No. 1 Virginia vs. Louisville in Brooklyn, Noon ACC Network/ESPN2
The Cavaliers closed out the regular season by defeating a game Notre Dame squad Saturday at home, 62-57. Devon Hall, fittingly, on senior day led the team with a great all-around effort of 17 points, six assists, five rebounds, and one steal. The other senior, Isaiah Wilkins, had a typical workmanlike performance, recording eight points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block. Graduate senior Nigel Johnson got the start since it was senior night but just had one free throw. Ty Jerome had 13 points and made 3 of his 5 3-pointers to go along with four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. De'Andre Hunter tallied 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal. Mamadi Diakite scored nine points and added two rebounds and a block.
Kyle Guy went down in a heap in the first half, but he ended up being OK with a sprained MCL in his
knee. He didn't score in the game, but he did come back in the second half. He said his knee hurt, but that he's expecting to the play in the ACC tournament. If there's any doubt, though, I would think and hope that the staff would sit him out and get him fully ready for the NCAA tournament.
On Sunday, the league's coaches and media members revealed their all-ACC selections, and UVa was highly decorated. Tony Bennett was named coach of the year, Wilkins got defensive player of the year, and Hunter received sixth man of the year. Additionally, Guy made first-team all-ACC, Hall was on the second team, and Jerome made the third team. For a team known for its collective identity more than for individual players, it was good to see the players recognized for how good they are. Bennett has said all season that the talent on the team is underrated.
Defeating Notre Dame was good because if the Irish had won, they would have set up a possible rematch with Virginia in the ACC tournament quarterfinals as a No. 8 or 9 seed. And the Irish are playing much better now that they are healthier. They had some trouble with Pittsburgh in the first round Tuesday but won, and then Wednesday, they overcame a 21-point deficit to top Virginia Tech, 71-65. All of a sudden, Notre Dame is 20-13 and aiming for an NCAA tournament at-large bid. If it knocks off Duke in the quarterfinals, it is starting to have a real case.
But Virginia's opponent is ... Louisville, which built a big lead against Florida State on Wednesday and then held on in a 82-74 victory. The Cardinals (20-12), of course, just last Thursday were shocked at the end of their regular-season home finale when Virginia (28-2) scored five points in 0.9 seconds to win a game 67-66 that it trailed in by nine points with under four minutes remaining and by 13 about midway through the second half. Jerome had 21 points, Kyle Guy and Hall had 10 each, and Hunter scored seven points, including the game-winning banked-in 3, as did Wilkins. Louisville was led by 18 points from Deng Adel, who ran the baseline when he wasn't supposed to, giving the ball to UVa for the winner, and 16 from Ray Spalding. Quentin Snider put up 13 points and made 3 of his 6 3-pointers. In the first half and most of the second half, it was amazing to see how many UVa shots seemed to be halfway down and go out and how many times the Cavaliers didn't get a favorable bounce. On the other hand, everything seemed to be going in for the Cardinals. But by the end of the game, the stats had evened out. Virginia shot 42.9 percent overall and on 3-pointers, and Louisville was at 41.3 and 40 percent, respectively.
Louisville has played UVa tough in two games this season. The other one came Jan. 31 in Charlottesville, a game the Cavaliers won, 74-64. There's no doubt Louisville is going to be hungry and eager to get another shot at the Cavaliers. Before the Cavaliers' road win last week over the Cardinals, I said I thought Louisville would be in the NCAA tournament with a win over UVa or N.C. State in their regular-season finale, and then one win in the ACC tournament. The Cardinals secured the victory over FSU in the ACC tournament, but they didn't beat UVa or State. The loss to the Wolfpack made me think that Louisville's spirit had been broken by the Wahoos, but the Cardinals came out and looked
great against the Seminoles. So now the question becomes is Louisville in the field or not? Once again, the Cardinals' performance against UVa could either make or break their tournament chances. ESPN.com has Louisville listed as the last team in the field. I would say Louisville is definitely going dancing if it upsets Virginia, and if it doesn't, it'll be holding its breath, and I'm not sure which way the decision will go.
I'm thankful that Virginia isn't facing a revived Notre Dame squad, but Louisville is no picnic. The Cavaliers have a tough game on their hands. A loss wouldn't surprise me and wouldn't be the worst thing to happen. The most important thing is for UVa to get and stay healthy for the beginning of the NCAA tournament. An ACC tournament crown would be a huge bonus, but otherwise, there isn't a lot on the line. Virginia won the tournament in 2013-14, the school's first ACC tourney title since 1976, and that was great, but the program is at a point now where the NCAA tournament is the bigger deal. For all of Bennett's accomplishments, it is well known that he hasn't reached a Final Four yet. Pretty much every fan at this point would take that over an ACC tournament championship. Plus, ACC tournament champions haven't performed incredibly well in the past few NCAA tournaments. The only thing on the line for UVa as far as NCAA tournament seeding goes is maybe the No. 1 overall seed. If UVa loses to Louisville, and Villanova, Xavier, or Duke goes on a run to win their tournament titles, one of those teams could snag the No. 1 overall seed away from Virginia (Xavier and 'Nova are both in the Big East, so only one can win it). But Virginia is definitely getting some kind of No. 1 seed.
