Florida State at Virginia, 4 p.m. ACC Network
Losers of two straight, the Virginia men's basketball team hosts Florida State on Saturday. The Cavaliers are 11-5, 1-2 in the ACC and fell at Wake Forest, 55-52, and at Clemson last Saturday, 59-44, after starting ACC play with a home victory over North Carolina on Jan. 7. Florida State is 10-6, 2-1 in the conference and is also coming off a loss, 77-72, last Saturday at home vs. the Tar Heels. Getting a week for a break has to be good for the banged up 'Hoos to regroup, but Florida State has also had a week off so they don't have an advantage there.
It was revealed early this week that Darion Atkins is going to miss at least a week, so at least this game, with a shin problem and is basically week-to-week. Akil Mitchell has had a sprained ankle but has played pretty well on it. He was limited in practice this week but should be good to go against the Seminoles. And, of course, after a solid first game back against the Heels where he recorded eight points and six assists, Jontel Evans has started the past two games and has been pretty bad. I hope that he was able to regain some confidence this week at practice and is closer to his old self. And if not, I hope Tony Bennett has considered possibly starting Teven Jones, or at least giving him lots of minutes. Jones played pretty well against UNC in 20 minutes as a starter, but only got 15 minutes against Wake Forest and 10 against Clemson.
Last year, Virginia lost two heartbreaking games against the Seminoles. In Tallahassee, the Wahoos overcame a sizable deficit in the second half only to fall, 58-55, at the end of the contest. Late in the year in Charlottesville, Virginia played great all game but let a nearly double digit-cushion evaporate in the final few minutes and lost, 63-60, when Ian Miller hit a dagger of a 3-pointer.
Florida State lost some senior leaders off last year's NCAA tournament team that won the ACC tournament, beating Duke and North Carolina in the semifinals and finals, respectively, and then beat St. Bonaventure in the Big Dance before falling to Cincinnati. The 'Noles lost big man Bernard James, who averaged 10.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, Luke Loucks, who averaged 7.1 points and 4.3 assists per game, Deividas Dulkys, who averaged seven points per game, and Xavier Gibson, who averaged 6.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest.
This year, the Seminoles are led once again by senior guard Michael Snaer, who is averaging 15.1 points per game after being in the 14 ppg range last year. He is shooting 40 percent from 3, much like last year. He was known for some clutch 3s last season, like the one that beat Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Snaer has great size at 6-foot-5, and will surely be a thorn in the 'Hoos' sides come Saturday. After him, 6-foot-8 junior Okaro White is averaging 13.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Junior Terrance Shannon averages 8.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest, and FSU has two other players, sophomore Terry Whisnant II and freshman Aaron Thomas, that average over seven points per game.
Florida State is always tough on defense but it has lost some of its physical edge this season. The Seminoles are 207th in the nation in rebounding and I'm pretty sure they rank higher in that category normally. They are scoring 73 points per game, which is 69th in the nation, a little higher than normal for them I would think. Florida State's year got off to a bumpy start with a 76-71 loss to South Alabama right off the bat. After four straight wins, the 'Noles dropped three straight, all at home, two to very good top 25 teams Minnesota and Florida, but one was to Mercer. Then they won four straight games again, before losing at Auburn. They started off their ACC slate with tight wins, both on the road, at Clemson, 71-66, and at Maryland, 65-62. Maryland has since beaten N.C. State, which beat Duke. The point is, the ACC is crazy right now and it looks like just about anyone can take down anyone. On the same night this week that Maryland defeated State, Boston College nearly won at Miami, but the Hurricanes pulled it out and are the only unscathed ACC school at 4-0 in the conference.
Parity seems to be at a premium again this year. This is a game Virginia can win, but it will need to play better than it has its last two outings, and I'm expecting a better outing at home. I'm not sure it will be enough, though. I am glad that Atkins is sitting out, because he has not been himself recently and was hindering the team. Virginia loses a physical, rebounding, shot-blocking presence since he is sitting (though he did less of those things recently being banged up), but could gain some offensive firepower because, presumably, Evan Nolte, who has looked great shooting the 3 ball, and Mike Tobey, who has looked terrific both down low and on the perimeter at times, will be getting more minutes in Atkins' absence.
I don't think this young UVa squad was ready for life on the road in the ACC after its hard-fought win over a North Carolina team that just looks average this year. The Wake Forest loss was a bad game. Virginia has got to beat what will probably be a team that ends up in the bottom three spots of the ACC. But the Clemson loss is more understandable. Littlejohn Coliseum is a tough place to play and lots of good teams have lost there. And the Tigers are a more respectable team than the Deacons.
I think Bennett will have this team more focused Saturday after a week off and hopefully the guys are more refreshed. They are probably eager to play in front of the home crowd again. I think it will translate into a better performance. Whether that will be enough remains to be seen.
