Watching Virginia work with a lead down the stretch in a close game is like watching a football team keep the ball on the ground play after play, slowly churning out first downs and running out the clock at the end of a game.
It may not be the most exciting for the casual fan, but it sure is satisfying for the winners, especially when it happens on the road. And for those on the other side and if one is of any sporting mind, it’s mighty hard not to respect a team that can simply impose its will and accomplish just what it wants when the game is on the line.
As it feels like they so often do, the Cavaliers pulled away slowly Monday night, eventually beating rival Virginia Tech by a 64-58 final score that doesn’t indicate the thoroughness of UVA’s ownership of the second half.
A three-point game at halftime and a tie game early in the second half slowly turned as the Cavaliers inched out to lead by two, then three, then four. Eventually it went up to six, then eight, then 10 points. Three yards and a cloud of dust, essentially, and that should be a compliment, not a put-down. And as is well-known, once you fall behind Virginia by that much, it’s a long, long road back.
Kyle Guy scored 23 points and hit six three-pointers, or three more than the Hokies made in 28 attempts. One of the top three-point shooting teams in the country, Tech shot 10.7% from there, making just 3 of 28. On the other end, Virginia as a team hit 11 of 27 from long range and regularly seemed to come up with daggers at the end of the shot clock.
VPI received another terrific performance from Kerry Blackshear (23 points, 13 rebounds), who is doing huge work trying to make up for the loss of Justin Robinson, but his teammates combined to make just 13 of 44 shots. On the other hand, evidence of just how hard the Hokies are having to work to make up for Robinson’s loss is seen in that four of the five starters played all 40 minutes.
Virginia, meanwhile, improved to 23-2 and continues to look the part of a legitimate national title contender. A frightening thing for some might be that, even as they keep winning, the Wahoos are still not firing on all cylinders offensively; turnovers have been a recent issue, and UVA committed 13 in this game, a sizeable number for as relatively few possessions as the Cavaliers get.
Whether one enjoys their style or not (we have no problem with it whatsoever), if one watches and tries to understand what Virginia does, they should be able to have a deep appreciation for it. The Cavaliers are a true team in every sense-not a one- or two-man show-and they’re a team that dictates, rather than letting the opponent do the same. UVA also does it in a way that is increasingly more difficult in a sport where the rules have swung heavily in favor of offense. Even if one doesn’t enjoy it, they should have a grudging admiration for it.
Side Dishes:
- Kansas State was impressive with a workmanlike 65-51 win at West Virginia. The Mountaineers received a good push from a solid home crowd in hanging around in this one for more than a half, but the Wildcats pulled away to get to 10-3 in the Big 12. Barry Brown scored 21, Xavier Sneed pitched in with 19 including five three-pointers and Dean Wade returned and scored 10. Still jarring about the Kitties is the lack of bench production: just two points and four rebounds (though 10 fouls) in this one.
- On the other hand, TCU is falling to ‘uh-oh’ status after a 68-61 loss at Oklahoma State. An NCAA Tournament at-large team simply has to win games like this on the road against the worst teams in its conference. The Horned Frogs made a gallant run to cut a double-digit deficit down to a single-possession game late, but then appeared to press a bit in the final minutes, not a good sign. Thomas Dziagwa tied a career high with 23 for OSU.
- Wisconsin outlasted Illinois 64-58 with Brad Davison making the plays down the stretch and finishing with 18 points while Ethan Happ scored only six. Maybe now the nonsense about the Fighting Illini getting an at-large bid can stop; even with 15 losses it wasn’t even worth discussing unless they ran the table to the Big Ten title game. Now with 16 losses, the chances should be non-existent.
- Norfolk State handled North Carolina A&T 76-58, and the Spartans at this point are the clear team to beat in the MEAC. Norfolk held the Aggies to 32.2% shooting and received 32 points from its bench.
- Prairie View A&M continues to lead the SWAC after a 92-87 win at Grambling State. The Panthers took advantage of 24 Tiger turnovers and hit 27 of 34 free throws to score a season high.
- The Patriot League’s weekly Monday night game saw young Boston University win at Holy Cross 70-60. The Crusaders were unable to build on the win over first-place Bucknell on Saturday. HC’s Jehyve Floyd-one of the more exciting players in the country that few know about-had another outstanding game with 18 points, 12 boards and five blocks, but BU hit 14 of 27 from three-point range, including six triples and 20 points from freshman Jonas Harper.
- One game in the Big Sky Monday night saw Eastern Washington drill Idaho 82-57, shooting 53.2%. The Eagles are lurking just behind the top tier in the league and could still be dangerous in March.
- We mentioned Arizona Hall of Fame former coach Lute Olson briefly yesterday and the Wildcats not having a losing streak like their current seven-game stretch since the year before he took over in Tucson. It was reported Monday that Olson had a, quote, “minor” stroke, but that the 84-year old is in good condition and is expected to make a full recovery.
Tonight’s Menu:
- The night starts in the Atlantic 10, where it’s go time if Dayton is going to rally back and challenge for the regular season title. The Flyers lost by a point to co-leader VCU on Saturday and now are at the other co-leader Davidson (6 p.m. Eastern, CBSSN).
- Vanderbilt is at Tennessee (7 p.m., ESPN). Let’s see how the Volunteers bounce back after the decisive loss at Kentucky this weekend. On the other side of that, the Wildcats have a potential trap as they travel to Missouri (9 p.m., ESPN).
- Two old rivals square off with Purdue at Indiana (7 p.m., ESPN2), and you can bet the hype about the Hoosiers’ NCAA Tournament tracks will go off the tracks if they win. (Editorial comment: even with a win IU shouldn’t be close to the NCAAs at this time). Another big one in the Big Ten: Maryland is at Iowa in a matchup of two top-25 teams (8 p.m., Big Ten Network).
- Bowling Green is still hanging with Buffalo at the top of the MAC, and the Falcons host Akron.
- Mississippi is back on the upswing with four straight wins. The Rebels are at South Carolina (7 p.m., SEC Network).
- Quinnipiac is tied with Canisius for the top spot in the Metro Atlantic, but Iona (one game back) can tighten up the race for the top spot if it wins on the road at the Bobcats.
- Likewise, surging Bradley (four straight victories) can bring one of the Missouri Valley’s top teams closer to the pack if it can win at Drake in a matchup of the league’s two oldest members.
- A tricky game for streaking Florida State is it goes to Clemson (9 p.m., ESPNU), which could badly use the quality win boost a victory here would provide.
- Baylor has cooled off of late, and now it hits the road to take on Iowa State (9 p.m., ESPN2). The Bears already defeated the Cyclones once this year.
- As expected, Alabama has played its way back onto the bubble, which means the Crimson Tide are now due for a win at Texas A&M (9 p.m., SEC Network).
Enjoy your Super Tuesday.
Twitter: @HoopvilleAdam
