Virginia at Tennessee, 7 p.m. ESPN2
The Cavaliers (9-3) try to make it three straight wins tonight at Tennessee (7-4). UVa is coming off victories over Northern Iowa and Norfolk State, and it was challenged in both contests. Justin Anderson has had back-to-back good games for Virginia, scoring 16 points vs. the Panthers and 14 vs. the Spartans. Anderson previously had been thriving in a sixth man role but has started the past two games and has played well. Joe Harris has been consistent, scoring 12 points in three straight games dating back to the road game at Green Bay, but is back in a 3-point shooting slump. He has made just two of his last 16 shots from beyond the arc. Darion Atkins' play against UNI was a pleasant surprise (eight points, five rebounds, five blocks in his first start of the season). London Perrantes came off the bench in that game (after starting several) and scored nine points on three of four shooting and had five assists. He was back in the starting lineup vs. NSU. Against NSU, Akil Mitchell, who has been struggling badly, did not start and seemed to get his groove back a bit with eight points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench. Also in that game, Teven Jones provided a spark off the bench, scoring four points in 11 minutes. Evan Nolte also came in to hit a 3-pointer.
Virginia beat Tennessee last year, 46-38, in a defensive slugfest in Charlottesville. The Volunteers hit three 3-pointers but shot just 28.8 percent from the field and made just five free throws on eight attempts. Virginia made just one 3-pointer but shot a bit better overall, 35.8 percent, and made two more free throws than the Vols, seven, on 10 attempts. Mitchell led the team with 13 points and 12 boards while Harris had 13 points as well and hit the Wahoos' lone 3. Atkins started and contributed eight points and five rebounds. Tennessee's leading scorer was Trae Golden. He had 11 points. He is no longer on the team this year as he transferred to Georgia Tech.
This year's Volunteers team is led by Jordan McRae (18.7 points per game), Jarnell Stokes (13.6 ppg, 9.6 rpg) and Jeronne Maymon (11.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg). Tennessee has three other players averaging more than five ppg and the Vols go deep, with nine total players averaging at least 10 minutes per contest. Also worth a mention, sophomore Derek Reese saw his first action of the season in the Vols' last game against Morehead State (an 82-67 win) and he played well, recording 12 points, 10 boards, and four blocks in 19 minutes. McRae and Stokes each had five points vs. UVa last year. Josh Richardson, averaging 7.6 ppg this year, had two points vs. UVa a season ago. Maymon was out all of last season with an injury.
Tennessee is very strong in offensive rebounding, ranking fourth in the nation. Virginia has had some problems on the boards recently. The Cavs' big men have been unable to hold on to the ball at times. Virginia forced Wisconsin into a bad shooting night but several times, the Badgers gathered multiple offensive rebounds on possessions and either took more time off the clock or scored. That is demoralizing for a defense and for a team. It also takes time off the clock for the offense to score points. Virginia's bad shooting night and inability to rebounds vs. Wisconsin resulted in a 38-point effort. The Wahoos will have to be better on the boards tonight against the Volunteers and hustle to loose balls.
Before the win over Morehead State, the Volunteers had lost two straight games to Wichita State (top 10 and undefeated) and N.C. State. Tennessee's other losses this season are to Xavier and UTEP, although later, UT beat Xavier in a tournament. The Vols have also beat USC Upstate, Wake Forest, Citadel, Tennessee State, and Tennessee Tech.
This would be a key win for Virginia. However, if the Cavs lose, it would likely not fall under the category of a bad loss, because I think Tennessee will end up having a pretty good year and currently, the Vols have an RPI of 84. This is actually probably a win the Vols need more because their RPI is not as good as Virginia's and they have fewer opportunities for big wins in the SEC, which is not as good as the ACC.
The main reason this is a big game for Virginia is because the upcoming schedule is brutal and the Cavaliers could get sent into a tailspin with a loss. After Tennessee, Virginia faces FSU on the road, Wake at home, N.C. State on the road, Duke on the road, and FSU at home. There is a real chance that Virginia could lose all of those games and I think fans would be thrilled to go 3-2 in that stretch. UVa has an RPI of 37 according to ESPN.com and a win over Tennessee would give the 'Hoos a quality road win (their first of the season) come NCAA tournament selection time and a top 40 RPI heading into ACC play. If they lose, the Cavaliers might be outside the top 40 headed into ACC play and losers of three of their past fives games with a tough opening stretch of ACC play coming up.
This early in the season, a loss would not be the nail in the coffin in Virginia's NCAA tournament hopes. But a win would give the 'Hoos some more cushion and a better overall resume when March rolls around. If Virginia loses this game, it will finish the non-conference slate 9-4 and will have to go 11-7 in the ACC just to get to 20 victories in the regular season, normally a milestone equaling an NCAA tournament berth (although that did not happen last year for the 'Hoos).
Prediction: This one could really go either way. Virginia has been close in two of its losses this season, to VCU and Green Bay, and the Wisconsin game was not a blow out by any stretch of the imagination. It seems as if UVa is only a handful of points away from having one loss or zero losses. Tennessee is a quality team that has underachieved a bit this season. The Cavs might go into Knoxville and snag a big win or come up just short. So far, the team has shown an inability to come up with really solid victories, with the exception maybe of the SMU game, which was played on a neutral court. The book still needs to be written on the season but I think Tennessee is better than SMU. I could be wrong here, but I am feeling a Tennessee victory tonight, with a game played in the upper 50s or somewhere in the 60s.
