No. 6 Virginia vs. No. 7 Duke in Greensboro, N.C., 1 p.m. Sunday, NBC, ESPN
Note: Only a few hours left to vote in my poll. What seed do you think Virginia will receive in the Big Dance? I believe I have the poll open until 6 p.m., when the bracket starts getting released. So you can answer after the title game vs. Duke.
The Cavaliers beat the Panthers in another white knuckle, no-holds-barred battle in the ACC tournament semifinals Saturday. In their first meeting of the season, Virginia won, 48-45. The second meeting didn't look a whole lot different as the Wahoos won, 51-48. Virginia led at the half, 26-24, and even opened up an eight point, 45-37, lead with 9:31 left in the game. From there, though, Pitt went on an 11-4 run to close to within 49-48 with 10 seconds left when James Robinson stole the ball from Malcolm Brogdon and got a layup on the other end. After some fouls, Anthony Gill made two free throws to get Virginia to back to a three-point lead. The Panthers got a look to tie the game but Justin Anderson blocked Robinson's 3-point attempt.
Gill had another good game off the bench with 10 points. Until he missed a meaningless free throw with less than a second to go, he had made at least eight free throws in a row dating back to the beginning of the FSU ACC tournament game. As a 62.5 percent free throw shooter, this is a terrific development. If he can start shooting in the 70 percent or higher range, that should add a point or two to UVa's total in lots of games.
Joe Harris once again led the team with 12 points and made 5 of 12 shots, but just 2 of 7 from beyond the arc. Brogdon had what seemed like another off game for him but made 5 of 11 shots for 10 points. He seemed overly sloppy with the ball, though. Akil Mitchell finished with eight points and eight rebounds. For Pitt, Talib Zanna had 15 points and nine rebounds, a far cry from the 19 and 21 he had vs. UNC, but still a very good game. Lamar Patterson recorded 15 points and seven rebounds and Robinson tallied seven points.
It was a physical game against a tough Panther squad and Virginia made just enough plays to come out on top. Now, the Wahoos face the first of only two ACC teams to beat them this year: Duke. The Blue Devils barely beat the Cavaliers, 69-65, at Cameron Indoor Stadium back in January. In that game, the Blue Devils opened up an 8-0 lead and UVa had to fight back after that. Duke had a 13-point lead at one point in the first half but UVa clawed to within eight at the half. Virginia closed to within three early in the second frame but Duke eventually built another 13-point lead with eight minutes left. UVa slowly chipped away at the lead and actually took a 64-63 advantage with 37 seconds left when Brogdon sank a pair of free throws. On the other end of the floor, Rodney Hood badly missed a 3-pointer, but Duke gathered the rebound and Rasheed Sulaimon ended up with the ball in the corner and made a 3 after it hit the rim, bounced high in the air, and fell through. Virginia had time to call timeout and set up a play but turned the ball over before getting a shot off.
Virginia was led by Brogdon with 17 points, Harris with 15, and Anderson with 12. Akil Mitchell (seven points, nine rebounds) and Mike Tobey (eight points) also had solid games for Virginia. Duke was paced by Sulaimon off the bench with 21, as he hit 7 of 11 field goals and 4 of 5 3s. Hood had 14, Amile Jefferson scored 10, and Jabari Parker ended up with eight points on just 3 of 11 shooting.
Duke defeated N.C. State on Saturday, 75-67, to earn the berth in the title game vs. UVa. Parker had 20 points, Sulaimon had 16, and Hood and Quinn Cook finished with 14 each.
In this second meeting of the season between these two teams, you have to figure that Parker will have a better game this time around. He hasn't been held to single digits in scoring since his introduction to the Cavaliers and I have to feel like he will score at least 10 Sunday. Virginia needs to make sure he doesn't score twice that much and the Cavs need to limit what his supporting cast does. If the defense can hold down the other guys somewhat, the 'Hoos' chances of winning greatly increase. Parker can't do it all on his own -- UVa's defense is just too good for that -- and if he is one of their only players playing well, he might feel like he has to force some things. That would, of course, work to UVa's advantage.
