No. 5 Virginia 76, No. 12 UNC Wilmington 71
As Tony Bennett said after the game, that's March Madness.
The Cavaliers escaped a strong upset bid by the Seahawks on Thursday in the NCAA tournament to advance to play Florida today in the second round. Early on, everything was going UNCW's way. It was hitting shots, knocking down 3-pointers (Denzel Ingram and Ambrose Mosley had four each and UNCW finished with 11), connecting on alley-oops (Devontae Cacok was dunking all over the place off of ball screens), and playing with the confidence and swagger a No. 12 seed needs to play with to pull an upset. A year after barely bowing out in the first round against Duke as a No. 13 seed, it looked like the Seahawks were poised to make their mark in March.
And then, with the Cavaliers down 23-11, Tony Bennett called time out and decided to go to a five-guard lineup, a look so unconventional the team barely practiced it this week, even when assistant coach Brad Soderberg suggested it to Bennett because of the way UNCW spreads the floor with guards and small forwards.
And that was also when Marial Shayok was unleashed. Welcome back. Shayok, he of seemingly untapped
potential, again showed what he is capable of, coming off the bench to score 11 points in the first half to help bring back Virginia from an eventual 26-11 deficit, turning it into a small 30-29 halftime lead. The Wahoos closed the first 20 minutes on a 19-3 run. Shayok is one of Virginia's more frustrating players. Sometimes, he barely sees the floor and when he does, he makes mistakes. Other times, he looks like the Cavaliers' best player. Fortunately, the latter was the version UVa got Thursday. Shayok finished with a career-high 23 points, 10 of which came in the final 10:43 of the game. He connected on Virginia's final field goal with 26 seconds left, a clutch bank shot from the left side of the lane that gave the Cavaliers some much-needed breathing room at 75-71. Without that, the 'Hoos probably were going to have to withstand a potential game-tying or winning shot from the Seahawks.
Shayok added three rebounds, two steals, and an assist to his day and made 8 of his 14 shots, 3 of 5 from 3-point range. He came in as just over a 30 percent 3-point shooter on the year and had scored 14 points over the past four games. At one point early in the ACC schedule, he scored in double figures in seven of eight games. But he reached that threshold only three times the past 12 contests and put up goose eggs twice. Like I said, welcome back. He was absolutely needed in this game with Virginia a bit short-handed with Isaiah Wilkins still ill. Shayok took some hard hits -- including a key charge -- but stayed on the court and also did a great job knocking down his free throws. He was 4 for 4 and deserves a lot of credit for improving his charity stripe percentage this season to 78.8 from 54.8 last year and 63 his freshman year.
London Perrantes usually needs scoring help for Virginia to win, and Shayok provided it. Ah yes, Perrantes. He wasn't too shabby either, pushing back each UNCW rally down the stretch with a wild layup or 3-pointer. He finished with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting (2 of 4 from 3-point range). He knocked down 4 of his 5 free throws. UVa's senior leader was superb in willing the Cavaliers to victory and perhaps got a little lucky when his arm went numb with a few minutes left. He came out of the game for a few seconds, realized it was just a stinger, and went back in. It just seemed like he wouldn't be denied his fourth consecutive first-round NCAA victory.
Another guy who can routinely disappear made some good contributions as well. Darius Thompson, who got his first start since Dec. 31 against Florida State, rounded out Virginia's scorers in double figures with 10 points, four rebounds, four blocks, an assist, and a steal. The five-guard, spread-it-out game really worked well for him on the offensive end as he was able to beat defenders in one-on-one situations to get to the rim.
Devon Hall only finished with six points but played his usual scrappy game and helped fill in on the inside in the absence of Wilkins and because of the small lineup. The junior had seven rebounds, three assists, a steal, and dove on the floor at least twice in the second half to battle for the ball.
Some of that scrappiness will no doubt be needed today when the 'Hoos take on the bigger Gators.
