Virginia at Notre Dame, 9 p.m. ESPNU
UVa coasted to a 65-45 win over rival Virginia Tech at home on Saturday, and it didn't play its best, especially in the second half. Malcolm Brogdon scored a career-high 18 points and added six rebounds, three assists, and a steal. He made four of his five 3-pointers. Joe Harris added 12 points and made two out of five 3s. Five of Virginia's six 3-pointers were in the first half. The second half was foul-filled and choppy with no flow. Virginia Tech cut the 'Hoos' lead to 12 at one point, but UVa recovered and built the lead back up to 20 and it climbed even higher at some points. An interesting moment in the second half occurred near the end of the game when Teven Jones -- no more than six-foot tall -- threw down a nice one-handed dunk that was smooth and looked good. After Jones landed, he yelled toward the UVa bench, but a Tech player was in the way and he was called for a technical foul that got the crowd riled up.
The Cavaliers travel to freezing South Bend, Ind., today to take on another team that has been up and down this season, new ACC member Notre Dame (11-9, 2-5 ACC). The main story of the Fighting Irish's year so far is the loss of top player Jerian Grant. His last game was Dec. 21 vs. Ohio State. He is no longer enrolled at the school because of an academic issue. He was averaging 19 points and 6.2 assists per game. With Grant, the Irish went 8-4. Without him, they have gone 3-5. The one game that doesn't make sense this year for the Irish was their win over Duke on Jan. 4 at home. They beat the Blue Devils without Grant. Virginia should treat this team a little bit like North Carolina.
Notre Dame has done a few good things without Grant. UNC beat some good teams this year without P.J. Hairston. Notre Dame defeating Duke without its best player is all the information Virginia should need to get motivated for this game.
So what do the Irish look like without Grant? They still have a good amount of firepower and are a good offensive team. Their leading scorer is senior 6-foot-11 big man Garrick Sherman, who is averaging 15.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Two other players, senior guard Eric Atkins (14.2 points, five assists per game) and junior guard Pat Connaughton (13.6 points, 7.5 rebounds per game) average in double figures. There is a big drop off after that, but a pair of other players do average more than six points per game: freshman guard Demetrious Jackson (6.6) and sophomore forward Zach Auguste (6.2). Notre Dame is fourth in the ACC in 3-point shooting at 35.7 percent and its best snipers are Atkins, Connaughton, and Jackson, who are all about 36 percent or higher (Jackson is at 40.5 percent but he generally shoots less than the other two). Overall, Notre Dame is 71st in the country in scoring (76.4 ppg), 158th in rebounding (35.7 rpg), 16th in assists (16.4 apg), and 82nd in shooting percentage (46.3). The Irish also shoot well from the free throw line (73.1 percent). Something they haven't done that well this year is defend. Notre Dame ranks second-to-last in the ACC in points allowed per game (70.9) and 13th in field goal percentage defense (44.3).
Before Grant's injury, Notre Dame's best win was over Indiana. It lost to then-No. 23 Iowa by five and blew an eight-point lead in the final minute to lose to then-No. 3 Ohio State by three. The fact that the Irish rebounded from that crushing loss to beat Duke only a couple weeks later -- without Grant -- is impressive. Since losing Grant, besides the outlying win over Duke, Notre Dame topped Canisius in overtime and downed Virginia Tech by seven. The Irish lost to N.C. State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Florida State, and Wake Forest.
Like other recent ACC matchups, if Virginia plays its game, it will win. It probably doesn't need to play its best to take the victory, but who knows what can happen. Notre Dame is capable of winning, but it will need to play well. If it gets hot from 3, like Virginia Tech, it can be deadly. The Cavaliers held the Hokies to just 16.7 percent from beyond the arc (3 of 18), limiting their offensive effectiveness. Now, the Wahoos are once again challenged to come up with a way to limit a team from 3-point land. UVa will need to come out with good energy and a focused mindset to jump on top of Notre Dame early.
UVa coasted to a 65-45 win over rival Virginia Tech at home on Saturday, and it didn't play its best, especially in the second half. Malcolm Brogdon scored a career-high 18 points and added six rebounds, three assists, and a steal. He made four of his five 3-pointers. Joe Harris added 12 points and made two out of five 3s. Five of Virginia's six 3-pointers were in the first half. The second half was foul-filled and choppy with no flow. Virginia Tech cut the 'Hoos' lead to 12 at one point, but UVa recovered and built the lead back up to 20 and it climbed even higher at some points. An interesting moment in the second half occurred near the end of the game when Teven Jones -- no more than six-foot tall -- threw down a nice one-handed dunk that was smooth and looked good. After Jones landed, he yelled toward the UVa bench, but a Tech player was in the way and he was called for a technical foul that got the crowd riled up.
The Cavaliers travel to freezing South Bend, Ind., today to take on another team that has been up and down this season, new ACC member Notre Dame (11-9, 2-5 ACC). The main story of the Fighting Irish's year so far is the loss of top player Jerian Grant. His last game was Dec. 21 vs. Ohio State. He is no longer enrolled at the school because of an academic issue. He was averaging 19 points and 6.2 assists per game. With Grant, the Irish went 8-4. Without him, they have gone 3-5. The one game that doesn't make sense this year for the Irish was their win over Duke on Jan. 4 at home. They beat the Blue Devils without Grant. Virginia should treat this team a little bit like North Carolina.
So what do the Irish look like without Grant? They still have a good amount of firepower and are a good offensive team. Their leading scorer is senior 6-foot-11 big man Garrick Sherman, who is averaging 15.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Two other players, senior guard Eric Atkins (14.2 points, five assists per game) and junior guard Pat Connaughton (13.6 points, 7.5 rebounds per game) average in double figures. There is a big drop off after that, but a pair of other players do average more than six points per game: freshman guard Demetrious Jackson (6.6) and sophomore forward Zach Auguste (6.2). Notre Dame is fourth in the ACC in 3-point shooting at 35.7 percent and its best snipers are Atkins, Connaughton, and Jackson, who are all about 36 percent or higher (Jackson is at 40.5 percent but he generally shoots less than the other two). Overall, Notre Dame is 71st in the country in scoring (76.4 ppg), 158th in rebounding (35.7 rpg), 16th in assists (16.4 apg), and 82nd in shooting percentage (46.3). The Irish also shoot well from the free throw line (73.1 percent). Something they haven't done that well this year is defend. Notre Dame ranks second-to-last in the ACC in points allowed per game (70.9) and 13th in field goal percentage defense (44.3).
Before Grant's injury, Notre Dame's best win was over Indiana. It lost to then-No. 23 Iowa by five and blew an eight-point lead in the final minute to lose to then-No. 3 Ohio State by three. The fact that the Irish rebounded from that crushing loss to beat Duke only a couple weeks later -- without Grant -- is impressive. Since losing Grant, besides the outlying win over Duke, Notre Dame topped Canisius in overtime and downed Virginia Tech by seven. The Irish lost to N.C. State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Florida State, and Wake Forest.
Like other recent ACC matchups, if Virginia plays its game, it will win. It probably doesn't need to play its best to take the victory, but who knows what can happen. Notre Dame is capable of winning, but it will need to play well. If it gets hot from 3, like Virginia Tech, it can be deadly. The Cavaliers held the Hokies to just 16.7 percent from beyond the arc (3 of 18), limiting their offensive effectiveness. Now, the Wahoos are once again challenged to come up with a way to limit a team from 3-point land. UVa will need to come out with good energy and a focused mindset to jump on top of Notre Dame early.
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