I'm going to take Virginia in a close victory. A motivated Louisville squad that might need one more big win to go dancing and has played the 'Hoos very tough in two matchups is not going to bow out easily.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 1-5 points.
The Cavaliers closed out the regular season by defeating a game Notre Dame squad Saturday at home, 62-57. Devon Hall, fittingly, on senior day led the team with a great all-around effort of 17 points, six assists, five rebounds, and one steal. The other senior, Isaiah Wilkins, had a typical workmanlike performance, recording eight points, six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block. Graduate senior Nigel Johnson got the start since it was senior night but just had one free throw. Ty Jerome had 13 points and made 3 of his 5 3-pointers to go along with four rebounds, three assists, and two steals. De'Andre Hunter tallied 10 points, six rebounds, two assists, a block, and a steal. Mamadi Diakite scored nine points and added two rebounds and a block.
Kyle Guy went down in a heap in the first half, but he ended up being OK with a sprained MCL in his
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| Devon Hall (17 points) led the 'Hoos to a tough win over Notre Dame on senior day. |
On Sunday, the league's coaches and media members revealed their all-ACC selections, and UVa was highly decorated. Tony Bennett was named coach of the year, Wilkins got defensive player of the year, and Hunter received sixth man of the year. Additionally, Guy made first-team all-ACC, Hall was on the second team, and Jerome made the third team. For a team known for its collective identity more than for individual players, it was good to see the players recognized for how good they are. Bennett has said all season that the talent on the team is underrated.
Defeating Notre Dame was good because if the Irish had won, they would have set up a possible rematch with Virginia in the ACC tournament quarterfinals as a No. 8 or 9 seed. And the Irish are playing much better now that they are healthier. They had some trouble with Pittsburgh in the first round Tuesday but won, and then Wednesday, they overcame a 21-point deficit to top Virginia Tech, 71-65. All of a sudden, Notre Dame is 20-13 and aiming for an NCAA tournament at-large bid. If it knocks off Duke in the quarterfinals, it is starting to have a real case.
But Virginia's opponent is ... Louisville, which built a big lead against Florida State on Wednesday and then held on in a 82-74 victory. The Cardinals (20-12), of course, just last Thursday were shocked at the end of their regular-season home finale when Virginia (28-2) scored five points in 0.9 seconds to win a game 67-66 that it trailed in by nine points with under four minutes remaining and by 13 about midway through the second half. Jerome had 21 points, Kyle Guy and Hall had 10 each, and Hunter scored seven points, including the game-winning banked-in 3, as did Wilkins. Louisville was led by 18 points from Deng Adel, who ran the baseline when he wasn't supposed to, giving the ball to UVa for the winner, and 16 from Ray Spalding. Quentin Snider put up 13 points and made 3 of his 6 3-pointers. In the first half and most of the second half, it was amazing to see how many UVa shots seemed to be halfway down and go out and how many times the Cavaliers didn't get a favorable bounce. On the other hand, everything seemed to be going in for the Cardinals. But by the end of the game, the stats had evened out. Virginia shot 42.9 percent overall and on 3-pointers, and Louisville was at 41.3 and 40 percent, respectively.
Louisville has played UVa tough in two games this season. The other one came Jan. 31 in Charlottesville, a game the Cavaliers won, 74-64. There's no doubt Louisville is going to be hungry and eager to get another shot at the Cavaliers. Before the Cavaliers' road win last week over the Cardinals, I said I thought Louisville would be in the NCAA tournament with a win over UVa or N.C. State in their regular-season finale, and then one win in the ACC tournament. The Cardinals secured the victory over FSU in the ACC tournament, but they didn't beat UVa or State. The loss to the Wolfpack made me think that Louisville's spirit had been broken by the Wahoos, but the Cardinals came out and looked
I'm thankful that Virginia isn't facing a revived Notre Dame squad, but Louisville is no picnic. The Cavaliers have a tough game on their hands. A loss wouldn't surprise me and wouldn't be the worst thing to happen. The most important thing is for UVa to get and stay healthy for the beginning of the NCAA tournament. An ACC tournament crown would be a huge bonus, but otherwise, there isn't a lot on the line. Virginia won the tournament in 2013-14, the school's first ACC tourney title since 1976, and that was great, but the program is at a point now where the NCAA tournament is the bigger deal. For all of Bennett's accomplishments, it is well known that he hasn't reached a Final Four yet. Pretty much every fan at this point would take that over an ACC tournament championship. Plus, ACC tournament champions haven't performed incredibly well in the past few NCAA tournaments. The only thing on the line for UVa as far as NCAA tournament seeding goes is maybe the No. 1 overall seed. If UVa loses to Louisville, and Villanova, Xavier, or Duke goes on a run to win their tournament titles, one of those teams could snag the No. 1 overall seed away from Virginia (Xavier and 'Nova are both in the Big East, so only one can win it). But Virginia is definitely getting some kind of No. 1 seed.
I'm going to take Virginia in a close victory. A motivated Louisville squad that might need one more big win to go dancing and has played the 'Hoos very tough in two matchups is not going to bow out easily.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 1-5 points.
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