No. 4 Florida vs. No. 5 Virginia, 8:40 p.m. TNT
Here's more on the Gators, who beat East Tennessee State, 80-65, in the first round (slightly abridged; these quick turnarounds aren't for players or a blogger/writer like myself):
Record: 25-8, 14-4 SEC
Coach: Mike White, second year, 46-23
Leading scorers: Sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen (13.7), senior guard Canyon Barry (11.9), junior forward Devin Robinson (11.3), senior guard Kasey Hill (9.9)
Leading rebounders: Robinson (6.2), sophomore forward Kevarrius Hayes (4.3), senior forward Justin Leon (3.7)
Assist leaders: Hill (4.6), junior guard Chris Chiozza (3.7)
Notable: Florida has eight players averaging double-figure minutes. It was nine, but junior center John Egbunu suffered a season-ending injury at Auburn Feb. 14. He was averaging 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds. Hill, Chiozza, Allen, and Robinson all average about one steal. Hayes averages 1.6 blocks.
Best win: vs. then-No. 8 Kentucky, 88-66
Worst win: at Mississippi State, 57-52. The Bulldogs finished 16-16, 6-12 in the SEC
Other wins: Florida Gulf Coast, Mercer, St. Bonaventure, Belmont, Seton Hall, Miami, North Florida, Charlotte, Little Rock, Arkansas (twice), Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia (twice), LSU, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas A&M, Auburn, South Carolina
Best loss: 76-66 at then-No. 11 Kentucky. The score was 28-28 at the half.
Worst loss: vs. Vanderbilt, 68-66
Other losses: Duke (neutral), at Florida State, at South Carolina, Gonzaga (neutral), Vanderbilt (road, SEC tournament)
Common opponents: Duke, Florida State, Miami; Florida lost to the Blue Devils and Seminoles and beat
the Hurricanes; the Cavaliers lost to all three.
What Florida does well: The Gators score at a pretty good clip, 78.3 points per game (62nd). They also only give up just 66.5 points per game (45th), are solid in field goal percentage defense, 40.8 (34th), and 31 percent from 3 (19th). They grab 37.4 rebounds per game (93rd) and own a +2.1 rebounding margin (118th). Florida records 7.7 steals (34th) and 4.8 blocks per game (30th) and a +3.2 turnover margin (22nd). It also does a good job of taking care of the ball, committing just 11.9 turnovers per game (69th). The Gators aren't the best shooters, but they are 96th in free throw percentage at 72.8.
What Florida doesn't do so well: Like I said, Florida doesn't shoot it great, 45 percent from the field (133rd) and 36.1 percent from 3 (126th). The Gators only tally 12.7 assists per game (231st), which could mean lots of one-on-one ball.
Florida's best 3-point shooter is Robinson at 39 percent and Allen (38.5), Barry (34.2), and Leon (39.3) are good as well. The Gators don't take a bunch of 3s, though, sitting at 707 for the year (146th).
Especially if Wilkins doesn't play for Virginia, and he isn't expected to, the Gators will have a size advantage. Robinson is 6-foot-8, Hayes 6-9, Leon 6-8, and Barry 6-6. Whew. That's a lot of height, and that's without Egbunu, who is 6-11. Jack Salt's defense will be crucial, and I imagine Mamadi Diakite could be, too, since he is Virginia's only other main rotational player over 6-6. Jarred Reuter is 6-7 but pretty slow afoot.
Florida likes to get out and run, and UVa assistant coach Jason Williford said the Gators reminded him a bit of UNC.
The 'Hoos are no doubt looking at a tough game. Falling behind by 15 in this one might not be an option. The Gators, with a much, much better defense than UNCW, probably wouldn't let Virginia back in the game from that far ahead. Virginia is going to miss Wilkins' energy, rebounding, and defense, something it will sorely need tonight -- that is assuming he doesn't play. But even if he does, he will be severely limited. This is why being scrappy is a must for the other players, like they were against the Seahawks. But the size advantage could be too much to overcome this time. The Gators aren't really an offensive force, but this could be a first-to-60 type game, and with Florida strong inside and on the glass, it could be tough for UVa to generate points. So Florida might not need score much to win. On top of all of this, the game is in Orlando, so it is essentially a home game for the Gators. I think it would be a very good accomplishment if the Cavaliers can pull off this victory and get to their third Sweet 16 in four years.
