No. 13 Virginia 66, No. 8 Miami 58
After somewhat surprising losses to Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, all Virginia needed to do to get back on track was play a top-10 team, of course. The Cavaliers weren't perfect, but got by No. 8 Miami on Tuesday with a combination of timely offense and defense. Neither were great, but the Wahoos had enough of both. Malcolm Brogdon had 20 points, including a thunderous dunk and-1 in the waning minutes, and a nice alley-oop pass to Darius Thompson which helped sealed the win. Anthony Gill had 15 points and eight rebounds after just two boards against the Yellow Jackets. London Perrantes had 13 points, all after halftime. Mike Tobey kept the 'Hoos' offense afloat in the first half with 10 points, and he finished with 12. Virginia led 27-23 at halftime. Importantly, the Cavaliers got back to hitting free throws, making 16 of 21, after converting just 14 of 22 against Georgia Tech. That ended up being big since UVa shot only seven 3s, making two.
The Hurricanes came in shooting very well from 2, 3, and at the line, but left Charlottesville with a poor performance by their standards at 42 percent from the field, 27.3 percent from 3, and 58.8 percent from the line. Certainly, some of it can be attributed to a good, not great, defensive performance by the 'Hoos. But I recall several open but missed shots by the 'Canes. They just had an off night. But a win is a win, and in an improved ACC, Virginia will take them any way it can get them. Tony Bennett, though, let the players know after the game he wasn't completely pleased with the defense when he saw them celebrating. I think it was a good time for him to rip into them a little bit. I bet he would not have done it had they lost a third in a row. That would be the time for building up. Bennett, as we know, wants his teams to stay on an even keel and never get too up or too down. So he saw them too high after the game, and decided to take action to try to humble them, knock them down a peg, and keep them hungry.
Despite sub-par-ish losses to George Washington and the aforementioned Hokies and Yellow Jackets, UVa is the only team in the country that can boast three top-15 victories (West Virginia, Villanova, Miami). The challenge now for Virginia becomes winning on the road. The Cavs are 4-0 in neutral-site games (Bradley, Long Beach State, and George Mason in S.C., and the Mountaineers in New York), but 1-3 on the road, with the win coming over Ohio State.
No. 13 Virginia at Florida State, 6:30 p.m. ESPNU
Virginia gets another shot Sunday at a first ACC road win of the season in Tallahassee against Florida State. Here's more on the Seminoles:
Record: 11-5, 1-3
Scorers in double figures: Freshman guard Malik Beasley (17.1), freshman guard Dwayne Bacon (16.6), sophomore guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes (12.1)
Rebounding leaders: Beasley (6.1), Bacon (5.2), senior center Boris Bojanovsky (4.3)
Assist leaders: Rathan-Mayes (5.6), senior guard Devon Bookert (2.2)
Notable: Bookert averages 9.1 points, and Bojanovsky 6.6. Nine players average at least 10 minutes per game. One of them is not Phil Cofer, a sophomore forward who averaged 6.9 points and 4.5 rebounds last year. He was down to 3.8 ppg this season but is now out after undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs from an ankle.
Best win: VCU, 76-71, in Atlanta on Dec. 6. The Rams weren't playing that great then, but are now 13-5, 5-0 in the Atlantic 10.
Worst win: On a "neutral" floor Dec. 19, the Seminoles beat Florida Atlantic just 64-59. The Owls are 4-14 now. I say "neutral" because Florida Atlantic is only 30 minutes away from the arena in Sunrise, Fla., where the game was played. Of course, FSU probably has a bigger fan base. Still, ugly-looking victory.
Other wins: Nicholls State, Jacksonville, DePaul, Ohio, Southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi State, Florida, Charleston Southern, N.C. State
Best loss: At Iowa, 78-75, on Dec. 2. The Hawkeyes are ranked, 13-3, 4-0 in the Big Ten, and have two wins over Michigan State.
Worst loss: Hofstra, 82-77, on the U.S. Virgin Islands on Nov. 20. The Pride are a solid CAA team, but
12-6 overall.
Other losses: Clemson, North Carolina, Miami
What Florida State does well: The Seminoles score 80.9 ppg (42nd) and are fairly strong rebounders, with a +3.8 rebound margin per game (91st). They also pocket 7.6 steals per game (tied-66th). Overall, they shoot pretty solidly from the field at 46 percent (84th)
What Florida State does poorly: The shooting overall is above average, but from 3-point land it is bad (32.7-241st). It is OK from the line (71.6 percent, 96th). Like some recent years, the team is a little sloppy, ranking 208th in assist-to-turnover ratio, and tied for 224th with 13.5 turnovers per game.
