St. John's at Virginia, 11 a.m. Sunday ESPN
The Cavaliers host the Red Storm on Sunday at 11 a.m. in the second round of the NIT. No word on if their will be a worship service and/or brunch beforehand in the arena. :)
St. John's is 17-15 and finished 8-10 in the Big East in the regular season. The Red Storm went on the road in the first round of the NIT and faced St. Joseph's, coming away with a 63-61 victory when Sir'Dominic Pointer (yep, that's correct) raced down the court and made a game-winning shot at the buzzer.
The Red Storm, on the NCAA tournament bubble for much of the season, took a hit in early March when coach Steve Lavin suspended leading scorer D'Angelo Harrison for the rest of the season for not meeting expectations related to conduct and behavior. The 6-foot-3 sophomore guard averaged 17.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game for the Red Storm. Minus him, freshman forward Jakarr Sampson leads the way for St. John's, averaging 14.9 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest. Sophomore guard Phil Greene IV is next at 9.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. Pointer, a sophomore forward, falls next in line with seven points and 5.5 boards per game. Pointer was suspended for St. John's final regular-season game after getting into a brawl with members of Notre Dame during a March 5 game. A pair of other players average more than five points per game: freshman guard Jamal Branch (6.4) and sophomore forward Amir Garrett (5.3, 4.3 rpg).
If you follow college basketball, you might be familiar with God'sgift Achiuwa, a member of St. John's (yes, real name). He actually was redshirted this season. The entire Red Storm roster was under quite a bit of flux at the beginning of the season, creating instability for a team that was trying to recover from a losing season a year after making the NCAA tournament.
A story on St. John's roster at the beginning of this season: http://zagsblog.com/articles/st-johns-duo-awaiting-eligibility-rulings/
St. John's went 8-4 in its non-conference schedule, with losses to Murray State, Baylor, San Francisco, and UNC Asheville. The Johnnies' best non-Big East win was probably over Florida Gulf Coast in light of FGCU's stunning beatdown of Georgetown in the NCAA tournament Friday. St. John's started out its Big East schedule 6-3, but dropped seven of its last nine in the regular season and bowed out in the first round of the Big East tournament to Villanova. Early in the Big East schedule, the Red Storm defeated Cincinnati and Notre Dame, both of whom made the Big Dance. St. John's took both Marquette and Villanova to overtime during the year. St. John's played its best ball in the middle of the season, though, and was not the same team that finished the season.
Sunday's game is going to come down to desire. The start time of 11 a.m. is not ideal for fans or players. Who wants to advance in the NIT more? Both teams slipped down the stretch in their bid to make the NCAA tournament, St. John's even moreso than Virginia. If the Cavs want to be there, they can win this game for sure. St. John's is a small but scrappy team. Sampson is 6-foot-8, but only one other player that has size -- 6-foot-9 freshman Chris Obekpa -- plays very much (he averages 6.1 rebounds per game in 25.8 minutes per game). Despite their smallness, the Red Storm rebound pretty well. They don't shoot the ball well though, don't record many assists, and don't score many points per game. They will fight, though. They dug themselves out of an 11-point hole in beating St. Joseph's in the first round. The fact that they fought like that in the NIT shows their attitude. If they bring that same attitude to JPJ on Sunday, then the Wahoos better be ready for a dogfight.
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A brief tour of other happenings around UVa sports:
Baseball: The young baseball team, full of sophomores and freshmen, are overachieving so far. The team is 17-2, 4-2 in the ACC, with a loss each to Maryland at home and Clemson on the road. UVa is ranked No. 13 in the USA Today Baseball Top 25 Coaches Poll. Virginia hosts No. 18-ranked N.C. State this weekend at Davenport Field in a big ACC home series. The first two games are today, at 1 p.m. (a game I'm attending) and 4:30 p.m., and on Monday at 6 p.m. That final game is going to be televised on ESPNU.
Football: Spring football practice opened this past week in the brand-spanking new George Welsh Indoor Practice Facility. The biggest news is that quarterback David Watford, a redshirt sophomore who didn't play last year and rotated time under center with Michael Rocco in 2011, has started the spring at the top of the depth chart. Mike London told reporters not to read into it too much, but it is hard not to. Even more interesting perhaps is the fact that Phillip Sims, who started last year, wasn't even No. 2 on the depth chart. He was third. No. 2 belonged to redshirt freshman Greyson Lambert. With a new coaching staff, it is going to be fascinating to see how this all shakes out. The new offensive coordinator and QBs coach is Steve Fairchild and Tom O'Brien will also oversee the offense. The spring game is April 6.
Men's lacrosse: The Cavs are 5-3, and every loss has come by one goal to Ohio State, Cornell, and Syracuse. Virginia travels to Baltimore to face Johns Hopkins today at 4:30 p.m. That game is being televised on ESPNU. The women's team is 5-4, 0-2 in the ACC and hosts Duke today at 1 p.m.
