No. 3 Virginia (22-2, 10-2) at No. 20 Virginia Tech (20-5, 9-4), 7 p.m. ESPN
The Cavaliers managed to get by Notre Dame, 60-54, on Saturday. It resembled the Miami game a lot, in that Virginia looked like it had the opportunity to take control on a few occasions and just couldn't find separation. UVa led by seven with 1:48 left, but the Fighting Irish cut the margin to two with 30 seconds left after a steal and layup. Luckily, unlike the North Carolina game, Virginia was solid on free throws, 14 of 17, and closed out the game from the line.
The offense was mostly based around De'Andre Hunter and Kyle Guy. Hunter recorded his first career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, making 2 of his 3 3-pointers. Guy had 22 points and was 4 of 10 from deep. Ty Jerome scored eight points and had three assists and three turnovers and was 2 of 3 on 3s. Kihei Clark started but did not score, going 0 for 4 beyond the arc. Jack Salt had two points. Mamadi Diakite came off the bench and scored five points to go along with five rebounds and a pair of blocks. Braxton Key had three points, five boards, and a block.
Missing from the box score was Jay Huff, who played just three minutes in the first half before being quickly pulled. It seems as if he made a defensive mistake that Tony Bennett wasn't happy about. Bennett sort of bristled at a postgame question about what he said to Huff as he came off the floor and said he couldn't remember. Granted, no coach should be happy about a mistake on defense, and they
especially irk Bennett obviously, but it seems like Huff could've helped open up an offense that was struggling and ended up shooting just 36.5 percent and 8 of 23 on 3s. Luckily, Notre Dame was only at 34.5 percent overall and 8 of 30 on 3s. Virginia didn't turn the ball over in the first half, continuing a trend from the end of the North Carolina game, but then had eight in the second half.
If Virginia is lucky enough to advance a few rounds into the NCAA tournament, there's likely going to be a time when it is going to need to find some way to shake up the offense and generate some points when shots aren't falling. It will be interesting to see what Bennett chooses to do in that situation. We know what his gut tells him, but having Clark and Salt out there for long stretches together against Notre Dame did no favors for the offense. Scoring 60 points in an Elite Eight game against Kentucky or Michigan probably won't cut it. Most of the fan base can see that Huff brings energy to the offense. Even if it isn't always instant production, it's an instant jolt, and adjustments need to be made by UVa's opponent to account for a 7-footer who can make 3-pointers.
Next up for the 'Hoos is a trip to Blacksburg to face Virginia Tech, and I feel like most any result is possible.
Virginia absolutely clobbered Tech in probably the best game its played this season Jan. 15, winning 81-59 at JPJ. In that victory, UVa shot 58.5 percent and made 13 of 24 3s. Hunter had 21 points, Guy 15, and Jerome 13. They were supplemented nicely by nine from Clark, who actually made all three of his 3s, and seven each from Key and Huff, who had four of his points on resounding dunks in the blowout's final minutes.
Since that meeting, the Hokies have gone 6-3, with wins over Wake Forest, Syracuse, Miami, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, and Pittsburgh, and losses to Clemson, Louisville, and North Carolina. The huge storyline for Tech has been the absence of senior star point guard Justin Robinson, who has been out since the Feb. 2 game against N.C. State with a toe injury. He got hurt the game before that one vs. Miami. He's expected to be back by the time the NCAA tournament starts. He's averaging 14.4
points, 5.5 assists, and 3.4 rebounds, so it's a major loss for Tech, and its offense has taken a hit, as expected. At N.C. State, the Hokies scored only 47 points, but won 47-24 because of both an historically good game defensively and an incredibly bad game offensively from the Wolfpack. But counting the Miami game in which Robinson recorded 17 points in 19 minutes, the Hokies averaged 74.8 points in eight ACC games with him. In the five games since? Just 61.6 points. But Tech does own a winning 3-2 record without Robinson.
In the earlier game at UVa, Robinson had nine points. Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Hokies with 19 points, and Ahmed Hill had 14. Tech didn't get much of anything from its role players, with Kerry Blackshear Jr. putting up just six, well below his current average of 14. Blackshear is averaging 19.2 points with Robinson out of the lineup, and just had 29 at Pitt. Ty Outlaw scored seven points in Charlottesville, and PJ Horne had four. Wabissa Bede and Isaiah Wilkins (yep, Tech has an Isaiah Wilkins now) did not score. Outlaw has been starting with Robinson out, and even with a zero-point effort against State, he's averaging 9.8 points in the five games, vs. 8.5 for the season, so he has picked it up some with Robinson unable to contribute. Indeed, it's going to take big games from a couple of players probably for the Hokies to knock off the Cavaliers, and perhaps an unexpected performance from someone.
But if UVa is again struggling to get into the 60s, it will definitely be a close game. The Hokies should be safely in the NCAA tournament even with Robinson out since they haven't completely collapsed, so they won't be desperate for a big win per se, but they'll have a lot of pride on the line after getting embarrassed in January, and because they've been able to split the season series with UVa the past three seasons.
