Boston College 53, Virginia 52
Every hardened Wahoo had to see this one coming. The Cavaliers just could not quite close out the Eagles in Massaschusetts and fell by one point. Virginia led almost the entire game but gave it up in the end, unable to follow up Thursday's big win at John Paul Jones Arena over Duke with a road victory.
Teams that have beaten Duke this year (N.C. State, Miami, Maryland, Virginia) are 1-3 in the game following their win over the Blue Devils.
I was very uncomfortable headed into this game given the Wahoos' history of disappointing losses, this year and ever since I was a little kid and even before my time. But also, at an objective level, I thought it was the toughest game of the three we had left (at BC, at FSU, vs. Maryland). We will see if that is the case over the next week. BC has been very tough at home this year with wins over Clemson, Wake, and Maryland in the ACC and losses of just one point to Duke and Miami. The Maryland game is at home and Virginia has had a decided advantage at JPJ in ACC play. Florida State has not been impressive this year and UVa whipped it in Charlottesville. I expect Thursday to be a dogfight in Tallahassee, though. It is the Seminoles' senior night and they will surely give it all they have and Virginia should as well given their tenuous NCAA bubble situation.
Which is what you ask?
Virginia's RPI as of Monday night on espn.com is 62, so it took a hit of about four spots with its loss to BC. Four spots isn't much, but it could be enough to knock Virginia out of the NCAA tournament. I believe that ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi currently has Virginia in the field if the tournament started today. Of course, he is not the selection committee. One more loss and the 'Hoos would probably be on the bubble, meaning they would either be in the "Last Four In" group or "First Four Out" group. If Virginia can close out the regular season with victories over the Seminoles and Terrapins, both top 100 RPI opponents, I think the Cavs will make the Big Dance, regardless of their result in the ACC tournament. Anything less and they could be in trouble. If they go 1-1 in the final two, I think it is truly a 50-50 proposition and the ACC tourney becomes very interesting. If they lose to both the 'Noles and Terps, I think the Wahoos would need to win two games in the ACC tournament.
Sunday's game at BC came down to a final play where the Eagles' Joe Rahon hit a 3-pointer with eight seconds left and was fouled on the play by Evan Nolte. He missed the free throw, leaving the Cavs down one. Jontel Evans raced down the court and got to the right baseline then dribbled the ball off himself and out of bounds. He should have given it up earlier to either Akil Mitchell and let him make a quick move to the basket, or Joe Harris and let him take someone off the dribble for a pull up jumper. Fans have also criticized coach Tony Bennett for not calling a timeout. Hindsight is 20-20. If Evans had went in for a layup or Harris had made a game-winning shot, I doubt many people would be questioning Bennett. Still, I did find it odd not to call a timeout there, but Bennett said he liked the matchups in that particular case and that BC probably would have set up in a zone off the timeout and he did not want to go against a zone defense in that situation.
Harris had an off game (4 of 11 from the field, 14 points) after a spectacular performance vs. Duke when he went for a career-high 36 points on 12 of 20 shooting. Mitchell had 16 points and eight boards -- very solid -- but something that Mitchell has done most games this season. He had 19 and 12 against the Blue Devils. Both he and Harris took the blame for the loss.
"I didn't play well enough, down the stretch especially, for us to win the game," Harris told the media after the game. "As the leader of this team, I have to take it upon myself and finish and close games out."
"It should refocus us," Mitchell said. "We have to lock in on who we are and we have a few days to prepare ... Me as a leader, I've got to do a better job of getting us prepared and getting us ready to go. We'll be fine though."
Hopefully the loss does refocus the guys for the final few games of the regular season. They will need to be in top shape because the Seminoles will be gunning for them Thursday and the Cavs need to leave a good final impression here the next few days (including against Maryland) on the selection committee.
Every hardened Wahoo had to see this one coming. The Cavaliers just could not quite close out the Eagles in Massaschusetts and fell by one point. Virginia led almost the entire game but gave it up in the end, unable to follow up Thursday's big win at John Paul Jones Arena over Duke with a road victory.
Teams that have beaten Duke this year (N.C. State, Miami, Maryland, Virginia) are 1-3 in the game following their win over the Blue Devils.
