Virginia returns home after Duke loss to take on struggling Wake Forest, which does own one great win over N.C. State
Wake Forest (8-9, 1-4) at No. 3 Virginia (16-1, 4-1), 9 p.m. ACC Network
In the interest of time and my sleep schedule, I'll save any commentary for the Duke loss until after the Wake Forest game, that is assuming the Cavaliers take care of the Demon Deacons. You never know in sports, as UVa fans know all too well, but Wake isn't great this season. Here's more on the Deacons:
Scorers in double figures: Junior guard Brandon Childress (16.8), freshman forward Jaylen Hoard (14.3), sophomore guard Chaundee Brown (11.4)
Leading rebounders: Hoard (8.1), sophomore center Olivier Sarr (5.4), Brown (4.5), freshman forward Isaiah Mucius (3.8)
Assist leaders: Childress (4.2), Brown (1.4), Hoard (1.4), senior guard Torry Johnson (1.3)
Notable: Eight players average double-figure minutes. Mucius (7.5), freshman guard Sharrone Wright Jr. (7.1), Sarr (5.9), and Johnson (5.8) all score regularly. Childress averages 1.8 steals, and Brown and Hoard average almost one. Sarr averages a block.
Best win: No. 17 N.C. State, 71-67, last week at home
Worst win: 71-64 vs. Western Carolina; the Catamounts are 5-16
Other wins: North Carolina A&T, Cal State Fullerton, Valparaiso, Charlotte, Davidson, Cornell
Best loss: At Georgia Tech, 92-79, on Jan. 5. The Yellow Jackets are 10-8 and own a win over Syracuse, which won at Duke
Worst loss: At home vs. Houston Baptist, 93-91, two months ago. The Huskies of the Southland
Conference are 5-11.
Other losses: Saint Joseph's, Richmond, Tennessee, Gardner-Webb, Duke, Miami, Virginia Tech
What Wake Forest does well: Wake Forest sports a healthy rebound margin of +5.2 (52nd). The Demon Deacons shoot pretty well from the line at 72.2 percent (113th). They also hold teams to 32.2 percent on 3s (93rd).
What Wake Forest doesn't do well: The Deacons have many weaknesses this year. They score only 73.2 ppg (191st) and shoot just 42.1 percent from the field (291st) and 32.2 percent from beyond the arc (270th). Wake is giving up 75 ppg (260th) and allows opponents to shoot 45.9 percent from the field (285th). That must mean it gives up a lot of easy buckets since its 3-point field goal percentage is pretty good. Wake averages 13.1 turnovers per game (157th), a -1.85 TO margin (tied, 289th), and only 10.8 assists per game (332nd). The Deacons' assist-turnover ratio is +.82 (302nd), and they aren't impressive in terms of blocks or steals per game, 5.2 (tied, 299th), 2.6 (tied, 266th), respectively.
Brandon Childress, the son of Wake legend Randolph, is a really good player, but otherwise, this team is struggling. Childress is the Demon Deacons' biggest threat from beyond the arc at 44 percent, which places him eighth in the ACC, and his points and assists marks are 10th and sixth best in the conference. Brown is the only other player shooting better than 30 percent on 3s (32.9).
I think Wake Forest's upset victory over N.C. State should allow Tony Bennett to get the Wahoos' attention and snap them out of any possible funk they are in following the loss in Durham. Still, this has been a tough opening stretch for Virginia, both in strength of opponents and number of ACC games in a short stretch, and I think it might show a little against Wake, a team Virginia might be able to sleep walk against and still beat. I expect UVa to win and win easily (it is a 24-point favorite), but after having to get up the intensity level against Virginia Tech and Duke in back-to-back games, I could see the team looking a little lazy at first, and the first half might be closer than UVa fans would want. Eventually, though, in the second half, the team will get the margin above 20 points before some late substitutions make the final score look closer.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 15-20 points.
In the interest of time and my sleep schedule, I'll save any commentary for the Duke loss until after the Wake Forest game, that is assuming the Cavaliers take care of the Demon Deacons. You never know in sports, as UVa fans know all too well, but Wake isn't great this season. Here's more on the Deacons:
Scorers in double figures: Junior guard Brandon Childress (16.8), freshman forward Jaylen Hoard (14.3), sophomore guard Chaundee Brown (11.4)
Leading rebounders: Hoard (8.1), sophomore center Olivier Sarr (5.4), Brown (4.5), freshman forward Isaiah Mucius (3.8)
Assist leaders: Childress (4.2), Brown (1.4), Hoard (1.4), senior guard Torry Johnson (1.3)
Notable: Eight players average double-figure minutes. Mucius (7.5), freshman guard Sharrone Wright Jr. (7.1), Sarr (5.9), and Johnson (5.8) all score regularly. Childress averages 1.8 steals, and Brown and Hoard average almost one. Sarr averages a block.
Best win: No. 17 N.C. State, 71-67, last week at home
Worst win: 71-64 vs. Western Carolina; the Catamounts are 5-16
Other wins: North Carolina A&T, Cal State Fullerton, Valparaiso, Charlotte, Davidson, Cornell
Best loss: At Georgia Tech, 92-79, on Jan. 5. The Yellow Jackets are 10-8 and own a win over Syracuse, which won at Duke
Worst loss: At home vs. Houston Baptist, 93-91, two months ago. The Huskies of the Southland
Other losses: Saint Joseph's, Richmond, Tennessee, Gardner-Webb, Duke, Miami, Virginia Tech
What Wake Forest does well: Wake Forest sports a healthy rebound margin of +5.2 (52nd). The Demon Deacons shoot pretty well from the line at 72.2 percent (113th). They also hold teams to 32.2 percent on 3s (93rd).
What Wake Forest doesn't do well: The Deacons have many weaknesses this year. They score only 73.2 ppg (191st) and shoot just 42.1 percent from the field (291st) and 32.2 percent from beyond the arc (270th). Wake is giving up 75 ppg (260th) and allows opponents to shoot 45.9 percent from the field (285th). That must mean it gives up a lot of easy buckets since its 3-point field goal percentage is pretty good. Wake averages 13.1 turnovers per game (157th), a -1.85 TO margin (tied, 289th), and only 10.8 assists per game (332nd). The Deacons' assist-turnover ratio is +.82 (302nd), and they aren't impressive in terms of blocks or steals per game, 5.2 (tied, 299th), 2.6 (tied, 266th), respectively.
Brandon Childress, the son of Wake legend Randolph, is a really good player, but otherwise, this team is struggling. Childress is the Demon Deacons' biggest threat from beyond the arc at 44 percent, which places him eighth in the ACC, and his points and assists marks are 10th and sixth best in the conference. Brown is the only other player shooting better than 30 percent on 3s (32.9).
I think Wake Forest's upset victory over N.C. State should allow Tony Bennett to get the Wahoos' attention and snap them out of any possible funk they are in following the loss in Durham. Still, this has been a tough opening stretch for Virginia, both in strength of opponents and number of ACC games in a short stretch, and I think it might show a little against Wake, a team Virginia might be able to sleep walk against and still beat. I expect UVa to win and win easily (it is a 24-point favorite), but after having to get up the intensity level against Virginia Tech and Duke in back-to-back games, I could see the team looking a little lazy at first, and the first half might be closer than UVa fans would want. Eventually, though, in the second half, the team will get the margin above 20 points before some late substitutions make the final score look closer.
Gut feeling: Virginia wins by 15-20 points.
Comments
Post a Comment