Note: Only a couple days left to vote in my poll on the right hand side of the page. How many ACC victories do you think the 'Hoos will end up with?
Virginia 74, Virginia Tech 58
Boston College at Virginia, Saturday 1 p.m. Comcast SportsNet
The Cavaliers defeated the Hokies on Thursday night, 74-58. I was at work so I was unable to watch the game, but here is what I've gathered from reading about the game and watching the highlights. I'll watch the recording later and possibly give more thoughts next week.
Virginia Tech's Erick Green can ball. He scored a career-high 35 points. If that was all you had told me about the game, I would have thought the Hokies would have won.
Luckily, no other Virginia Tech players scored in double figures and UVa had one of its best offensive games of the year. Evan Nolte, starting for the second contest in a row in place of the injured Darion Atkins, scored a career-high 18 points and also added four steals. He hit five 3-pointers and Virginia made a season-high 11 for the game. After falling behind 17-10 at 9:30 left in the first half, the Cavs went on a 24-2 run that put them ahead for good. From there, Tech got it down to a nine-point margin at halftime but never got closer than that in the second half.
Joe Harris added 17 points, Justin Anderson had an ACC career-high 11 and Mike Tobey added 10 points. Akil Mitchell recorded eight points and eight rebounds. This victory was great for Virginia. From what I've read, the 'Hoos actually did an OK job guarding Green, believe it or not, especially Jontel Evans. He just hit some crazy, contested shots. And obviously, they shut everyone else down, or at least had a tough enough defense to make everyone else stand around and watch Green put on a show.
Virginia had not had a good performance on the road in the ACC thus far this season, losing 55-52 to Wake Forest and 59-44 to Clemson. Getting a victory in the conference on the road by blowout is a big confidence booster, and it coming over the rival Hokies makes it that much sweeter for the players.
Next up, Saturday at a 1 p.m., Virginia hosts Boston College. The Cavaliers are now 13-5, 3-2 in the ACC and BC is 9-9 overall and 1-4 in the conference.
The Eagles are led by sophomore forward Ryan Anderson, who ranks third in the ACC in scoring (16.9) and rebounding (9.4). Overall, BC has three other players averaging in double figures: Freshman guards Olivier Hanlan (13.9) and Joe Rahon (10.4) and sophomore guard Lonnie Jackson (10.3). Virginia beat Boston College in their only meeting against each other last year, at John Paul Jones Arena, 66-49. BC's record is not good, but it has taken lots of close losses. Six of the nine have been by single digits, including all four losses in the ACC. Two were to N.C. State, which beat Duke, and Miami (one-point loss), which pounded Duke this past week. So despite their record, the Eagles are a dangerous team. Coach Steve Donahue is in his second year and still has a young team but is putting a tough team together. They employ a four-guard lineup, so Virginia will have to be on their toes on the defensive end, especially on the perimeter.
Another thing Virginia will have to contend with is fatigue, which, unfortunately, can show up on the defensive end more than the offensive end sometimes. It is rare a team only has a one-day break between games and UVa is at the disadvantage here because BC last played Tuesday so the Eagles have had ample time to prepare and rest up.
Virginia took control of the Tech game by halftime and didn't have to labor too much at the end, so hopefully the 'Hoos are energized. Being back in front of the home crowd, where they have played very well recently. should help. Virginia's last three wins at home have been by 20 points over FSU, nine points over UNC, and 35 over Wofford.
If UVa can shoot well like it has been, it should win. Hopefully it won't be close down the stretch because it could be tough for the Wahoos to close them out if they get tired.
Virginia 74, Virginia Tech 58
Boston College at Virginia, Saturday 1 p.m. Comcast SportsNet
The Cavaliers defeated the Hokies on Thursday night, 74-58. I was at work so I was unable to watch the game, but here is what I've gathered from reading about the game and watching the highlights. I'll watch the recording later and possibly give more thoughts next week.
Virginia Tech's Erick Green can ball. He scored a career-high 35 points. If that was all you had told me about the game, I would have thought the Hokies would have won.
Luckily, no other Virginia Tech players scored in double figures and UVa had one of its best offensive games of the year. Evan Nolte, starting for the second contest in a row in place of the injured Darion Atkins, scored a career-high 18 points and also added four steals. He hit five 3-pointers and Virginia made a season-high 11 for the game. After falling behind 17-10 at 9:30 left in the first half, the Cavs went on a 24-2 run that put them ahead for good. From there, Tech got it down to a nine-point margin at halftime but never got closer than that in the second half.
Joe Harris added 17 points, Justin Anderson had an ACC career-high 11 and Mike Tobey added 10 points. Akil Mitchell recorded eight points and eight rebounds. This victory was great for Virginia. From what I've read, the 'Hoos actually did an OK job guarding Green, believe it or not, especially Jontel Evans. He just hit some crazy, contested shots. And obviously, they shut everyone else down, or at least had a tough enough defense to make everyone else stand around and watch Green put on a show.
Virginia had not had a good performance on the road in the ACC thus far this season, losing 55-52 to Wake Forest and 59-44 to Clemson. Getting a victory in the conference on the road by blowout is a big confidence booster, and it coming over the rival Hokies makes it that much sweeter for the players.
Next up, Saturday at a 1 p.m., Virginia hosts Boston College. The Cavaliers are now 13-5, 3-2 in the ACC and BC is 9-9 overall and 1-4 in the conference.
The Eagles are led by sophomore forward Ryan Anderson, who ranks third in the ACC in scoring (16.9) and rebounding (9.4). Overall, BC has three other players averaging in double figures: Freshman guards Olivier Hanlan (13.9) and Joe Rahon (10.4) and sophomore guard Lonnie Jackson (10.3). Virginia beat Boston College in their only meeting against each other last year, at John Paul Jones Arena, 66-49. BC's record is not good, but it has taken lots of close losses. Six of the nine have been by single digits, including all four losses in the ACC. Two were to N.C. State, which beat Duke, and Miami (one-point loss), which pounded Duke this past week. So despite their record, the Eagles are a dangerous team. Coach Steve Donahue is in his second year and still has a young team but is putting a tough team together. They employ a four-guard lineup, so Virginia will have to be on their toes on the defensive end, especially on the perimeter.
Another thing Virginia will have to contend with is fatigue, which, unfortunately, can show up on the defensive end more than the offensive end sometimes. It is rare a team only has a one-day break between games and UVa is at the disadvantage here because BC last played Tuesday so the Eagles have had ample time to prepare and rest up.
Virginia took control of the Tech game by halftime and didn't have to labor too much at the end, so hopefully the 'Hoos are energized. Being back in front of the home crowd, where they have played very well recently. should help. Virginia's last three wins at home have been by 20 points over FSU, nine points over UNC, and 35 over Wofford.
If UVa can shoot well like it has been, it should win. Hopefully it won't be close down the stretch because it could be tough for the Wahoos to close them out if they get tired.
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