No. 20 Florida State 60, No. 12 Virginia 58
Virginia was burnt by hot Bacon on Saturday, failing to get to 2-0 in the ACC with a 60-58 home loss to Florida State. Sophomore Dwayne Bacon was sensational for the Seminoles with 29 points, 26 of those in the second half, just two fewer than Virginia's 28 for the final 20 minutes. He scored 10 of FSU's 11 points after the final media timeout of the game, sinking the game-winning 3-pointer with two seconds left over Isaiah Wilkins, who played OK defense on the shot, but probably should've been a little closer given how well Bacon had been shooting.
FSU was down seven at the half, 30-23, and was down in the first half last season in Tallahassee, 28-20, before a late push in that game made it 28-25 going into the break. So FSU has now won games against UVa in which it was trailing by at least seven two times in a row. Ask any team that has fallen behind Virginia by more than a couple baskets -- that is quite the accomplishment.
In two losses this season to West Virginia and Florida State, Virginia has struggled with physical defenses that pushed them beyond the 3-point line and harassed them for almost the entire length of the court. UVa has also had costly turnovers at inopportune times and failed to step on the throat of the opponent.
Of course, it is difficult to talk about the loss to the Seminoles if we don't mention the free throw disparity. The foul discrepancy was not too big, 18 personal fouls on UVa to 15 on FSU. But the free throws heavily favored FSU 24-5. Some of that has to do with a perceived lack of aggressiveness on the offensive end for the Cavaliers. And while that may be true, I do want to point out a couple of times I thought there was a questionable call Saturday.
With 14:55 left in the game, Marial Shayok drove the lane and was surrounded by two defenders, one of whom may have bumped him while the other blocked his shot, with a little body hit as well. It wasn't an egregious no-call, however, the ball went down the other end of the floor, and Devon Hall was whistled for what appeared to be a minor reach-in, putting FSU on the line. So the back-to-back nature of the calls is what made them stand out against each other. One made free throw tied the game at 35.
With 12:35 left, Jarred Reuter received the ball off a pick-and-roll and went up to the basket and received some body from an FSU defender but no foul was called. The score at that point was 39-38 UVa. Reuter is a good free throw shooter, so going to the line there could have extended UVa's lead.
There might have been others, but I just want to point out a couple. It doesn't do much good to go over what you think the refs should've done, since UVa can't directly control that. But I also said Virginia made some costly turnovers and didn't step on FSU's throat when needed, so let's look at that.
Kyle Guy has been nothing short of fantastic as a freshman and might very well make his way into the starting lineup. Some fans think he belongs there now. He made 3 of his 5 3s against the 'Noles and of course, none bigger than his final one to put UVa up 59-58 with eight seconds left. But way back in the first half with about six minutes left, he missed a wide open 3 with Virginia up 16-14. A make there obviously would've made the score 19-14, perhaps putting UVa up as much as 10 at the half. After his miss, FSU's Xavier Rathan-Mayes made a 3 on a lucky bounce, giving FSU the lead back, a six-point swing. Guy is shooting almost 60 percent from 3 this year and probably is better than that when wide open. That was a missed opportunity.
There was a poor sequence over a minute or so stretch in the second half that proved costly. Part of it, Virginia could do nothing about. With Virginia up 44-40, FSU faced an inbounds under its own basket with two seconds left on the shot clock. A deep two by Bacon cut the lead to 44-42. Shayok had a hand in his face, so nothing much could be done there. But then Shayok took a poor shot on the other end, giving FSU the ball back. Bacon made a 3 to put FSU up 45-44, and then on UVa's possession, Guy turned the ball over on an errant pass when he forced himself into a bad position under the basket. So what ended up being a great play by Bacon was compounded and made worse by two poor possessions in a row by UVa.
One big play that should never happen occurred at 6:42 left with Virginia up 46-45. Virginia had just forced FSU into a shot-clock violation, but then Bacon stole the inbounds pass from London Perrantes to Devon Hall and made a layup, putting FSU in front. That killed a chance for Virginia to extend its lead.
Perrantes also had a turnover with three minutes left with the score 51-51 when he thought Guy was popping out for a pass then tried to hold back on the pass when Guy faked. Perrantes ended up throwing it to Bacon, who got to free throw line on a drive. He missed both shots, but got the rebound on a good bounce. I watched it closely and didn't think it was a terrible box out by UVa, though Isaiah Wilkins could've done a better job attacking the rebound instead of just boxing out, thus giving the FSU player a way to tip it over Perrantes and Hall's head to Bacon, who made the shot.
But that whole sequence started with Perrantes' turnover, and these are small things in wins that become magnified and bigger when UVa loses, especially by two.
Virginia goes back on the road today for a late-night tilt in western Pennsylvania.