Gut feeling: Florida wins by 1-5 points.
As Tony Bennett said after the game, that's March Madness.
The Cavaliers escaped a strong upset bid by the Seahawks on Thursday in the NCAA tournament to advance to play Florida today in the second round. Early on, everything was going UNCW's way. It was hitting shots, knocking down 3-pointers (Denzel Ingram and Ambrose Mosley had four each and UNCW finished with 11), connecting on alley-oops (Devontae Cacok was dunking all over the place off of ball screens), and playing with the confidence and swagger a No. 12 seed needs to play with to pull an upset. A year after barely bowing out in the first round against Duke as a No. 13 seed, it looked like the Seahawks were poised to make their mark in March.
And then, with the Cavaliers down 23-11, Tony Bennett called time out and decided to go to a five-guard lineup, a look so unconventional the team barely practiced it this week, even when assistant coach Brad Soderberg suggested it to Bennett because of the way UNCW spreads the floor with guards and small forwards.
And that was also when Marial Shayok was unleashed. Welcome back. Shayok, he of seemingly untapped
 |
| Marial Shayok scored a career-high 23 points against UNC Wilmington. |
Shayok added three rebounds, two steals, and an assist to his day and made 8 of his 14 shots, 3 of 5 from 3-point range. He came in as just over a 30 percent 3-point shooter on the year and had scored 14 points over the past four games. At one point early in the ACC schedule, he scored in double figures in seven of eight games. But he reached that threshold only three times the past 12 contests and put up goose eggs twice. Like I said, welcome back. He was absolutely needed in this game with Virginia a bit short-handed with Isaiah Wilkins still ill. Shayok took some hard hits -- including a key charge -- but stayed on the court and also did a great job knocking down his free throws. He was 4 for 4 and deserves a lot of credit for improving his charity stripe percentage this season to 78.8 from 54.8 last year and 63 his freshman year.
London Perrantes usually needs scoring help for Virginia to win, and Shayok provided it. Ah yes, Perrantes. He wasn't too shabby either, pushing back each UNCW rally down the stretch with a wild layup or 3-pointer. He finished with 24 points on 9-of-14 shooting (2 of 4 from 3-point range). He knocked down 4 of his 5 free throws. UVa's senior leader was superb in willing the Cavaliers to victory and perhaps got a little lucky when his arm went numb with a few minutes left. He came out of the game for a few seconds, realized it was just a stinger, and went back in. It just seemed like he wouldn't be denied his fourth consecutive first-round NCAA victory.
Another guy who can routinely disappear made some good contributions as well. Darius Thompson, who got his first start since Dec. 31 against Florida State, rounded out Virginia's scorers in double figures with 10 points, four rebounds, four blocks, an assist, and a steal. The five-guard, spread-it-out game really worked well for him on the offensive end as he was able to beat defenders in one-on-one situations to get to the rim.
Devon Hall only finished with six points but played his usual scrappy game and helped fill in on the inside in the absence of Wilkins and because of the small lineup. The junior had seven rebounds, three assists, a steal, and dove on the floor at least twice in the second half to battle for the ball.
Some of that scrappiness will no doubt be needed today when the 'Hoos take on the bigger Gators.
