No. 1 Virginia at Louisville, 8 p.m. ACC Network (NBC29 for Cville area)
The Cavaliers had, unsurprisingly, zero issues crushing Pittsburgh on Saturday, 66-37, holding the Panthers to an incredible seven points and one field goal in the first half, which tied UVa's record and the NCAA record for fewest field goals allowed in a half in history (UVa allowed Harvard one first-half field goal in Dec. 2014), and the seven points permitted in the half were the fewest for a half in the NCAA this season. Pittsburgh shot 4.5 percent in the half. Also, the victory wrapped up UVa's third regular-season ACC title in five years.
It was just a dominating performance that didn't mean much since Pitt is so bad, but still, it was good to see UVa put a bad team away early since it didn't really do that last Wednesday against Georgia Tech. De'Andre Hunter led the team by notching his first double-double, 14 points and 10 rebounds, and added three assists. He made both of his 3-point tries. Ty Jerome had 13 points, a rebound, and an assist and went 2 for 5 from beyond the arc. Nigel Johnson had his best game in awhile, recording 12 points, three assists, and a rebound. It was the first time he scored in double figures since putting up
22 vs. Davidson on Dec. 16. He made both of his 3-pointers. It was great to see him so involved, because UVa could certainly use his help down the stretch run of the season. After him, everyone contributed, including Marco Anthony, who put up three points, and Jay Huff, who got his first meaningful minutes since playing vs. Hampton on Dec. 22. He finished with four points.
UVa goes on the road for the last time this season tonight to face Louisville, which the Cavaliers defeated, 74-64, at home Jan. 31 in a hard-fought game where Virginia scored 42 second-half points, one of their highest outputs in a half this season. In that contest, Anthony played for Johnson, who was suspended, and tallied 10 points off the bench. Kyle Guy led the way with 22 points on 10-of-21 shooting, while Ty Jerome had 16, including two late, back-breaking 3-pointers, and Devon Hall added 12 points. Louisville shot 50 percent from the field, went 8 for 18 on 3-pointers, and was led by 16 points from Ray Spalding, 15 from Deng Adel, and 10 from V.J. King. The team's second-leading scorer, Quentin Snider, was held to just five points. The Cardinals cut Virginia's 14-point lead to five with 3:47 left but got no closer. They were definitely one of the tougher opponents UVa has faced this year. But that loss started Louisville on a three-game slide, and the Cards have lost four of seven since, slowly creeping toward the NCAA tournament bubble.
Louisville (19-10, 9-7 ACC) still has an RPI of 38, considered fairly solid, but not great, for an NCAA at-large contender, and has two big chances to boost its resume, first with UVa, and then at N.C. State to finish up the regular season Saturday. Right now, the Cardinals are listed as one of the last four teams in the field on ESPN.com's Bracketology as an 11 seed, which is a little surprising to me. I would've expected them to be more solidly in the field. I think that at least one win over U.Va. or State and then at least one win in the ACC tournament would lock them in, but perhaps I am wrong, and so much depends on how the teams around Louisville do over the next week or as well. Right now, it sits eighth in the conference and after a bye would face Florida State in the second round of that tournament, which begins Tuesday in Brooklyn. If they were to win that game, they'd face UVa again. But there's a lot to shake out in regards to the standings still, which you can find here. Other media outlets are making a big deal out of the fact that UVa is trying to become the first ACC team to finish the conference slate 9-0 on the road. That is a big accomplishment, but remember, the ACC just went to an 18-game schedule in 2012-13, so there were only six years where the feat could've been completed. The last team to go 8-0 on the road in the regular season was the 2011-12 Duke team.