Men's tennis: The Wahoos opened the ACC season Friday by defeating Duke for their 94th straight victory over ACC competition. It wasn't easy, though, as the Cavs edged the No. 8 Blue Devils, 4-3. No. 1 and undefeated UVa hosts North Carolina on Sunday at 1 p.m. The women's team is ranked No. 32 and has won four matches in a row to get to 7-6 overall, 2-0 in the conference.
The Cavaliers host the Red Storm on Sunday at 11 a.m. in the second round of the NIT. No word on if their will be a worship service and/or brunch beforehand in the arena. :)
St. John's is 17-15 and finished 8-10 in the Big East in the regular season. The Red Storm went on the road in the first round of the NIT and faced St. Joseph's, coming away with a 63-61 victory when Sir'Dominic Pointer (yep, that's correct) raced down the court and made a game-winning shot at the buzzer.
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| Jakarr Sampson |
If you follow college basketball, you might be familiar with God'sgift Achiuwa, a member of St. John's (yes, real name). He actually was redshirted this season. The entire Red Storm roster was under quite a bit of flux at the beginning of the season, creating instability for a team that was trying to recover from a losing season a year after making the NCAA tournament.
A story on St. John's roster at the beginning of this season: http://zagsblog.com/articles/st-johns-duo-awaiting-eligibility-rulings/
St. John's went 8-4 in its non-conference schedule, with losses to Murray State, Baylor, San Francisco, and UNC Asheville. The Johnnies' best non-Big East win was probably over Florida Gulf Coast in light of FGCU's stunning beatdown of Georgetown in the NCAA tournament Friday. St. John's started out its Big East schedule 6-3, but dropped seven of its last nine in the regular season and bowed out in the first round of the Big East tournament to Villanova. Early in the Big East schedule, the Red Storm defeated Cincinnati and Notre Dame, both of whom made the Big Dance. St. John's took both Marquette and Villanova to overtime during the year. St. John's played its best ball in the middle of the season, though, and was not the same team that finished the season.
Sunday's game is going to come down to desire. The start time of 11 a.m. is not ideal for fans or players. Who wants to advance in the NIT more? Both teams slipped down the stretch in their bid to make the NCAA tournament, St. John's even moreso than Virginia. If the Cavs want to be there, they can win this game for sure. St. John's is a small but scrappy team. Sampson is 6-foot-8, but only one other player that has size -- 6-foot-9 freshman Chris Obekpa -- plays very much (he averages 6.1 rebounds per game in 25.8 minutes per game). Despite their smallness, the Red Storm rebound pretty well. They don't shoot the ball well though, don't record many assists, and don't score many points per game. They will fight, though. They dug themselves out of an 11-point hole in beating St. Joseph's in the first round. The fact that they fought like that in the NIT shows their attitude. If they bring that same attitude to JPJ on Sunday, then the Wahoos better be ready for a dogfight.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A brief tour of other happenings around UVa sports:
Baseball: The young baseball team, full of sophomores and freshmen, are overachieving so far. The team is 17-2, 4-2 in the ACC, with a loss each to Maryland at home and Clemson on the road. UVa is ranked No. 13 in the USA Today Baseball Top 25 Coaches Poll. Virginia hosts No. 18-ranked N.C. State this weekend at Davenport Field in a big ACC home series. The first two games are today, at 1 p.m. (a game I'm attending) and 4:30 p.m., and on Monday at 6 p.m. That final game is going to be televised on ESPNU.
Football: Spring football practice opened this past week in the brand-spanking new George Welsh Indoor Practice Facility. The biggest news is that quarterback David Watford, a redshirt sophomore who didn't play last year and rotated time under center with Michael Rocco in 2011, has started the spring at the top of the depth chart. Mike London told reporters not to read into it too much, but it is hard not to. Even more interesting perhaps is the fact that Phillip Sims, who started last year, wasn't even No. 2 on the depth chart. He was third. No. 2 belonged to redshirt freshman Greyson Lambert. With a new coaching staff, it is going to be fascinating to see how this all shakes out. The new offensive coordinator and QBs coach is Steve Fairchild and Tom O'Brien will also oversee the offense. The spring game is April 6.
Men's lacrosse: The Cavs are 5-3, and every loss has come by one goal to Ohio State, Cornell, and Syracuse. Virginia travels to Baltimore to face Johns Hopkins today at 4:30 p.m. That game is being televised on ESPNU. The women's team is 5-4, 0-2 in the ACC and hosts Duke today at 1 p.m.
Men's tennis: The Wahoos opened the ACC season Friday by defeating Duke for their 94th straight victory over ACC competition. It wasn't easy, though, as the Cavs edged the No. 8 Blue Devils, 4-3. No. 1 and undefeated UVa hosts North Carolina on Sunday at 1 p.m. The women's team is ranked No. 32 and has won four matches in a row to get to 7-6 overall, 2-0 in the conference.
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