Harris was playing with a broken hand. Scott carried Virginia to the NCAA tournament but the Wahoos were lucky he never got hurt (he was coming off offseason surgery himself on his ankle) because Virginia did not have a lot of offensive prowess without him. That will be the challenge this year -- finding production on offense. The defense should be there. Maybe not at first, with such a young team, but eventually you know the Bennett defense will come around. The question is can the offense give the defense a break. And can the Cavaliers stay healthier than last year. Expectations are lower than last year so I think this team will not be under as much pressure and will be able to develop at a slower pace. I think it will be a frustrating team to watch, as most Bennett teams are, even the good ones. The offense will undoubtedly struggle at times. But you know the team will get better and probably pick up a couple surprising wins. And it will play solid defense and be fundamentally sound -- something that will come as a breath of fresh air after some of the problems the football team has had this season.
Now here is my annual (two years running) game-by-game guess for Virginia this season. One thing to note for this season is this year, the ACC schedule is 18 games, not 16. I just about hit the nail on the head last season with my preseason guess of 22-9 for the regular season (and 10-6 in the ACC). I actually accidentally added one game to the schedule in the Paradise Jam so I guess my real guess was 21-9 for the regular season. Also, my guess of 21-22 wins was thinking Virginia would have stayed healthier than it did. I would have adjusted my victory total down if I had known about all the injuries. What Bennett got out of the guys was impressive. Virginia's schedule this season is harder and the team is not as good so it will definitely be a challenging year. This first game against Mason will be particularly tough. The Patriots will no doubt have a fired up crowd looking to knock off a an in-state team that went to the NCAA tournament last year. I think the Cavs lose bit it will be a close, close game.
at George Mason - L
vs. Fairfield in NIT season tip-off - W
vs. Delaware or Penn in NIT season tip-off - W
vs. Seattle - W (an independent team that won in JPJ two years ago and took UVa to the brink last year in Seattle. The weird thing is, they were a bad team record-wise both years.)
vs. NIT season tip-off semifinals at Madison Square Garden - L (not sure if there is another game if the Cavs lose in the NIT semifinals but I don't think there is).
at Wisconsin - L
vs. Green Bay - W
vs. Tennessee - L
vs. Mississippi Valley State - W
vs. Morgan State - W
vs. Old Dominion in inaugural Governor's Holiday Hoops Classic in Richmond - W (other game that day is George Mason vs. Richmond)
vs. Wofford- W
vs. North Carolina - L
at Wake Forest - W
at Clemson - L
vs. Florida State - L
at Virginia Tech - L
vs. Boston College - W
vs. N.C. State - L
at Georgia Tech - W
vs. Clemson - W
at Maryland - L
vs. Virginia Tech - W
at North Carolina - L
at Miami - L
vs. Georgia Tech - W
vs. Duke - L
vs. Boston College - W
at Florida State - L
vs. Maryland - W
Prediction: 16-14 (8-10 ACC)
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