Clemson at No. 2 Virginia, 8 p.m. CW Network in Cville area, available on some other local channels and also on ESPN3.com
The Cavaliers had every reason to pack it up and lose their first game Saturday at Notre Dame, the most efficient offensive team in the country to date.
UVa took a surprising 16-6 lead but Notre Dame stormed back and had a 27-24 lead by halftime. The Fighting Irish quickly extended their led out to 34-26 as the second half began. Virginia managed to get back into it again with a 7-0 run. However, Notre Dame didn't succumb easily. When the Cavs played perfect defense for 35 seconds and then Demetrius Jackson made a fadeaway 3 from several feet behind the arc to make it 37-33 Irish and halt the 'Hoos' run, you had to think it was just going to be Notre Dame's day.
But Virginia kept at it, chipping away with point after point. Darion Atkins stepped up and had 14 points to lead the team, a season high for the senior. Malcolm Brogdon had his usual steady 13 points, seven in the final five minutes. He hit a clutch 3 to put UVa up 53-51 coming out of a timeout (another key moment when Tony Bennett appeared to just get a timeout in time before London Perrantes fell out of bounds under pressure from a trap) and then a driving layup while getting fouled (though not called) to put UVa up 58-53 with 1:12 left. Mike Tobey had eight key points off the bench and Marial Shayok -- is he really a freshman? -- has ice water in his veins. He had just seven points, but he hit a cold-blooded 3 right in front of a defender with 5:51 left that broke a 45-45 tie. We also shouldn't overlook Isaiah Wilkins coming off the bench and providing 14 minutes of defense and rebounding during a time when Anthony Gill was looking tired. And Justin Anderson had a down game for him with 11 points but, surprise, he hit a clutch 3 as well with 3:48 left that snapped a 53-53 tie.
Despite all of this, it looked like at times Notre Dame was going to pull it out. Pat Connaughton seemed to bludgeon the Cavs with 3-pointer after 3-pointer (he had 21 points and four 3s) and I was yelling "Someone want to get on Connaughton maybe?"
Virginia weathered every storm, though, and came out on top with the 62-56 victory. By virtue of N.C. State's win over Duke on Sunday, UVa has moved up to No. 2 in the polls, behind only Kentucky, which needed two overtimes to get past Texas A&M on Saturday. Virginia even received two first-place votes in the AP poll.
People are already pointing out that the Cavs have a good chance to be 19-0 before a monster Jan. 31 matchup with Duke at JPJ (next four games: vs. Clemson, at Boston College, vs. Georgia Tech, at Virginia Tech) but Bennett knows he needs to keep his team focused on one game at a time.
First up are the Tigers, and I generally wouldn't be too worried. Clemson is just 9-6 and 1-2 in the ACC. But the Tigers have recently shown some spunk, winning at Pittsburgh, 71-62, and losing by
only six at Louisville.
Coach Brad Brownell's Tigers once again struggle on the offensive end but play tough defense. Clemson shoots just 42 percent, 251st in the country. Jaron Blossomgame leads the Tigers with 14 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Demarcus Harrison (10.7) and Donte Grantham (10) are the only other players recording at least 10 ppg. Rod Hall and Landry Nnoko are also key players for the Tigers. Clemson shoots only 29.3 percent from 3 and its biggest threat from beyond the arc is Harrison at 40 percent.
Clemson has bad early-season losses to Winthrop and Gardner-Webb by a combined five points and the only common opponent for the Tigers and 'Hoos thus far has been Rutgers. Virginia downed the Scarlet Knights, 45-26, while Clemson lost, 69-64.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 15-20.
The Cavaliers had every reason to pack it up and lose their first game Saturday at Notre Dame, the most efficient offensive team in the country to date.
UVa took a surprising 16-6 lead but Notre Dame stormed back and had a 27-24 lead by halftime. The Fighting Irish quickly extended their led out to 34-26 as the second half began. Virginia managed to get back into it again with a 7-0 run. However, Notre Dame didn't succumb easily. When the Cavs played perfect defense for 35 seconds and then Demetrius Jackson made a fadeaway 3 from several feet behind the arc to make it 37-33 Irish and halt the 'Hoos' run, you had to think it was just going to be Notre Dame's day.
But Virginia kept at it, chipping away with point after point. Darion Atkins stepped up and had 14 points to lead the team, a season high for the senior. Malcolm Brogdon had his usual steady 13 points, seven in the final five minutes. He hit a clutch 3 to put UVa up 53-51 coming out of a timeout (another key moment when Tony Bennett appeared to just get a timeout in time before London Perrantes fell out of bounds under pressure from a trap) and then a driving layup while getting fouled (though not called) to put UVa up 58-53 with 1:12 left. Mike Tobey had eight key points off the bench and Marial Shayok -- is he really a freshman? -- has ice water in his veins. He had just seven points, but he hit a cold-blooded 3 right in front of a defender with 5:51 left that broke a 45-45 tie. We also shouldn't overlook Isaiah Wilkins coming off the bench and providing 14 minutes of defense and rebounding during a time when Anthony Gill was looking tired. And Justin Anderson had a down game for him with 11 points but, surprise, he hit a clutch 3 as well with 3:48 left that snapped a 53-53 tie.
Despite all of this, it looked like at times Notre Dame was going to pull it out. Pat Connaughton seemed to bludgeon the Cavs with 3-pointer after 3-pointer (he had 21 points and four 3s) and I was yelling "Someone want to get on Connaughton maybe?"
Virginia weathered every storm, though, and came out on top with the 62-56 victory. By virtue of N.C. State's win over Duke on Sunday, UVa has moved up to No. 2 in the polls, behind only Kentucky, which needed two overtimes to get past Texas A&M on Saturday. Virginia even received two first-place votes in the AP poll.
People are already pointing out that the Cavs have a good chance to be 19-0 before a monster Jan. 31 matchup with Duke at JPJ (next four games: vs. Clemson, at Boston College, vs. Georgia Tech, at Virginia Tech) but Bennett knows he needs to keep his team focused on one game at a time.
First up are the Tigers, and I generally wouldn't be too worried. Clemson is just 9-6 and 1-2 in the ACC. But the Tigers have recently shown some spunk, winning at Pittsburgh, 71-62, and losing by
Coach Brad Brownell's Tigers once again struggle on the offensive end but play tough defense. Clemson shoots just 42 percent, 251st in the country. Jaron Blossomgame leads the Tigers with 14 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Demarcus Harrison (10.7) and Donte Grantham (10) are the only other players recording at least 10 ppg. Rod Hall and Landry Nnoko are also key players for the Tigers. Clemson shoots only 29.3 percent from 3 and its biggest threat from beyond the arc is Harrison at 40 percent.
Clemson has bad early-season losses to Winthrop and Gardner-Webb by a combined five points and the only common opponent for the Tigers and 'Hoos thus far has been Rutgers. Virginia downed the Scarlet Knights, 45-26, while Clemson lost, 69-64.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 15-20.
I think Maryland was our toughest game and most impressive win so far, especially with the hindsight of seeing how good Maryland has progressed even after we played them.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. And of course Miami starting to look nice.
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