Duke loves to shoot the 3 ball, and the Blue Devils made 10 in Durham in January. Virginia must get out to the shooters and contest those shots and must rebound when the Devils miss shots. Obviously, getting out in front of Sulaimon and knowing where he is will be a big key. He did not start the first meeting (I forget why) but he will most likely start Sunday so he shouldn't sneak up on anyone.
Just like Parker will probably have a better game this time around, I think the same thing can happen for Virginia with Gill and maybe London Perrantes. Gill only scored two points in 10 minutes in the January meeting but has recently found his groove on offense, scoring in double digits in three straight contests. Duke is a little weak down low so hopefully he, Mitchell, Mike Tobey, and even Darion Atkins can take advantage of this. Perrantes finished with just two points in the first meeting and obviously we all know how far he has come along offensively since then so he should have more confidence against the Blue Devils this time.
That last game being in Cameron could be a big deal, too. That contest happened early in the ACC schedule and certainly I think UVa is playing better now but it still almost pulled off the upset in a hostile environment. This game is in Greensboro and there will certainly be a lot of Blue Devils there, but there will also be a ton of 'Hoos so I don't think either team will have a huge home court advantage.
Playing Duke, the refs always become a focus. Earlier this year, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim infamously exploded after a bad call went against the Orange in the final seconds at Cameron Indoor. He was ejected. Friday, the refs might have favored Duke at the end of the game against Clemson. There were grumblings on Twitter about that. I don't remember UVa's game against Duke being poorly officiated and hopefully the refs don't take center stage Sunday. Let the teams play and may the best man win. A fairly called game is all I can ask for. If that happens, I will probably be happy with whatever happens. Ok, maybe not happy if it is a loss, but satisfied that we didn't get screwed.
I think Sunday is shaping up to be a terrific game. These two teams have been the best in the ACC all year given Syracuse's recent fall off, so it is appropriate that they are playing for the ACC tournament trophy. A No. 1 seed in the Big Dance could be on the line, too. That situation is muddy, but a win for either team will certainly boost their chances of nabbing a No. 1 spot. Otherwise, looks like it will be a No. 2 seed or a No. 3 seed for UVa.
Note: Only a few hours left to vote in my poll. What seed do you think Virginia will receive in the Big Dance? I believe I have the poll open until 6 p.m., when the bracket starts getting released. So you can answer after the title game vs. Duke.
The Cavaliers beat the Panthers in another white knuckle, no-holds-barred battle in the ACC tournament semifinals Saturday. In their first meeting of the season, Virginia won, 48-45. The second meeting didn't look a whole lot different as the Wahoos won, 51-48. Virginia led at the half, 26-24, and even opened up an eight point, 45-37, lead with 9:31 left in the game. From there, though, Pitt went on an 11-4 run to close to within 49-48 with 10 seconds left when James Robinson stole the ball from Malcolm Brogdon and got a layup on the other end. After some fouls, Anthony Gill made two free throws to get Virginia to back to a three-point lead. The Panthers got a look to tie the game but Justin Anderson blocked Robinson's 3-point attempt.
Gill had another good game off the bench with 10 points. Until he missed a meaningless free throw with less than a second to go, he had made at least eight free throws in a row dating back to the beginning of the FSU ACC tournament game. As a 62.5 percent free throw shooter, this is a terrific development. If he can start shooting in the 70 percent or higher range, that should add a point or two to UVa's total in lots of games.Joe Harris once again led the team with 12 points and made 5 of 12 shots, but just 2 of 7 from beyond the arc. Brogdon had what seemed like another off game for him but made 5 of 11 shots for 10 points. He seemed overly sloppy with the ball, though. Akil Mitchell finished with eight points and eight rebounds. For Pitt, Talib Zanna had 15 points and nine rebounds, a far cry from the 19 and 21 he had vs. UNC, but still a very good game. Lamar Patterson recorded 15 points and seven rebounds and Robinson tallied seven points.