Losers of two straight, the Virginia men's basketball team hosts Florida State on Saturday. The Cavaliers are 11-5, 1-2 in the ACC and fell at Wake Forest, 55-52, and at Clemson last Saturday, 59-44, after starting ACC play with a home victory over North Carolina on Jan. 7. Florida State is 10-6, 2-1 in the conference and is also coming off a loss, 77-72, last Saturday at home vs. the Tar Heels. Getting a week for a break has to be good for the banged up 'Hoos to regroup, but Florida State has also had a week off so they don't have an advantage there.
It was revealed early this week that Darion Atkins is going to miss at least a week, so at least this game, with a shin problem and is basically week-to-week. Akil Mitchell has had a sprained ankle but has played pretty well on it. He was limited in practice this week but should be good to go against the Seminoles. And, of course, after a solid first game back against the Heels where he recorded eight points and six assists, Jontel Evans has started the past two games and has been pretty bad. I hope that he was able to regain some confidence this week at practice and is closer to his old self. And if not, I hope Tony Bennett has considered possibly starting Teven Jones, or at least giving him lots of minutes. Jones played pretty well against UNC in 20 minutes as a starter, but only got 15 minutes against Wake Forest and 10 against Clemson.
Last year, Virginia lost two heartbreaking games against the Seminoles. In Tallahassee, the Wahoos overcame a sizable deficit in the second half only to fall, 58-55, at the end of the contest. Late in the year in Charlottesville, Virginia played great all game but let a nearly double digit-cushion evaporate in the final few minutes and lost, 63-60, when Ian Miller hit a dagger of a 3-pointer.
Florida State lost some senior leaders off last year's NCAA tournament team that won the ACC tournament, beating Duke and North Carolina in the semifinals and finals, respectively, and then beat St. Bonaventure in the Big Dance before falling to Cincinnati. The 'Noles lost big man Bernard James, who averaged 10.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, Luke Loucks, who averaged 7.1 points and 4.3 assists per game, Deividas Dulkys, who averaged seven points per game, and Xavier Gibson, who averaged 6.8 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest.
This year, the Seminoles are led once again by senior guard Michael Snaer, who is averaging 15.1 points per game after being in the 14 ppg range last year. He is shooting 40 percent from 3, much like last year. He was known for some clutch 3s last season, like the one that beat Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Snaer has great size at 6-foot-5, and will surely be a thorn in the 'Hoos' sides come Saturday. After him, 6-foot-8 junior Okaro White is averaging 13.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Junior Terrance Shannon averages 8.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest, and FSU has two other players, sophomore Terry Whisnant II and freshman Aaron Thomas, that average over seven points per game.
Florida State is always tough on defense but it has lost some of its physical edge this season. The Seminoles are 207th in the nation in rebounding and I'm pretty sure they rank higher in that category normally. They are scoring 73 points per game, which is 69th in the nation, a little higher than normal for them I would think. Florida State's year got off to a bumpy start with a 76-71 loss to South Alabama right off the bat. After four straight wins, the 'Noles dropped three straight, all at home, two to very good top 25 teams Minnesota and Florida, but one was to Mercer. Then they won four straight games again, before losing at Auburn. They started off their ACC slate with tight wins, both on the road, at Clemson, 71-66, and at Maryland, 65-62. Maryland has since beaten N.C. State, which beat Duke. The point is, the ACC is crazy right now and it looks like just about anyone can take down anyone. On the same night this week that Maryland defeated State, Boston College nearly won at Miami, but the Hurricanes pulled it out and are the only unscathed ACC school at 4-0 in the conference.
Parity seems to be at a premium again this year. This is a game Virginia can win, but it will need to play better than it has its last two outings, and I'm expecting a better outing at home. I'm not sure it will be enough, though. I am glad that Atkins is sitting out, because he has not been himself recently and was hindering the team. Virginia loses a physical, rebounding, shot-blocking presence since he is sitting (though he did less of those things recently being banged up), but could gain some offensive firepower because, presumably, Evan Nolte, who has looked great shooting the 3 ball, and Mike Tobey, who has looked terrific both down low and on the perimeter at times, will be getting more minutes in Atkins' absence.
I don't think this young UVa squad was ready for life on the road in the ACC after its hard-fought win over a North Carolina team that just looks average this year. The Wake Forest loss was a bad game. Virginia has got to beat what will probably be a team that ends up in the bottom three spots of the ACC. But the Clemson loss is more understandable. Littlejohn Coliseum is a tough place to play and lots of good teams have lost there. And the Tigers are a more respectable team than the Deacons.
I think Bennett will have this team more focused Saturday after a week off and hopefully the guys are more refreshed. They are probably eager to play in front of the home crowd again. I think it will translate into a better performance. Whether that will be enough remains to be seen.
Comments
Post a Comment