I was very uncomfortable headed into this game given the Wahoos' history of disappointing losses, this year and ever since I was a little kid and even before my time. But also, at an objective level, I thought it was the toughest game of the three we had left (at BC, at FSU, vs. Maryland). We will see if that is the case over the next week. BC has been very tough at home this year with wins over Clemson, Wake, and Maryland in the ACC and losses of just one point to Duke and Miami. The Maryland game is at home and Virginia has had a decided advantage at JPJ in ACC play. Florida State has not been impressive this year and UVa whipped it in Charlottesville. I expect Thursday to be a dogfight in Tallahassee, though. It is the Seminoles' senior night and they will surely give it all they have and Virginia should as well given their tenuous NCAA bubble situation.
Which is what you ask?
Virginia's RPI as of Monday night on espn.com is 62, so it took a hit of about four spots with its loss to BC. Four spots isn't much, but it could be enough to knock Virginia out of the NCAA tournament. I believe that ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi currently has Virginia in the field if the tournament started today. Of course, he is not the selection committee. One more loss and the 'Hoos would probably be on the bubble, meaning they would either be in the "Last Four In" group or "First Four Out" group. If Virginia can close out the regular season with victories over the Seminoles and Terrapins, both top 100 RPI opponents, I think the Cavs will make the Big Dance, regardless of their result in the ACC tournament. Anything less and they could be in trouble. If they go 1-1 in the final two, I think it is truly a 50-50 proposition and the ACC tourney becomes very interesting. If they lose to both the 'Noles and Terps, I think the Wahoos would need to win two games in the ACC tournament.
Sunday's game at BC came down to a final play where the Eagles' Joe Rahon hit a 3-pointer with eight seconds left and was fouled on the play by Evan Nolte. He missed the free throw, leaving the Cavs down one. Jontel Evans raced down the court and got to the right baseline then dribbled the ball off himself and out of bounds. He should have given it up earlier to either Akil Mitchell and let him make a quick move to the basket, or Joe Harris and let him take someone off the dribble for a pull up jumper. Fans have also criticized coach Tony Bennett for not calling a timeout. Hindsight is 20-20. If Evans had went in for a layup or Harris had made a game-winning shot, I doubt many people would be questioning Bennett. Still, I did find it odd not to call a timeout there, but Bennett said he liked the matchups in that particular case and that BC probably would have set up in a zone off the timeout and he did not want to go against a zone defense in that situation.
Harris had an off game (4 of 11 from the field, 14 points) after a spectacular performance vs. Duke when he went for a career-high 36 points on 12 of 20 shooting. Mitchell had 16 points and eight boards -- very solid -- but something that Mitchell has done most games this season. He had 19 and 12 against the Blue Devils. Both he and Harris took the blame for the loss.
"I didn't play well enough, down the stretch especially, for us to win the game," Harris told the media after the game. "As the leader of this team, I have to take it upon myself and finish and close games out."
"It should refocus us," Mitchell said. "We have to lock in on who we are and we have a few days to prepare ... Me as a leader, I've got to do a better job of getting us prepared and getting us ready to go. We'll be fine though."
Hopefully the loss does refocus the guys for the final few games of the regular season. They will need to be in top shape because the Seminoles will be gunning for them Thursday and the Cavs need to leave a good final impression here the next few days (including against Maryland) on the selection committee.
Wow! Teams are 1-3 after beating Duke? What an insightful stat. The thought of facing FSU on Senior Night is a little scary. If the Cavs close out with two more wins though, who do you think they'll face in their first game of the ACC Tourney? Do you agree that the Cavs might have been "receiving votes" in the AP poll had they beaten BC?
ReplyDeleteYeah they would be receiving votes. They got two as it is in the USA Today/ESPN poll. Good first question. If Virginia wins out, they'd be 12-6. Would have to look at the schedule of UNC and NC State to see if I think Virginia would get third, fourth, or fifth. UNC finishes at Maryland and vs. Duke. If they lost both, they would be 11-7. N.C. State closes vs. Wake and at FSU. They are currently tied with Virginia. Virginia beat N.C. State in their only meeting so UVa wins that tiebreaker. Im not sure of the tiebreaker for UNC-UVa since they split. If Virginia finishes third, they would play Maryland or Florida State it looks like, if they win vs. Va Tech and whoever finishes 12th. If Virginia finishes fourth, looks like they are going to face NC State, or it could be UNC. And of course, if UVa finishes fifth, they would have to face VT in the first round. Lots of possibilities.
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