It was a physical game against a tough Panther squad and Virginia made just enough plays to come out on top. Now, the Wahoos face the first of only two ACC teams to beat them this year: Duke. The Blue Devils barely beat the Cavaliers, 69-65, at Cameron Indoor Stadium back in January. In that game, the Blue Devils opened up an 8-0 lead and UVa had to fight back after that. Duke had a 13-point lead at one point in the first half but UVa clawed to within eight at the half. Virginia closed to within three early in the second frame but Duke eventually built another 13-point lead with eight minutes left. UVa slowly chipped away at the lead and actually took a 64-63 advantage with 37 seconds left when Brogdon sank a pair of free throws. On the other end of the floor, Rodney Hood badly missed a 3-pointer, but Duke gathered the rebound and Rasheed Sulaimon ended up with the ball in the corner and made a 3 after it hit the rim, bounced high in the air, and fell through. Virginia had time to call timeout and set up a play but turned the ball over before getting a shot off.
Virginia was led by Brogdon with 17 points, Harris with 15, and Anderson with 12. Akil Mitchell (seven points, nine rebounds) and Mike Tobey (eight points) also had solid games for Virginia. Duke was paced by Sulaimon off the bench with 21, as he hit 7 of 11 field goals and 4 of 5 3s. Hood had 14, Amile Jefferson scored 10, and Jabari Parker ended up with eight points on just 3 of 11 shooting.
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| Jabari Parker |
In this second meeting of the season between these two teams, you have to figure that Parker will have a better game this time around. He hasn't been held to single digits in scoring since his introduction to the Cavaliers and I have to feel like he will score at least 10 Sunday. Virginia needs to make sure he doesn't score twice that much and the Cavs need to limit what his supporting cast does. If the defense can hold down the other guys somewhat, the 'Hoos' chances of winning greatly increase. Parker can't do it all on his own -- UVa's defense is just too good for that -- and if he is one of their only players playing well, he might feel like he has to force some things. That would, of course, work to UVa's advantage.
Duke loves to shoot the 3 ball, and the Blue Devils made 10 in Durham in January. Virginia must get out to the shooters and contest those shots and must rebound when the Devils miss shots. Obviously, getting out in front of Sulaimon and knowing where he is will be a big key. He did not start the first meeting (I forget why) but he will most likely start Sunday so he shouldn't sneak up on anyone.
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| Rasheed Sulaimon |
That last game being in Cameron could be a big deal, too. That contest happened early in the ACC schedule and certainly I think UVa is playing better now but it still almost pulled off the upset in a hostile environment. This game is in Greensboro and there will certainly be a lot of Blue Devils there, but there will also be a ton of 'Hoos so I don't think either team will have a huge home court advantage.
Playing Duke, the refs always become a focus. Earlier this year, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim infamously exploded after a bad call went against the Orange in the final seconds at Cameron Indoor. He was ejected. Friday, the refs might have favored Duke at the end of the game against Clemson. There were grumblings on Twitter about that. I don't remember UVa's game against Duke being poorly officiated and hopefully the refs don't take center stage Sunday. Let the teams play and may the best man win. A fairly called game is all I can ask for. If that happens, I will probably be happy with whatever happens. Ok, maybe not happy if it is a loss, but satisfied that we didn't get screwed.
I think Sunday is shaping up to be a terrific game. These two teams have been the best in the ACC all year given Syracuse's recent fall off, so it is appropriate that they are playing for the ACC tournament trophy. A No. 1 seed in the Big Dance could be on the line, too. That situation is muddy, but a win for either team will certainly boost their chances of nabbing a No. 1 spot. Otherwise, looks like it will be a No. 2 seed or a No. 3 seed for UVa.
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