In what no one would term a shocker, a team led in scoring by two terrific freshmen is inconsistent but explosive. The Seminoles have topped 100 points once and 90 points four other times. Beasley and Bacon are the real deal, and Virginia could have a tough time checking them. Both are tall guards at 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-7, respectively. Outside of them, the 'Noles don't have a ton of scoring, but Rathan-Mayes, as we know, has the ability to go off. He scored 26 straight points and 30 in the final four minutes and change last year late in February in nearly bringing FSU all the way back out of a big hole against Miami. FSU is a bit sloppy again this year, and the team's defense doesn't seem to be as strong as usual, so UVa needs to capitalize on that. Virginia has scored 68, 64, and 66 points in its last three outings, and it'll probably take a similar effort to beat FSU, maybe more if the Seminoles are feeling it. Their lowest output of the year was 59 points against Miami on Jan. 9. Last year, though, in two meetings, Virginia held FSU to 41 and 44 points. You have to think, though, with the success some coaches are having this year against Tony Bennett's Pack-Line, FSU coach Leonard Hamilton is hoping his team can break out a little in this game. Like I said, the team is not good from 3, but Beasley (38.5), Rathan-Mayes (32.9), and Bookert (35.8) are all capable, and I also wouldn't rule out Bacon, who is 29.6 percent on the year (16 of 54), but he has tried a lot more than Virginia Tech's Zach LeDay had coming into 'Hoos-Hokies game (2 of 10) and he went 3 of 4 in the Tech victory. Virginia's Pack-Line has been susceptible to 3-point shooting before, and seems to be even mores this year, whether because of slower rotations by the defense, or teams are gaining more confidence in shooting against the defense, or something else. But even a team with a low 3-point percentage makes me wary.
If Virginia takes care of the ball, it should come away with this victory. That hasn't been a given recently, though, surprising for a team that is still first in the country in fewest turnovers per game. Hopefully, the Cavs can have some confidence and maybe a little swagger and pick up a road victory. Getting to 3-2 with a road ACC win would be a great point to be at given some recent struggles, and with the ACC looking better top to bottom than last year, every win, especially away from JPJ, is becoming precious.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 1-5 points.
After somewhat surprising losses to Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech, all Virginia needed to do to get back on track was play a top-10 team, of course. The Cavaliers weren't perfect, but got by No. 8 Miami on Tuesday with a combination of timely offense and defense. Neither were great, but the Wahoos had enough of both. Malcolm Brogdon had 20 points, including a thunderous dunk and-1 in the waning minutes, and a nice alley-oop pass to Darius Thompson which helped sealed the win. Anthony Gill had 15 points and eight rebounds after just two boards against the Yellow Jackets. London Perrantes had 13 points, all after halftime. Mike Tobey kept the 'Hoos' offense afloat in the first half with 10 points, and he finished with 12. Virginia led 27-23 at halftime. Importantly, the Cavaliers got back to hitting free throws, making 16 of 21, after converting just 14 of 22 against Georgia Tech. That ended up being big since UVa shot only seven 3s, making two.
The Hurricanes came in shooting very well from 2, 3, and at the line, but left Charlottesville with a poor performance by their standards at 42 percent from the field, 27.3 percent from 3, and 58.8 percent from the line. Certainly, some of it can be attributed to a good, not great, defensive performance by the 'Hoos. But I recall several open but missed shots by the 'Canes. They just had an off night. But a win is a win, and in an improved ACC, Virginia will take them any way it can get them. Tony Bennett, though, let the players know after the game he wasn't completely pleased with the defense when he saw them celebrating. I think it was a good time for him to rip into them a little bit. I bet he would not have done it had they lost a third in a row. That would be the time for building up. Bennett, as we know, wants his teams to stay on an even keel and never get too up or too down. So he saw them too high after the game, and decided to take action to try to humble them, knock them down a peg, and keep them hungry.
Despite sub-par-ish losses to George Washington and the aforementioned Hokies and Yellow Jackets, UVa is the only team in the country that can boast three top-15 victories (West Virginia, Villanova, Miami). The challenge now for Virginia becomes winning on the road. The Cavs are 4-0 in neutral-site games (Bradley, Long Beach State, and George Mason in S.C., and the Mountaineers in New York), but 1-3 on the road, with the win coming over Ohio State.