No. 11 Virginia at Pittsburgh, 9 p.m. CSN
Record: 11-3, 0-1 ACC
Leading scorers: Senior forward Michael Young (22.9), senior forward Jamel Artis (21.2), sophomore guard Cameron Johnson (12.5)
Leading rebounders: Senior forward Sheldon Jeter (7.7), Young (7.7), Artis (5.8), Johnson (4.7), junior forward Ryan Luther (4.4)
Assist leaders: Artis (3.5), Young (3.3), senior guard Chris Jones (2.5), Johnson (2.4)
Notable: Jeter is averaging 7.1 points and Luther is at 7 ppg. Jones is the Panthers' only other significant scorer at 6.8 pg. Jeter averages one block.
Best win: Pitt handed Maryland, now 13-2, its first loss of the season 73-59 on the road Nov. 29.
Worst win: 86-78 at home vs. Buffalo, which is now 6-8
Other wins: Eastern Michigan, Gardner-Webb, Marquette, Yale, Morehead State, Penn State, Rice, Nebraska Omaha, Marshall
Best loss: 78-77 in OT at home vs. No. 24 Notre Dame on Saturday
Worst loss: 64-55 against city rival Duquesne at home. The Dukes are now 8-6.
Other loss: SMU (in New York)
What Pittsburgh does well: The Panthers are another high-scoring team, putting up 81.9 ppg, 39th in the country. They shoot well, 47.3 percent (62nd), though that is not as high as FSU's 50+ percent mark. They have a +4.2 rebounding margin (91st) and also move the ball well with 16.7 assists per game (44th).
What Pittsburgh does poorly: Defense is not the Panthers' strong suit. They are giving up 75.8 ppg (268th) and a 42.6 field goal percentage (162nd). They also only record 3.6 steals per game, tied for 345th, which is one spot from dead last.
The last bit there is why I hope Virginia can bounce back. FSU's defense wasn't awesome, but physical and good enough to disrupt Virginia's offensive flow. I'm not sure Pittsburgh's is. FSU steals the ball about eight times per game, and as I pointed out, Pitt is well below that mark. So hopefully, some of the turnovers that have characterized Virginia's losses won't come into play as often. And the offense for Pitt is good, though not as on fire as FSU's. Clearly, Virginia needs to really check Young and Artis, but after that, those two guys don't usually get much help. So Virginia will probably need to hold down one, let the other get his, and then hope no one else goes off and plays its usual solid defense. Old Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon left in the offseason and joined his alma mater, TCU. The Panthers hired Kevin Stallings, who went 332-220 (.601) in 17 years at Vanderbilt with seven NCAA tournament appearances. The Commodores went 19-14 last season and lost in the NCAA tournament's First Four. I like Virginia to win a close one.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 1-5 points.
Virginia was burnt by hot Bacon on Saturday, failing to get to 2-0 in the ACC with a 60-58 home loss to Florida State. Sophomore Dwayne Bacon was sensational for the Seminoles with 29 points, 26 of those in the second half, just two fewer than Virginia's 28 for the final 20 minutes. He scored 10 of FSU's 11 points after the final media timeout of the game, sinking the game-winning 3-pointer with two seconds left over Isaiah Wilkins, who played OK defense on the shot, but probably should've been a little closer given how well Bacon had been shooting.
FSU was down seven at the half, 30-23, and was down in the first half last season in Tallahassee, 28-20, before a late push in that game made it 28-25 going into the break. So FSU has now won games against UVa in which it was trailing by at least seven two times in a row. Ask any team that has fallen behind Virginia by more than a couple baskets -- that is quite the accomplishment.
In two losses this season to West Virginia and Florida State, Virginia has struggled with physical defenses that pushed them beyond the 3-point line and harassed them for almost the entire length of the court. UVa has also had costly turnovers at inopportune times and failed to step on the throat of the opponent.
Of course, it is difficult to talk about the loss to the Seminoles if we don't mention the free throw disparity. The foul discrepancy was not too big, 18 personal fouls on UVa to 15 on FSU. But the free throws heavily favored FSU 24-5. Some of that has to do with a perceived lack of aggressiveness on the offensive end for the Cavaliers. And while that may be true, I do want to point out a couple of times I thought there was a questionable call Saturday.
With 14:55 left in the game, Marial Shayok drove the lane and was surrounded by two defenders, one of whom may have bumped him while the other blocked his shot, with a little body hit as well. It wasn't an egregious no-call, however, the ball went down the other end of the floor, and Devon Hall was whistled for what appeared to be a minor reach-in, putting FSU on the line. So the back-to-back nature of the calls is what made them stand out against each other. One made free throw tied the game at 35.
With 12:35 left, Jarred Reuter received the ball off a pick-and-roll and went up to the basket and received some body from an FSU defender but no foul was called. The score at that point was 39-38 UVa. Reuter is a good free throw shooter, so going to the line there could have extended UVa's lead.
There might have been others, but I just want to point out a couple. It doesn't do much good to go over what you think the refs should've done, since UVa can't directly control that. But I also said Virginia made some costly turnovers and didn't step on FSU's throat when needed, so let's look at that.
