No. 6 Virginia vs. Pittsburgh in Greensboro, N.C., 1 p.m. Saturday, NBC, ESPN
Pittsburgh ended up toppling North Carolina, 80-75, Friday -- barely hanging on after building an 18-point lead (the Tar Heels got to within three at the end) -- so Pitt, and not UNC, is UVa's opponent in the ACC tournament semifinals.
These two teams locked horns in Pittsburgh on Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 2 and no team led by more than four points throughout the contest. The game was tied with under a minute left and Pitt had two looks at the basket, a 3 and a rebound putback, but got neither to fall. UVa called timeout -- with 9.1 seconds left -- and drew up a play. We found out in the postgame that the team ran the play wrong, but boy, did they look good doing it, as Malcolm Brogdon flew over a screen a few feet beyond the 3-point arc and absolutely drilled a
nasty 3-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the game. That was the game where I feel like UVa really arrived on the national scene. It was its first top 25 win of the season, and it came on the road. After that week, which also included a win over Notre Dame on the road, UVa got ranked by the AP at No. 20 entering the poll for the first time since the beginning of the season.
In that contest, Brogdon finished with 16 points, Joe Harris had 11 (nine of which I believe were in the second half), and Akil Mitchell recorded 10. For the Panthers, Jamel Artis finished with 11 points off the bench, Lamar Patterson scored 10, Cameron Wright recorded nine, and Michael Young tallied eight.
On Friday, Talib Zanna crushed the Tar Heels, producing 19 points and 21 rebounds before fouling out near the end of the game. Zanna also had a good game against Wake Forest on Thursday, putting in 17 points
and nine boards. Limiting his success will obviously be a big part of winning for the Wahoos. In the first meeting this season, Zanna managed just two points and three rebounds. Other Pitt players that played well vs. UNC but struggled against the 'Hoos are bench player Josh Newkirk with nine points (zero points vs. UVa), and point guard James Robinson with 19 points (one point vs. UVa).
Also against UNC, Patterson finished with 12 points and Wright scored 11. Patterson finished with 24 against Wake on Thursday while Wright had eight. Newkirk had a solid game against Wake as well, recording 10 points.
The Panthers have a lot of pieces, but Patterson makes Pitt's offense go at forward and he can do a little of everything, even shoot the 3 (about 40 percent on the year, 2 of 4 against the Cavs but just 3 of 14 from the field overall). Virginia defended him by committee in the first game, showing him Harris, Brogdon, and Justin Anderson, as well.
The game is probably going to be a grinder like last time but hopefully the Cavaliers can get their offense going a little bit better than the first meeting. I think the Cavaliers should attack the rim early and often. Pitt will be playing its third game in three days and could be feeling some fatigue. UVa's players should be fresher since it will just be their second game and they also won going away vs. FSU while Pitt had to fight to the end against surging UNC. Attacking the rim and making the Panthers guard them should make Pitt's players tired, and also, with fatigue comes lazy defense, which could cause the Panthers to foul more, which the Cavs could exploit.
Now that Virginia is playing in it first ACC tournament semifinal since 1995, hopefully it can get to its first final since 1994 -- UVa lost to UNC in that championship game, 73-66. UVa beat No.1-seeded Duke in the semifinals of that tournament, 66-61. The last time UVa made it to the semifinals in '95, Wake Forest defeated the Wahoos, 77-68. With UNC out of the way, the crowd for this game should be decidedly pro-UVa. The 'Hoo crowd was already pretty big Friday for a noon game and should swell on Saturday. I think that could definitely play a factor in the outcome. The first game of the season took place at Pittsburgh, a pretty hostile environment.
Pittsburgh ended up toppling North Carolina, 80-75, Friday -- barely hanging on after building an 18-point lead (the Tar Heels got to within three at the end) -- so Pitt, and not UNC, is UVa's opponent in the ACC tournament semifinals.
These two teams locked horns in Pittsburgh on Super Bowl Sunday on Feb. 2 and no team led by more than four points throughout the contest. The game was tied with under a minute left and Pitt had two looks at the basket, a 3 and a rebound putback, but got neither to fall. UVa called timeout -- with 9.1 seconds left -- and drew up a play. We found out in the postgame that the team ran the play wrong, but boy, did they look good doing it, as Malcolm Brogdon flew over a screen a few feet beyond the 3-point arc and absolutely drilled a
In that contest, Brogdon finished with 16 points, Joe Harris had 11 (nine of which I believe were in the second half), and Akil Mitchell recorded 10. For the Panthers, Jamel Artis finished with 11 points off the bench, Lamar Patterson scored 10, Cameron Wright recorded nine, and Michael Young tallied eight.
On Friday, Talib Zanna crushed the Tar Heels, producing 19 points and 21 rebounds before fouling out near the end of the game. Zanna also had a good game against Wake Forest on Thursday, putting in 17 points
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| Lamar Patterson |
Also against UNC, Patterson finished with 12 points and Wright scored 11. Patterson finished with 24 against Wake on Thursday while Wright had eight. Newkirk had a solid game against Wake as well, recording 10 points.
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| Talib Zanna |
The Panthers have a lot of pieces, but Patterson makes Pitt's offense go at forward and he can do a little of everything, even shoot the 3 (about 40 percent on the year, 2 of 4 against the Cavs but just 3 of 14 from the field overall). Virginia defended him by committee in the first game, showing him Harris, Brogdon, and Justin Anderson, as well.
The game is probably going to be a grinder like last time but hopefully the Cavaliers can get their offense going a little bit better than the first meeting. I think the Cavaliers should attack the rim early and often. Pitt will be playing its third game in three days and could be feeling some fatigue. UVa's players should be fresher since it will just be their second game and they also won going away vs. FSU while Pitt had to fight to the end against surging UNC. Attacking the rim and making the Panthers guard them should make Pitt's players tired, and also, with fatigue comes lazy defense, which could cause the Panthers to foul more, which the Cavs could exploit.
Now that Virginia is playing in it first ACC tournament semifinal since 1995, hopefully it can get to its first final since 1994 -- UVa lost to UNC in that championship game, 73-66. UVa beat No.1-seeded Duke in the semifinals of that tournament, 66-61. The last time UVa made it to the semifinals in '95, Wake Forest defeated the Wahoos, 77-68. With UNC out of the way, the crowd for this game should be decidedly pro-UVa. The 'Hoo crowd was already pretty big Friday for a noon game and should swell on Saturday. I think that could definitely play a factor in the outcome. The first game of the season took place at Pittsburgh, a pretty hostile environment.
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