In its most recent three-game stretch, Louisville was crushed by UNC and Duke, but then won at
Virginia Tech, 75-68. The Hokies then turned around and defeated Duke on Monday, which was funny enough in itself since Duke destroyed Tech in Durham, and UVa crushed Tech in Blacksburg but lost in Charlottesville; you get the idea. In conference play, it's always about what you bring to the court that night, because just about every game has the potential to be a toss-up. Along those lines, I think the Cardinals are going to bring a desperation and intensity to the game knowing they may be fighting for their NCAA tournament lives. Virginia has had their number since they've been in the ACC, but they definitely played UVa closer than expected at John Paul Jones Arena, and they are capable of giving the 'Hoos some fits at the KFC Yum! Center, one of the best arena names in the nation. I'm going to go out on a little bit of a limb, not a long one really, because Vegas has UVa as just a four-point favorite, and pick Louisville to pull the small upset.
Gut feeling: Louisville wins by 1-5 points.
The Cavaliers had, unsurprisingly, zero issues crushing Pittsburgh on Saturday, 66-37, holding the Panthers to an incredible seven points and one field goal in the first half, which tied UVa's record and the NCAA record for fewest field goals allowed in a half in history (UVa allowed Harvard one first-half field goal in Dec. 2014), and the seven points permitted in the half were the fewest for a half in the NCAA this season. Pittsburgh shot 4.5 percent in the half. Also, the victory wrapped up UVa's third regular-season ACC title in five years.
It was just a dominating performance that didn't mean much since Pitt is so bad, but still, it was good to see UVa put a bad team away early since it didn't really do that last Wednesday against Georgia Tech. De'Andre Hunter led the team by notching his first double-double, 14 points and 10 rebounds, and added three assists. He made both of his 3-point tries. Ty Jerome had 13 points, a rebound, and an assist and went 2 for 5 from beyond the arc. Nigel Johnson had his best game in awhile, recording 12 points, three assists, and a rebound. It was the first time he scored in double figures since putting up
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| De'Andre Hunter recorded a double-double, 14 points and 10 rebounds, at Pittsburgh. |
UVa goes on the road for the last time this season tonight to face Louisville, which the Cavaliers defeated, 74-64, at home Jan. 31 in a hard-fought game where Virginia scored 42 second-half points, one of their highest outputs in a half this season. In that contest, Anthony played for Johnson, who was suspended, and tallied 10 points off the bench. Kyle Guy led the way with 22 points on 10-of-21 shooting, while Ty Jerome had 16, including two late, back-breaking 3-pointers, and Devon Hall added 12 points. Louisville shot 50 percent from the field, went 8 for 18 on 3-pointers, and was led by 16 points from Ray Spalding, 15 from Deng Adel, and 10 from V.J. King. The team's second-leading scorer, Quentin Snider, was held to just five points. The Cardinals cut Virginia's 14-point lead to five with 3:47 left but got no closer. They were definitely one of the tougher opponents UVa has faced this year. But that loss started Louisville on a three-game slide, and the Cards have lost four of seven since, slowly creeping toward the NCAA tournament bubble.
Louisville (19-10, 9-7 ACC) still has an RPI of 38, considered fairly solid, but not great, for an NCAA at-large contender, and has two big chances to boost its resume, first with UVa, and then at N.C. State to finish up the regular season Saturday. Right now, the Cardinals are listed as one of the last four teams in the field on ESPN.com's Bracketology as an 11 seed, which is a little surprising to me. I would've expected them to be more solidly in the field. I think that at least one win over U.Va. or State and then at least one win in the ACC tournament would lock them in, but perhaps I am wrong, and so much depends on how the teams around Louisville do over the next week or as well. Right now, it sits eighth in the conference and after a bye would face Florida State in the second round of that tournament, which begins Tuesday in Brooklyn. If they were to win that game, they'd face UVa again. But there's a lot to shake out in regards to the standings still, which you can find here. Other media outlets are making a big deal out of the fact that UVa is trying to become the first ACC team to finish the conference slate 9-0 on the road. That is a big accomplishment, but remember, the ACC just went to an 18-game schedule in 2012-13, so there were only six years where the feat could've been completed. The last team to go 8-0 on the road in the regular season was the 2011-12 Duke team.
In its most recent three-game stretch, Louisville was crushed by UNC and Duke, but then won at
Gut feeling: Louisville wins by 1-5 points.
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