No. 4 Florida vs. No. 5 Virginia, 8:40 p.m. TNT
Here's more on the Gators, who beat East Tennessee State, 80-65, in the first round (slightly abridged; these quick turnarounds aren't for players or a blogger/writer like myself):
Record: 25-8, 14-4 SEC
Coach: Mike White, second year, 46-23
Leading scorers: Sophomore guard KeVaughn Allen (13.7), senior guard Canyon Barry (11.9), junior forward Devin Robinson (11.3), senior guard Kasey Hill (9.9)
Leading rebounders: Robinson (6.2), sophomore forward Kevarrius Hayes (4.3), senior forward Justin Leon (3.7)
Assist leaders: Hill (4.6), junior guard Chris Chiozza (3.7)
Notable: Florida has eight players averaging double-figure minutes. It was nine, but junior center John Egbunu suffered a season-ending injury at Auburn Feb. 14. He was averaging 7.8 points and 6.6 rebounds. Hill, Chiozza, Allen, and Robinson all average about one steal. Hayes averages 1.6 blocks.
Best win: vs. then-No. 8 Kentucky, 88-66
Worst win: at Mississippi State, 57-52. The Bulldogs finished 16-16, 6-12 in the SEC
Other wins: Florida Gulf Coast, Mercer, St. Bonaventure, Belmont, Seton Hall, Miami, North Florida, Charlotte, Little Rock, Arkansas (twice), Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia (twice), LSU, Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas A&M, Auburn, South Carolina
Best loss: 76-66 at then-No. 11 Kentucky. The score was 28-28 at the half.
Worst loss: vs. Vanderbilt, 68-66
Other losses: Duke (neutral), at Florida State, at South Carolina, Gonzaga (neutral), Vanderbilt (road, SEC tournament)
Common opponents: Duke, Florida State, Miami; Florida lost to the Blue Devils and Seminoles and beat
What Florida does well: The Gators score at a pretty good clip, 78.3 points per game (62nd). They also only give up just 66.5 points per game (45th), are solid in field goal percentage defense, 40.8 (34th), and 31 percent from 3 (19th). They grab 37.4 rebounds per game (93rd) and own a +2.1 rebounding margin (118th). Florida records 7.7 steals (34th) and 4.8 blocks per game (30th) and a +3.2 turnover margin (22nd). It also does a good job of taking care of the ball, committing just 11.9 turnovers per game (69th). The Gators aren't the best shooters, but they are 96th in free throw percentage at 72.8.
What Florida doesn't do so well: Like I said, Florida doesn't shoot it great, 45 percent from the field (133rd) and 36.1 percent from 3 (126th). The Gators only tally 12.7 assists per game (231st), which could mean lots of one-on-one ball.
Florida's best 3-point shooter is Robinson at 39 percent and Allen (38.5), Barry (34.2), and Leon (39.3) are good as well. The Gators don't take a bunch of 3s, though, sitting at 707 for the year (146th).
Especially if Wilkins doesn't play for Virginia, and he isn't expected to, the Gators will have a size advantage. Robinson is 6-foot-8, Hayes 6-9, Leon 6-8, and Barry 6-6. Whew. That's a lot of height, and that's without Egbunu, who is 6-11. Jack Salt's defense will be crucial, and I imagine Mamadi Diakite could be, too, since he is Virginia's only other main rotational player over 6-6. Jarred Reuter is 6-7 but pretty slow afoot.
Florida likes to get out and run, and UVa assistant coach Jason Williford said the Gators reminded him a bit of UNC.
The 'Hoos are no doubt looking at a tough game. Falling behind by 15 in this one might not be an option. The Gators, with a much, much better defense than UNCW, probably wouldn't let Virginia back in the game from that far ahead. Virginia is going to miss Wilkins' energy, rebounding, and defense, something it will sorely need tonight -- that is assuming he doesn't play. But even if he does, he will be severely limited. This is why being scrappy is a must for the other players, like they were against the Seahawks. But the size advantage could be too much to overcome this time. The Gators aren't really an offensive force, but this could be a first-to-60 type game, and with Florida strong inside and on the glass, it could be tough for UVa to generate points. So Florida might not need score much to win. On top of all of this, the game is in Orlando, so it is essentially a home game for the Gators. I think it would be a very good accomplishment if the Cavaliers can pull off this victory and get to their third Sweet 16 in four years.
Gut feeling: Florida wins by 1-5 points.
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