No. 2 Virginia at Wake Forest, 7 p.m. TCN
Gonna keep this one short and sweet since I'm at work and it is 4:37 p.m.
It's no secret that this is a dangerous game for Virginia. Just 11 days ago at home, Wake Forest took a seven-point lead on the Cavaliers into halftime at JPJ. UVa stormed back to take a 51-38 lead but Wake fought valiantly until the end of the game but fell just short as the Wahoos came up with a 61-60 win.
Wake hit 10 3-pointers (UVa had two), six from 6-foot-10 freshman Konstantinos "Dinos" Mitoglou. Obviously a big part of the rematch in Winston-Salem will be UVa's defense of Mitoglou. A sharpshooting big man is a problem for a lot of teams, and UVa is no exception, despite its stellar defense. Of course, it also wouldn't be a surprise if he just doesn't get as hot this time around. He made 50 percent of his attempts in Charlottesville. And if Virginia does shut him down, will it be at the expense of guarding slasher Codi Miller-McIntyre and another capable 3-point shooter in Cornelius Hudson (3 of 5 from beyond the arc in the Feb. 14 game). Despite being just 12-15 and 4-10 in the ACC, Wake has some weapons and seems like a team on the rise. The Demon Deacons have been off since Feb. 17, when they lost to Notre Dame, 88-75, on the road. Wake's last home game was a 72-70 victory over Miami on Feb. 11. You can be sure the fans will be up for this game against the No. 2 team in the country. Virginia has not won at Wake Forest since 2000. Tony Bennett's teams have played there three times. The Cavs lost his first year, 69-57, his second year, 76-71 (I was at the game and it was Wake's only ACC win all year), and then 55-52 two years ago.
The other big storyline going into the game is the health of UVa point guard London Perrantes. He took a nasty hit on the nose, breaking it, when he slammed into Malcolm Brogdon's head during the Florida State game Sunday. Both left the game for awhile, but Brogdon eventually came back in, providing evidence he is the robot we all suspected him to be. Perrantes, however, did not come back in. In addition to the broken nose, it was reported he sustained a mild concussion. Officially he is day-to-day, but the consensus among media types and fans seems to be that he won't play against the Demon Deacons. Missing their floor general could be a big blow for the Cavaliers. Devon Hall and Marial Shayok are going to see increased minutes if Perrantes can't go.
Things are tightening up for the race for the four No. 1 seeds for the NCAA tournament. There are seven teams that have resumes worthy of being a No. 1 right now. Competition is fierce. Virginia needs to keep winning. Luckily for UVa, Wisconsin (three losses), one of those contenders for a No. 1 seed, lost last night at Maryland, giving some cushion to the Cavaliers and the other teams with anywhere from one to three losses.
For some reason, this team seems to play well when its back is against the wall. The guys are facing that kind of adversity on the road tonight against a young and hungry team. Let's see if they can come out on top.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 1-5.
Gonna keep this one short and sweet since I'm at work and it is 4:37 p.m.
It's no secret that this is a dangerous game for Virginia. Just 11 days ago at home, Wake Forest took a seven-point lead on the Cavaliers into halftime at JPJ. UVa stormed back to take a 51-38 lead but Wake fought valiantly until the end of the game but fell just short as the Wahoos came up with a 61-60 win.
Wake hit 10 3-pointers (UVa had two), six from 6-foot-10 freshman Konstantinos "Dinos" Mitoglou. Obviously a big part of the rematch in Winston-Salem will be UVa's defense of Mitoglou. A sharpshooting big man is a problem for a lot of teams, and UVa is no exception, despite its stellar defense. Of course, it also wouldn't be a surprise if he just doesn't get as hot this time around. He made 50 percent of his attempts in Charlottesville. And if Virginia does shut him down, will it be at the expense of guarding slasher Codi Miller-McIntyre and another capable 3-point shooter in Cornelius Hudson (3 of 5 from beyond the arc in the Feb. 14 game). Despite being just 12-15 and 4-10 in the ACC, Wake has some weapons and seems like a team on the rise. The Demon Deacons have been off since Feb. 17, when they lost to Notre Dame, 88-75, on the road. Wake's last home game was a 72-70 victory over Miami on Feb. 11. You can be sure the fans will be up for this game against the No. 2 team in the country. Virginia has not won at Wake Forest since 2000. Tony Bennett's teams have played there three times. The Cavs lost his first year, 69-57, his second year, 76-71 (I was at the game and it was Wake's only ACC win all year), and then 55-52 two years ago.The other big storyline going into the game is the health of UVa point guard London Perrantes. He took a nasty hit on the nose, breaking it, when he slammed into Malcolm Brogdon's head during the Florida State game Sunday. Both left the game for awhile, but Brogdon eventually came back in, providing evidence he is the robot we all suspected him to be. Perrantes, however, did not come back in. In addition to the broken nose, it was reported he sustained a mild concussion. Officially he is day-to-day, but the consensus among media types and fans seems to be that he won't play against the Demon Deacons. Missing their floor general could be a big blow for the Cavaliers. Devon Hall and Marial Shayok are going to see increased minutes if Perrantes can't go.
Things are tightening up for the race for the four No. 1 seeds for the NCAA tournament. There are seven teams that have resumes worthy of being a No. 1 right now. Competition is fierce. Virginia needs to keep winning. Luckily for UVa, Wisconsin (three losses), one of those contenders for a No. 1 seed, lost last night at Maryland, giving some cushion to the Cavaliers and the other teams with anywhere from one to three losses.
For some reason, this team seems to play well when its back is against the wall. The guys are facing that kind of adversity on the road tonight against a young and hungry team. Let's see if they can come out on top.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 1-5.
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