Virginia
What to Like: Dave Leitao has done a great job turning around a program that was pretty much in the gutter following the Jeff Jones era. Recruiting to Charlottesville is not an easy task, but he is doing very well with what he has.
What to Be Pleasantly Surprised By: How about everything? The Cavaliers were considered a lower tier team in the preseason, and the fact that they are one win away from clinching the ACC regular season title is a miracle in itself.
What Will Keep Them From Winning: Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds score in bunches (combined 36.8 points per game), but are two players who take the bulk of the shots. In their past four games, the two have managed to take 55% of their team's shots-- a percentage that will either make them (as it did in their win against Georiga Tech on combined 16-34 shooting), or break them (as it did against Miami on combined 9-23 shooting).
What We Don't Know: Can a team survive with virtually no inside presence in the NCAA tournament? History would suggest the answer would be no. And I side with history.
X-Factor: Jason Cain is the center for this team, and if they are going to win, he needs to up his production underneath. The Lopez brothers of Stanford went wild on the Cavaliers, combining for 27 points on 12-20 shooting. This kind of doughnut defense is going to be what separates this team from a first round exit, or an extended stay.
Who Do They Want to Play: Virginia can play with anybody if their outside shots are falling...
Who Don't They Want to Play: ...but playing against teams like Southern Illinois, Memphis, Pitt and Texas A&M are going to make that a tough strategy. Memphis and Pitt have outstanding athletes who will make Singletary and Reynolds work much harder for their shots than Greg Paulus did earlier this season, while Acie Law would do the same on Singletary. On the mid/low major front, I think Winthrop is a team that they do not want to see in round one.
Prediction: Third seed is possible, first round exit is likely.
(posted by JH)
2 comments:
Jeff Jones got canned in 97. Pete Gillen is the one who took UVA into the gutter.
"Dook is Dook. They're on tv more than LEAVE IT TO BEAVAH.....reruns"
This team is tough to figure out. I could see them getting bounced in the 1st round.
-PS
"This team is tough to figure out. I could see them getting bounced in the 1st round."
...of the ACC tournament, right?
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