Been awhile since I did a general quick-hit overview of Virginia athletics, so here goes.
Men's basketball: I have of course been writing about this team a lot. The Cavaliers won their fourth straight game and have won seven of their last eight after beating Notre Dame, 68-53, on the road Tuesday. Virginia is 16-5 overall and 7-1 in the ACC, behind only undefeated Syracuse, which is 7-0. Virginia plays at Pittsburgh on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. The Panthers are 18-3, 6-2 in the ACC. If Virginia wins, it will solidify its hold on second place in the ACC and could be tied for first if Syracuse loses to Duke on Saturday. If Pittsburgh wins, it will be second and Virginia could be fourth, behind Syracuse, Duke, and Pittsburgh.
Football: On Thursday, Virginia announced the hiring of defensive assistant coach Mike Archer. Archer was out of football the past year and was most recently the defensive coordinator for Virginia offensive assistant Tom O'Brien when both were at N.C. State, O'Brien as the head coach, from 2007-12. Archer previously coached linebackers at Virginia from 1991-92. It has not been publicized what position specifically Archer will focus on, but he confirmed "probably" safeties because that is the position left open with the departure of Anthony Poindexter to UConn several weeks ago. Archer's ties to O'Brien and the fact that he recently served under him has fans speculating if this is a preemptive move that would at least make for an easy transition should Mike London get fired, especially midseason, as Virginia's head coach. O'Brien could then be interim coach with two assistants he recently worked with serving under him: Archer and Tenuta.
Virginia's football schedule was also recently finalized. The foes were known, but the dates were not. As expected, the schedule is a murderer's row and I think it could be argued it is a tougher schedule than in 2013. Here it is: Aug. 30: UCLA; Sept. 6: Richmond; Sept. 13: Louisville; Sept. 20: at BYU; Sept. 27: Kent State; Oct. 4: Pittsburgh; Oct. 18: at Duke; Oct. 25: North Carolina; Nov. 1: at Georgia Tech; Nov. 8: at Florida State; Nov. 22: Miami; Nov. 28: at Virginia Tech (Friday night). The Friday night Tech game is certainly notable and could be fun -- it will probably be televised on ESPN or ESPN2 -- more fun if Virginia had a chance to win it but I don't see that happening right now. The Cavaliers will have to prove me wrong leading up to that date.
Baseball: This team is loaded and really good. It was recently chosen as Baseball America's preseason No. 1 team. It is the first time the Cavaliers have been ranked No. 1 in the preseason. Their previous high was No. 2 in 2010. That team won 51 games and lost in a Super Regional to Oklahoma. Last year's team lost in a home Super Regional to Mississippi State. The last time Virginia went to the World Series was 2011. This season's first pitch is in Wilmington, N.C., vs. Kentucky on Feb. 14 as part of the Hughes Bros. Challenge. The Wahoos will also take on VMI and UNC Wilmington.
Women's basketball: After a disappointing start to the season, the Virginia women could be turning things around. The Cavaliers sit at 11-10 and 4-4 in the ACC. On Jan. 12, UVa nearly beat then-No. 2 Notre Dame in Charlottesville but the Cavs fell, 79-72. On Jan. 23, UVa got over the hump, beating then-No. 6 Maryland, 86-72, in what was their last meeting as ACC rivals unless they face each other in a postseason tournament. Virginia could not follow up that win with a road win at Syracuse, but did win at Wake Forest on Thursday.
Baseball: This team is loaded and really good. It was recently chosen as Baseball America's preseason No. 1 team. It is the first time the Cavaliers have been ranked No. 1 in the preseason. Their previous high was No. 2 in 2010. That team won 51 games and lost in a Super Regional to Oklahoma. Last year's team lost in a home Super Regional to Mississippi State. The last time Virginia went to the World Series was 2011. This season's first pitch is in Wilmington, N.C., vs. Kentucky on Feb. 14 as part of the Hughes Bros. Challenge. The Wahoos will also take on VMI and UNC Wilmington.
Women's basketball: After a disappointing start to the season, the Virginia women could be turning things around. The Cavaliers sit at 11-10 and 4-4 in the ACC. On Jan. 12, UVa nearly beat then-No. 2 Notre Dame in Charlottesville but the Cavs fell, 79-72. On Jan. 23, UVa got over the hump, beating then-No. 6 Maryland, 86-72, in what was their last meeting as ACC rivals unless they face each other in a postseason tournament. Virginia could not follow up that win with a road win at Syracuse, but did win at Wake Forest on Thursday.
Comments
Post a Comment