Pittsburgh at No. 23 Virginia, Noon ACC Network (NBC29 in Cville area)
With four scholarship seniors graduating last year -- Malcolm Brogdon, Anthony Gill, Mike Tobey, and Evan Nolte -- it really felt like the end of an era for Virginia basketball. Tony Bennett took over the Cavaliers' program in 2009-10. Brogdon came in 2011-12, Tobey and Nolte the next season, and then Gill was eligible to play in '13-'14. That year is when the team really took off, winning the ACC regular-season and tournament championships and advancing to the Sweet 16. Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell graduated after that season. That felt like the end of the first era under Bennett, since they were part of Bennett's first class that he recruited to UVa. They accomplished their main goal, which was getting the Wahoos back to the NCAA tournament. After the first few games of that '13-'14 campaign, the team was piloted by a little-known 6-foot-2 freshman point guard from Los Angeles. His name was London Perrantes.
Despite Perrantes being the only senior on this team, it again feels like the end of an era, or maybe the epilogue to the one that just ended, since Perrantes was more a part of that era -- Brogdon and Co. -- than the one that will follow, which looks like it will be spearheaded by Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome with Devon Hall, Isaiah Wilkins and the rest of the junior class getting a chance to put their stamp on things as seniors next season.
Perrantes came into the program with Hall, both recruited as point guards, so it was unclear who would get the most playing time. If I remember correctly, the thought among fans was that Hall would play more. Instead, Hall redshirted, Perrantes got instant playing time, and then began starting the third game into the season. Everyone knows what happened after that. Some of the great players I mentioned previously have come and gone since then, but Perrantes has been there, running the point, the floor general for Bennett's defensively oriented, low-possession team. Perrantes has been masterful at controlling the pace of games, and he's most certainly an extension of Bennett on the floor.
He's been more than a point guard, though, becoming an adept scorer after being a very good 3-point
shooter his whole career. He's at 37.5 percent this year from beyond the arc and 41.1 for his career. All of his other seasons, he was a complementary piece on offense, but this year, with no Harris, no Justin Anderson, no Brogdon, no Gill, and no real post game to speak of, he's had to carry the scoring load at 12.4 points per game. He's averaged 8.7 for his career and 4.2 assists.
Today against Pittsburgh, Perrantes will start his 130th game, a program record. Brogdon, Harris, Ralph Sampson, and Bryant Stith all started 128 games. Perrantes has 105 wins, needing four to tie Brogdon for the most by a single player all time and a fifth, of course, to become the program's winningest player.
As the point guard for the 'Hoos since he was a freshman -- one who sports a fairly boisterous personality and wiry, Cosmo Kramer-like hair -- he's been one of the most visible players as Bennett has continued to build the program. Perrantes still gets to write the final chapter for his career this postseason, but there's no doubt he's going down as one of the best point guards in team history and one of the most prolific winners the program has witnessed.
As for the game today, it's a chance for the Cavaliers to get some revenge. Back in January, Pitt knocked off Virginia, 88-76, in overtime. The Panthers shot a blazing 60 percent from 3-point land. Perrantes had to hit a 3 just to take it to the first overtime. Having won two games in a row after a four-game losing streak, the team hopes to keep up its momentum, but it is also playing for ACC and NCAA tournament seeding. The scenarios are too numerous to list here, but here is a pretty good breakdown for the ACC tournament next week in Brooklyn. Basically, Virginia's most likely projection is to finish seventh in the ACC, but it could finish anywhere from ninth to fourth. With a win over Pitt, UVa would not finish worse than eighth. A fourth-place finish would mean a double bye into the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament. No matter what, the Cavaliers have a single bye. If they finish eighth or ninth, they'd play in the first game at noon Wednesday.
As for March Madness, ESPN has Virginia right now as a No. 4 seed. A win over the Panthers probably would not change that, but a reasonable assumption is that if Virginia won the ACC tournament, it would get a No. 2 seed. An appearance in the final probably gets it a No. 3 seed. An appearance in the semifinals probably keeps it at a No. 4 seed. Losing to Pitt and in its first ACC tourney game probably regulates UVa to a No. 6 seed. If Virginia goes 1-1 or 1-2 in the next two or three games, meaning a win over Pitt and loss in the ACC tournament or a loss to Pitt and then one win in the ACC tournament and then a loss, the Cavaliers might slip back to a No. 5 seed.
