No. 21 Virginia vs. Pittsburgh in Brooklyn, 9 p.m. ESPN/NBC29
The Cavaliers took care of Pittsburgh, 67-42, on Saturday on senior day, sending London Perrantes out in style at John Paul Jones Arena. He helped himself, too, leading all scorers with 22 points while making 4 of his 6 3-pointers. Ty Jerome followed with 13 points and made 3 of his 7 shots from beyond the arc. Virginia went an incredible 11 of 22 from 3-point land and has really turned around its deep shot recently. In losses to Duke, North Carolina, and Miami, Virginia was 10 of 52 (19.2 percent). In their past three wins, the Wahoos are 32 of 62 (51.6 percent).
With the regular season over, UVa turns its attention to Brooklyn and the ACC tournament. The Cavaliers ended up with the No. 6 seed after all the dust had settled Saturday, ahead of Virginia Tech and Miami, which lost their finales. The Wahoos and Duke were the only teams with 11-7 ACC
records, and Duke owned the tiebreaker having won the only matchup of the teams. Arguably, the No. 6 seed is better than the No. 5. Duke will have to play North Carolina in the quarterfinals after beating Clemson, which eliminated N.C. State on Tuesday in the first round. Virginia would play Notre Dame in the quarterfinals, a team it has found great success against. Avoiding North Carolina until the end of the tournament is probably a good thing at this point.
That's looking ahead, though. In the second round of the tournament today, Virginia gets ... Pittsburgh, which it just clobbered. But in their first matchup this season, the Panthers beat the Cavaliers at home, 88-76 in overtime. The main difference in that game was Pitt's 3-point shooting. The Panthers made 13 of their 21 shots from beyond the arc in early January in Pittsburgh. Virginia shot well also, but not as good at 8 of 20. Another discrepancy came at the line. The Panthers shot 17 of 28 from the stripe while Virginia was just 2 of 5. The Cavaliers' inability to get to the line was a big storyline in a lot of their losses. In that first meeting, Jamel Artis scored 24 points, and Michael Young had 19. In the Saturday contest in Charlottesville, they didn't even play the first 10 minutes of the game because they missed the team breakfast. Young ended up getting 14 points in 27 minutes, and Artis recorded four points in 27 minutes. Pittsburgh made just 4 of 20 shots from beyond the arc, 33.3 percent overall, and eight free throws, although that was 100 percent of its attempts, a far cry from the 28 the Panthers attempted in their win over the 'Hoos.
Except for 3-pointers, Virginia probably actually played a little better on offense in the first meeting, its loss to Pittsburgh. The Cavaliers scored 70 points in regulation and were led by London Perrantes with 16 points, 15 from Devon Hall, 14 from Marial Shayok, and 11 from Darius Thompson -- a much more balanced scoring effort than the first meeting. The team shot 49.3 percent. In the second meeting, the Cavaliers shot 43.5 percent.
As long as Virginia avoids a North Carolina- or Miami-type scoring effort (in the loss to UNC, not the win, though the offense wasn't exactly stellar in that game either), then the contest will swing on defense. Virginia's defense has been in top-notch form for several games, with no opponent scoring more than 55 points since North Carolina's victory over the Wahoos on Feb. 19 when the Tar Heels put up 65 points. If the Cavaliers bring a superior defensive effort to the game, then the offense won't have to be on point, though that always helps. Pitt's ability to stay in the game or even get ahead with 3-pointers will be a big part of the result.
Pittsburgh eliminated Georgia Tech on Tuesday with a 61-59 victory. The Panthers made 6 of 23 3-pointers and were led by 17 points from Young, Sheldon Jeter with 14, and 11 each from Artis and Chris Jones. Those complementary players had good games in Pitt's win over Virginia, and, as expected, didn't do much in the loss. Cameron Johnson was Pitt's second-leading scorer with nine points in the setback in Charlottesville.
Expecting another 25-point beatdown is not realistic, but if the Wahoos play their game, they are the better team. Guarding the 3-point line will be key. I like Virginia in a closer game than Saturday.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 5-10 points.
The Cavaliers took care of Pittsburgh, 67-42, on Saturday on senior day, sending London Perrantes out in style at John Paul Jones Arena. He helped himself, too, leading all scorers with 22 points while making 4 of his 6 3-pointers. Ty Jerome followed with 13 points and made 3 of his 7 shots from beyond the arc. Virginia went an incredible 11 of 22 from 3-point land and has really turned around its deep shot recently. In losses to Duke, North Carolina, and Miami, Virginia was 10 of 52 (19.2 percent). In their past three wins, the Wahoos are 32 of 62 (51.6 percent).
With the regular season over, UVa turns its attention to Brooklyn and the ACC tournament. The Cavaliers ended up with the No. 6 seed after all the dust had settled Saturday, ahead of Virginia Tech and Miami, which lost their finales. The Wahoos and Duke were the only teams with 11-7 ACC
 |
| London Perrantes had a fun senior day as he said goodbye to the John Paul Jones Arena crowd. |
That's looking ahead, though. In the second round of the tournament today, Virginia gets ... Pittsburgh, which it just clobbered. But in their first matchup this season, the Panthers beat the Cavaliers at home, 88-76 in overtime. The main difference in that game was Pitt's 3-point shooting. The Panthers made 13 of their 21 shots from beyond the arc in early January in Pittsburgh. Virginia shot well also, but not as good at 8 of 20. Another discrepancy came at the line. The Panthers shot 17 of 28 from the stripe while Virginia was just 2 of 5. The Cavaliers' inability to get to the line was a big storyline in a lot of their losses. In that first meeting, Jamel Artis scored 24 points, and Michael Young had 19. In the Saturday contest in Charlottesville, they didn't even play the first 10 minutes of the game because they missed the team breakfast. Young ended up getting 14 points in 27 minutes, and Artis recorded four points in 27 minutes. Pittsburgh made just 4 of 20 shots from beyond the arc, 33.3 percent overall, and eight free throws, although that was 100 percent of its attempts, a far cry from the 28 the Panthers attempted in their win over the 'Hoos.
Except for 3-pointers, Virginia probably actually played a little better on offense in the first meeting, its loss to Pittsburgh. The Cavaliers scored 70 points in regulation and were led by London Perrantes with 16 points, 15 from Devon Hall, 14 from Marial Shayok, and 11 from Darius Thompson -- a much more balanced scoring effort than the first meeting. The team shot 49.3 percent. In the second meeting, the Cavaliers shot 43.5 percent.
As long as Virginia avoids a North Carolina- or Miami-type scoring effort (in the loss to UNC, not the win, though the offense wasn't exactly stellar in that game either), then the contest will swing on defense. Virginia's defense has been in top-notch form for several games, with no opponent scoring more than 55 points since North Carolina's victory over the Wahoos on Feb. 19 when the Tar Heels put up 65 points. If the Cavaliers bring a superior defensive effort to the game, then the offense won't have to be on point, though that always helps. Pitt's ability to stay in the game or even get ahead with 3-pointers will be a big part of the result.
Pittsburgh eliminated Georgia Tech on Tuesday with a 61-59 victory. The Panthers made 6 of 23 3-pointers and were led by 17 points from Young, Sheldon Jeter with 14, and 11 each from Artis and Chris Jones. Those complementary players had good games in Pitt's win over Virginia, and, as expected, didn't do much in the loss. Cameron Johnson was Pitt's second-leading scorer with nine points in the setback in Charlottesville.
Expecting another 25-point beatdown is not realistic, but if the Wahoos play their game, they are the better team. Guarding the 3-point line will be key. I like Virginia in a closer game than Saturday.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 5-10 points.
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