No. 13 Virginia at Florida State, 6:30 p.m. ESPNU
Virginia gets another shot Sunday at a first ACC road win of the season in Tallahassee against Florida State. Here's more on the Seminoles:
Record: 11-5, 1-3
Scorers in double figures: Freshman guard Malik Beasley (17.1), freshman guard Dwayne Bacon (16.6), sophomore guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes (12.1)
Rebounding leaders: Beasley (6.1), Bacon (5.2), senior center Boris Bojanovsky (4.3)
Assist leaders: Rathan-Mayes (5.6), senior guard Devon Bookert (2.2)
Notable: Bookert averages 9.1 points, and Bojanovsky 6.6. Nine players average at least 10 minutes per game. One of them is not Phil Cofer, a sophomore forward who averaged 6.9 points and 4.5 rebounds last year. He was down to 3.8 ppg this season but is now out after undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs from an ankle.
Best win: VCU, 76-71, in Atlanta on Dec. 6. The Rams weren't playing that great then, but are now 13-5, 5-0 in the Atlantic 10.
Worst win: On a "neutral" floor Dec. 19, the Seminoles beat Florida Atlantic just 64-59. The Owls are 4-14 now. I say "neutral" because Florida Atlantic is only 30 minutes away from the arena in Sunrise, Fla., where the game was played. Of course, FSU probably has a bigger fan base. Still, ugly-looking victory.
Other wins: Nicholls State, Jacksonville, DePaul, Ohio, Southeastern Louisiana, Mississippi State, Florida, Charleston Southern, N.C. State
Best loss: At Iowa, 78-75, on Dec. 2. The Hawkeyes are ranked, 13-3, 4-0 in the Big Ten, and have two wins over Michigan State.
Worst loss: Hofstra, 82-77, on the U.S. Virgin Islands on Nov. 20. The Pride are a solid CAA team, but
Other losses: Clemson, North Carolina, Miami
What Florida State does well: The Seminoles score 80.9 ppg (42nd) and are fairly strong rebounders, with a +3.8 rebound margin per game (91st). They also pocket 7.6 steals per game (tied-66th). Overall, they shoot pretty solidly from the field at 46 percent (84th)
What Florida State does poorly: The shooting overall is above average, but from 3-point land it is bad (32.7-241st). It is OK from the line (71.6 percent, 96th). Like some recent years, the team is a little sloppy, ranking 208th in assist-to-turnover ratio, and tied for 224th with 13.5 turnovers per game.
In what no one would term a shocker, a team led in scoring by two terrific freshmen is inconsistent but explosive. The Seminoles have topped 100 points once and 90 points four other times. Beasley and Bacon are the real deal, and Virginia could have a tough time checking them. Both are tall guards at 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-7, respectively. Outside of them, the 'Noles don't have a ton of scoring, but Rathan-Mayes, as we know, has the ability to go off. He scored 26 straight points and 30 in the final four minutes and change last year late in February in nearly bringing FSU all the way back out of a big hole against Miami. FSU is a bit sloppy again this year, and the team's defense doesn't seem to be as strong as usual, so UVa needs to capitalize on that. Virginia has scored 68, 64, and 66 points in its last three outings, and it'll probably take a similar effort to beat FSU, maybe more if the Seminoles are feeling it. Their lowest output of the year was 59 points against Miami on Jan. 9. Last year, though, in two meetings, Virginia held FSU to 41 and 44 points. You have to think, though, with the success some coaches are having this year against Tony Bennett's Pack-Line, FSU coach Leonard Hamilton is hoping his team can break out a little in this game. Like I said, the team is not good from 3, but Beasley (38.5), Rathan-Mayes (32.9), and Bookert (35.8) are all capable, and I also wouldn't rule out Bacon, who is 29.6 percent on the year (16 of 54), but he has tried a lot more than Virginia Tech's Zach LeDay had coming into 'Hoos-Hokies game (2 of 10) and he went 3 of 4 in the Tech victory. Virginia's Pack-Line has been susceptible to 3-point shooting before, and seems to be even mores this year, whether because of slower rotations by the defense, or teams are gaining more confidence in shooting against the defense, or something else. But even a team with a low 3-point percentage makes me wary.
If Virginia takes care of the ball, it should come away with this victory. That hasn't been a given recently, though, surprising for a team that is still first in the country in fewest turnovers per game. Hopefully, the Cavs can have some confidence and maybe a little swagger and pick up a road victory. Getting to 3-2 with a road ACC win would be a great point to be at given some recent struggles, and with the ACC looking better top to bottom than last year, every win, especially away from JPJ, is becoming precious.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 1-5 points.
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