There's still lots to sort out regarding seeding, and of course, a good chunk of that has nothing to do with Virginia, but rather what teams in the ACC and around the country do in their next few games. What the Wahoos can control is playing stifling defense and taking good shots on offense. When the team plays to its potential, we know it can go far. Today, the focus will be on sending out Perrantes a winner on his home court.
Hall, who has lived with Perrantes since their first year, started to get a little emotional after the North Carolina game when he was asked what it will be like for Perrantes to play his final home game.
"This is my brother. I'm going to miss him so much," Hall said.
"You're soft," said Perrantes, who was sitting beside him. "Don't get sentimental." It is a point guard's job to keep the team loose, after all. But there will probably be some teary eyes in John Paul Jones Arena today.
Perrantes came into the program with Hall, both recruited as point guards, so it was unclear who would get the most playing time. If I remember correctly, the thought among fans was that Hall would play more. Instead, Hall redshirted, Perrantes got instant playing time, and then began starting the third game into the season. Everyone knows what happened after that. Some of the great players I mentioned previously have come and gone since then, but Perrantes has been there, running the point, the floor general for Bennett's defensively oriented, low-possession team. Perrantes has been masterful at controlling the pace of games, and he's most certainly an extension of Bennett on the floor.
He's been more than a point guard, though, becoming an adept scorer after being a very good 3-point
 |
| London Perrantes has been the perfect point guard to run coach Tony Bennett's system for four years. |
Today against Pittsburgh, Perrantes will start his 130th game, a program record. Brogdon, Harris, Ralph Sampson, and Bryant Stith all started 128 games. Perrantes has 105 wins, needing four to tie Brogdon for the most by a single player all time and a fifth, of course, to become the program's winningest player.
As the point guard for the 'Hoos since he was a freshman -- one who sports a fairly boisterous personality and wiry, Cosmo Kramer-like hair -- he's been one of the most visible players as Bennett has continued to build the program. Perrantes still gets to write the final chapter for his career this postseason, but there's no doubt he's going down as one of the best point guards in team history and one of the most prolific winners the program has witnessed.
As for the game today, it's a chance for the Cavaliers to get some revenge. Back in January, Pitt knocked off Virginia, 88-76, in overtime. The Panthers shot a blazing 60 percent from 3-point land. Perrantes had to hit a 3 just to take it to the first overtime. Having won two games in a row after a four-game losing streak, the team hopes to keep up its momentum, but it is also playing for ACC and NCAA tournament seeding. The scenarios are too numerous to list here, but here is a pretty good breakdown for the ACC tournament next week in Brooklyn. Basically, Virginia's most likely projection is to finish seventh in the ACC, but it could finish anywhere from ninth to fourth. With a win over Pitt, UVa would not finish worse than eighth. A fourth-place finish would mean a double bye into the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament. No matter what, the Cavaliers have a single bye. If they finish eighth or ninth, they'd play in the first game at noon Wednesday.
As for March Madness, ESPN has Virginia right now as a No. 4 seed. A win over the Panthers probably would not change that, but a reasonable assumption is that if Virginia won the ACC tournament, it would get a No. 2 seed. An appearance in the final probably gets it a No. 3 seed. An appearance in the semifinals probably keeps it at a No. 4 seed. Losing to Pitt and in its first ACC tourney game probably regulates UVa to a No. 6 seed. If Virginia goes 1-1 or 1-2 in the next two or three games, meaning a win over Pitt and loss in the ACC tournament or a loss to Pitt and then one win in the ACC tournament and then a loss, the Cavaliers might slip back to a No. 5 seed.
There's still lots to sort out regarding seeding, and of course, a good chunk of that has nothing to do with Virginia, but rather what teams in the ACC and around the country do in their next few games. What the Wahoos can control is playing stifling defense and taking good shots on offense. When the team plays to its potential, we know it can go far. Today, the focus will be on sending out Perrantes a winner on his home court.
Hall, who has lived with Perrantes since their first year, started to get a little emotional after the North Carolina game when he was asked what it will be like for Perrantes to play his final home game.
"This is my brother. I'm going to miss him so much," Hall said.
"You're soft," said Perrantes, who was sitting beside him. "Don't get sentimental." It is a point guard's job to keep the team loose, after all. But there will probably be some teary eyes in John Paul Jones Arena today.
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