Tennessee 67, Virginia 62
The Cavaliers (9-3) try to make it three straight wins tonight at Tennessee (7-4). UVa is coming off victories over Northern Iowa and Norfolk State, and it was challenged in both contests. Justin Anderson has had back-to-back good games for Virginia, scoring 16 points vs. the Panthers and 14 vs. the Spartans. Anderson previously had been thriving in a sixth man role but has started the past two games and has played well. Joe Harris has been consistent, scoring 12 points in three straight games dating back to the road game at Green Bay, but is back in a 3-point shooting slump. He has made just two of his last 16 shots from beyond the arc. Darion Atkins' play against UNI was a pleasant surprise (eight points, five rebounds, five blocks in his first start of the season). London Perrantes came off the bench in that game (after starting several) and scored nine points on three of four shooting and had five assists. He was back in the starting lineup vs. NSU. Against NSU, Akil Mitchell, who has been struggling badly, did not start and seemed to get his groove back a bit with eight points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench. Also in that game, Teven Jones provided a spark off the bench, scoring four points in 11 minutes. Evan Nolte also came in to hit a 3-pointer.
Virginia beat Tennessee last year, 46-38, in a defensive slugfest in Charlottesville. The Volunteers hit three 3-pointers but shot just 28.8 percent from the field and made just five free throws on eight attempts. Virginia made just one 3-pointer but shot a bit better overall, 35.8 percent, and made two more free throws than the Vols, seven, on 10 attempts. Mitchell led the team with 13 points and 12 boards while Harris had 13 points as well and hit the Wahoos' lone 3. Atkins started and contributed eight points and five rebounds. Tennessee's leading scorer was Trae Golden. He had 11 points. He is no longer on the team this year as he transferred to Georgia Tech.
This year's Volunteers team is led by Jordan McRae (18.7 points per game), Jarnell Stokes (13.6 ppg, 9.6 rpg) and Jeronne Maymon (11.1 ppg, 8.5 rpg). Tennessee has three other players averaging more than five ppg and the Vols go deep, with nine total players averaging at least 10 minutes per contest. Also worth a mention, sophomore Derek Reese saw his first action of the season in the Vols' last game against Morehead State (an 82-67 win) and he played well, recording 12 points, 10 boards, and four blocks in 19 minutes. McRae and Stokes each had five points vs. UVa last year. Josh Richardson, averaging 7.6 ppg this year, had two points vs. UVa a season ago. Maymon was out all of last season with an injury.Tennessee is very strong in offensive rebounding, ranking fourth in the nation. Virginia has had some problems on the boards recently. The Cavs' big men have been unable to hold on to the ball at times. Virginia forced Wisconsin into a bad shooting night but several times, the Badgers gathered multiple offensive rebounds on possessions and either took more time off the clock or scored. That is demoralizing for a defense and for a team. It also takes time off the clock for the offense to score points. Virginia's bad shooting night and inability to rebounds vs. Wisconsin resulted in a 38-point effort. The Wahoos will have to be better on the boards tonight against the Volunteers and hustle to loose balls.
Before the win over Morehead State, the Volunteers had lost two straight games to Wichita State (top 10 and undefeated) and N.C. State. Tennessee's other losses this season are to Xavier and UTEP, although later, UT beat Xavier in a tournament. The Vols have also beat USC Upstate, Wake Forest, Citadel, Tennessee State, and Tennessee Tech.
This would be a key win for Virginia. However, if the Cavs lose, it would likely not fall under the category of a bad loss, because I think Tennessee will end up having a pretty good year and currently, the Vols have an RPI of 84. This is actually probably a win the Vols need more because their RPI is not as good as Virginia's and they have fewer opportunities for big wins in the SEC, which is not as good as the ACC.
The main reason this is a big game for Virginia is because the upcoming schedule is brutal and the Cavaliers could get sent into a tailspin with a loss. After Tennessee, Virginia faces FSU on the road, Wake at home, N.C. State on the road, Duke on the road, and FSU at home. There is a real chance that Virginia could lose all of those games and I think fans would be thrilled to go 3-2 in that stretch. UVa has an RPI of 37 according to ESPN.com and a win over Tennessee would give the 'Hoos a quality road win (their first of the season) come NCAA tournament selection time and a top 40 RPI heading into ACC play. If they lose, the Cavaliers might be outside the top 40 headed into ACC play and losers of three of their past fives games with a tough opening stretch of ACC play coming up.
This early in the season, a loss would not be the nail in the coffin in Virginia's NCAA tournament hopes. But a win would give the 'Hoos some more cushion and a better overall resume when March rolls around. If Virginia loses this game, it will finish the non-conference slate 9-4 and will have to go 11-7 in the ACC just to get to 20 victories in the regular season, normally a milestone equaling an NCAA tournament berth (although that did not happen last year for the 'Hoos).
Prediction: This one could really go either way. Virginia has been close in two of its losses this season, to VCU and Green Bay, and the Wisconsin game was not a blow out by any stretch of the imagination. It seems as if UVa is only a handful of points away from having one loss or zero losses. Tennessee is a quality team that has underachieved a bit this season. The Cavs might go into Knoxville and snag a big win or come up just short. So far, the team has shown an inability to come up with really solid victories, with the exception maybe of the SMU game, which was played on a neutral court. The book still needs to be written on the season but I think Tennessee is better than SMU. I could be wrong here, but I am feeling a Tennessee victory tonight, with a game played in the upper 50s or somewhere in the 60s.
Tennessee 67, Virginia 62
Comments
Post a Comment