Kyle Guy has been nothing short of fantastic as a freshman and might very well make his way into the starting lineup. Some fans think he belongs there now. He made 3 of his 5 3s against the 'Noles and of course, none bigger than his final one to put UVa up 59-58 with eight seconds left. But way back in the first half with about six minutes left, he missed a wide open 3 with Virginia up 16-14. A make there obviously would've made the score 19-14, perhaps putting UVa up as much as 10 at the half. After his miss, FSU's Xavier Rathan-Mayes made a 3 on a lucky bounce, giving FSU the lead back, a six-point swing. Guy is shooting almost 60 percent from 3 this year and probably is better than that when wide open. That was a missed opportunity.
There was a poor sequence over a minute or so stretch in the second half that proved costly. Part of it, Virginia could do nothing about. With Virginia up 44-40, FSU faced an inbounds under its own basket with two seconds left on the shot clock. A deep two by Bacon cut the lead to 44-42. Shayok had a hand in his face, so nothing much could be done there. But then Shayok took a poor shot on the other end, giving FSU the ball back. Bacon made a 3 to put FSU up 45-44, and then on UVa's possession, Guy turned the ball over on an errant pass when he forced himself into a bad position under the basket. So what ended up being a great play by Bacon was compounded and made worse by two poor possessions in a row by UVa.
One big play that should never happen occurred at 6:42 left with Virginia up 46-45. Virginia had just forced FSU into a shot-clock violation, but then Bacon stole the inbounds pass from London Perrantes to Devon Hall and made a layup, putting FSU in front. That killed a chance for Virginia to extend its lead.
Perrantes also had a turnover with three minutes left with the score 51-51 when he thought Guy was popping out for a pass then tried to hold back on the pass when Guy faked. Perrantes ended up throwing it to Bacon, who got to free throw line on a drive. He missed both shots, but got the rebound on a good bounce. I watched it closely and didn't think it was a terrible box out by UVa, though Isaiah Wilkins could've done a better job attacking the rebound instead of just boxing out, thus giving the FSU player a way to tip it over Perrantes and Hall's head to Bacon, who made the shot.
But that whole sequence started with Perrantes' turnover, and these are small things in wins that become magnified and bigger when UVa loses, especially by two.
Virginia goes back on the road today for a late-night tilt in western Pennsylvania.
No. 11 Virginia at Pittsburgh, 9 p.m. CSN
Record: 11-3, 0-1 ACC
Leading scorers: Senior forward Michael Young (22.9), senior forward Jamel Artis (21.2), sophomore guard Cameron Johnson (12.5)
Leading rebounders: Senior forward Sheldon Jeter (7.7), Young (7.7), Artis (5.8), Johnson (4.7), junior forward Ryan Luther (4.4)
Assist leaders: Artis (3.5), Young (3.3), senior guard Chris Jones (2.5), Johnson (2.4)
Notable: Jeter is averaging 7.1 points and Luther is at 7 ppg. Jones is the Panthers' only other significant scorer at 6.8 pg. Jeter averages one block.
Best win: Pitt handed Maryland, now 13-2, its first loss of the season 73-59 on the road Nov. 29.
Other wins: Eastern Michigan, Gardner-Webb, Marquette, Yale, Morehead State, Penn State, Rice, Nebraska Omaha, Marshall
Best loss: 78-77 in OT at home vs. No. 24 Notre Dame on Saturday
Worst loss: 64-55 against city rival Duquesne at home. The Dukes are now 8-6.
Other loss: SMU (in New York)
What Pittsburgh does well: The Panthers are another high-scoring team, putting up 81.9 ppg, 39th in the country. They shoot well, 47.3 percent (62nd), though that is not as high as FSU's 50+ percent mark. They have a +4.2 rebounding margin (91st) and also move the ball well with 16.7 assists per game (44th).
What Pittsburgh does poorly: Defense is not the Panthers' strong suit. They are giving up 75.8 ppg (268th) and a 42.6 field goal percentage (162nd). They also only record 3.6 steals per game, tied for 345th, which is one spot from dead last.
The last bit there is why I hope Virginia can bounce back. FSU's defense wasn't awesome, but physical and good enough to disrupt Virginia's offensive flow. I'm not sure Pittsburgh's is. FSU steals the ball about eight times per game, and as I pointed out, Pitt is well below that mark. So hopefully, some of the turnovers that have characterized Virginia's losses won't come into play as often. And the offense for Pitt is good, though not as on fire as FSU's. Clearly, Virginia needs to really check Young and Artis, but after that, those two guys don't usually get much help. So Virginia will probably need to hold down one, let the other get his, and then hope no one else goes off and plays its usual solid defense. Old Pittsburgh coach Jamie Dixon left in the offseason and joined his alma mater, TCU. The Panthers hired Kevin Stallings, who went 332-220 (.601) in 17 years at Vanderbilt with seven NCAA tournament appearances. The Commodores went 19-14 last season and lost in the NCAA tournament's First Four. I like Virginia to win a close one.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 1-5 points.
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