I'm really not sure what to expect. Virginia is favored by about four points. I could see another fairly easy win, a close victory, or a Hokies upset. And if UVa's chemistry is a looking a little off and Tech starts to get lucky with some shots, maybe it could even win by close to 10 points. Virginia has been very up and down, with good stretches and bad stretches both being fairly common in recent games. It's been a while since there's been a complete-game effort, like the one the Wahoos gave in the beatdown of the Hokies. I called a Tech win in Blacksburg at the beginning of the season, so I'm going to stick with that prediction.
Gut feeling: Virginia Tech wins by 1-5 points.
The Cavaliers managed to get by Notre Dame, 60-54, on Saturday. It resembled the Miami game a lot, in that Virginia looked like it had the opportunity to take control on a few occasions and just couldn't find separation. UVa led by seven with 1:48 left, but the Fighting Irish cut the margin to two with 30 seconds left after a steal and layup. Luckily, unlike the North Carolina game, Virginia was solid on free throws, 14 of 17, and closed out the game from the line.
The offense was mostly based around De'Andre Hunter and Kyle Guy. Hunter recorded his first career double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, making 2 of his 3 3-pointers. Guy had 22 points and was 4 of 10 from deep. Ty Jerome scored eight points and had three assists and three turnovers and was 2 of 3 on 3s. Kihei Clark started but did not score, going 0 for 4 beyond the arc. Jack Salt had two points. Mamadi Diakite came off the bench and scored five points to go along with five rebounds and a pair of blocks. Braxton Key had three points, five boards, and a block.
Missing from the box score was Jay Huff, who played just three minutes in the first half before being quickly pulled. It seems as if he made a defensive mistake that Tony Bennett wasn't happy about. Bennett sort of bristled at a postgame question about what he said to Huff as he came off the floor and said he couldn't remember. Granted, no coach should be happy about a mistake on defense, and they
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| Kyle Guy has scored at least 20 points in two straight games and is averaging 19.3 points in his past three. |
If Virginia is lucky enough to advance a few rounds into the NCAA tournament, there's likely going to be a time when it is going to need to find some way to shake up the offense and generate some points when shots aren't falling. It will be interesting to see what Bennett chooses to do in that situation. We know what his gut tells him, but having Clark and Salt out there for long stretches together against Notre Dame did no favors for the offense. Scoring 60 points in an Elite Eight game against Kentucky or Michigan probably won't cut it. Most of the fan base can see that Huff brings energy to the offense. Even if it isn't always instant production, it's an instant jolt, and adjustments need to be made by UVa's opponent to account for a 7-footer who can make 3-pointers.
Next up for the 'Hoos is a trip to Blacksburg to face Virginia Tech, and I feel like most any result is possible.
Virginia absolutely clobbered Tech in probably the best game its played this season Jan. 15, winning 81-59 at JPJ. In that victory, UVa shot 58.5 percent and made 13 of 24 3s. Hunter had 21 points, Guy 15, and Jerome 13. They were supplemented nicely by nine from Clark, who actually made all three of his 3s, and seven each from Key and Huff, who had four of his points on resounding dunks in the blowout's final minutes.
Since that meeting, the Hokies have gone 6-3, with wins over Wake Forest, Syracuse, Miami, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, and Pittsburgh, and losses to Clemson, Louisville, and North Carolina. The huge storyline for Tech has been the absence of senior star point guard Justin Robinson, who has been out since the Feb. 2 game against N.C. State with a toe injury. He got hurt the game before that one vs. Miami. He's expected to be back by the time the NCAA tournament starts. He's averaging 14.4
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| In ACC play, Virginia Tech is averaging about 13 fewer points without Justin Robinson than with him. |
In the earlier game at UVa, Robinson had nine points. Nickeil Alexander-Walker led the Hokies with 19 points, and Ahmed Hill had 14. Tech didn't get much of anything from its role players, with Kerry Blackshear Jr. putting up just six, well below his current average of 14. Blackshear is averaging 19.2 points with Robinson out of the lineup, and just had 29 at Pitt. Ty Outlaw scored seven points in Charlottesville, and PJ Horne had four. Wabissa Bede and Isaiah Wilkins (yep, Tech has an Isaiah Wilkins now) did not score. Outlaw has been starting with Robinson out, and even with a zero-point effort against State, he's averaging 9.8 points in the five games, vs. 8.5 for the season, so he has picked it up some with Robinson unable to contribute. Indeed, it's going to take big games from a couple of players probably for the Hokies to knock off the Cavaliers, and perhaps an unexpected performance from someone.
But if UVa is again struggling to get into the 60s, it will definitely be a close game. The Hokies should be safely in the NCAA tournament even with Robinson out since they haven't completely collapsed, so they won't be desperate for a big win per se, but they'll have a lot of pride on the line after getting embarrassed in January, and because they've been able to split the season series with UVa the past three seasons.
I'm really not sure what to expect. Virginia is favored by about four points. I could see another fairly easy win, a close victory, or a Hokies upset. And if UVa's chemistry is a looking a little off and Tech starts to get lucky with some shots, maybe it could even win by close to 10 points. Virginia has been very up and down, with good stretches and bad stretches both being fairly common in recent games. It's been a while since there's been a complete-game effort, like the one the Wahoos gave in the beatdown of the Hokies. I called a Tech win in Blacksburg at the beginning of the season, so I'm going to stick with that prediction.
Gut feeling: Virginia Tech wins by 1-5 points.
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