Virginia Cavaliers
ACC (26-7, 13-5)
Virginia may not have lived up to their lofty preseason expectations, but they were not too far off. After beating Notre Dame to begin ACC action, UVA lost to Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech. Those two losses pretty much put them out of the ACC title race. But once the Cavaliers got rolling, they were playing their usual tough defense and beating some very good teams.
Big Wins: 12/19 Villanova (86-75), 1/12 Miami (66-58), 2/27 North Carolina (79-74)
Bad Losses: 1/4 at Virginia Tech (68-70), 1/9 at Georgia Tech (64-68), 1/17 at Florida State (62-69)
Coach: Tony Bennett
Why They Can Surprise:
Virginia is not going to get blown out by anybody. Their style of play simply does not allow that. And as long as the Cavaliers are close, they can win thanks to the scoring prowess of Malcolm Brogdon. The 6-5 senior is averaging 18.7 points, 2.8 assists and 4.1 rebounds this year and shooting 40.9 percent from beyond the arc. Speaking of shooters, point guard London Perrantes has turned into a great three-point marksman. He could still stand to be more aggressive attacking the basket, but it is tough to complain about his 11.0 points and 4.4 assists per game or his 48.1 shooting percentage from beyond the arc. The interior scoring threat is Anthony Gill, a 6-8 senior. He is the team’s top rebounder and has proven to be a very effective scorer in the paint.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Virginia rarely beats themselves. They take care of the ball and share the ball extremely well. And for the most part they play great defense. However, this year their three-point defense has been a little disappointing. If a team can get hot from beyond the arc, like Duke, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech did in victories over the Cavaliers, this is a beatable team. On the other side of the floor, Virginia can be stagnant at times. Perrantes and Brogdon carry a lot of pressure to make shots and if their shots are not falling, all that Coach Tony Bennett has left is Gill in the paint. Rarely does Virginia get significant offensive contributions from players like Mike Tobey, Darius Thompson, Isaiah Wilkins, Devon Hall or Marial Shayok. Brogdon and Perrantes better be knocking down shots or the opposition can pack it in, play defense a bit like Virginia, and stop Gill in the paint.
Probable Starters:
London Perrantes, Junior, Guard, 11.0 ppg, 4.4 apg, 3.0 rpg
Malcolm Brogdon, Senior, Guard, 18.7 ppg, 2.8 apg, 4.1 rpg
Devon Hall, Sophomore, Guard, 4.5 ppg, 1.8 apg, 2.5 rpg
Isaiah Wilkins, Sophomore, Forward, 4.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 1.4 apg
Anthony Gill, Senior, Forward, 13.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
Evan Nolte, Senior, Forward, 1.9 ppg
Marial Shayok, Sophomore, Guard, 3.9 ppg, 1.1 apg
Darius Thompson, Sophomore, Guard, 4.2 ppg, 1.5 apg
Mike Tobey, Senior, Center, 6.8 ppg, 4.3 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 70.7 (240th in nation, 12th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 59.6 (2, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 48.9 (11, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 41.6 (83, 4)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.0 (278, 12)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 40.7 (10, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 76.1 (13, 1)
Rebound Margin: 3.7 (64, 6)
Assists Per Game: 14.5 (98, 3)
Turnovers Per Game: 9.4 (5, 2)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2015 NCAA Second Round win over Belmont
2015 NCAA Third Round loss to Michigan State
2014 NCAA Second Round win over Coastal Carolina
2014 NCAA Third Round win over Memphis
2014 NCAA Regional Semifinal loss to Michigan State
2013 NIT First Round win over Norfolk State
2013 NIT Second Round win over St. John's
2013 NIT Quarterfinal loss to Iowa
2012 NCAA Second Round loss to Florida
2008 CBI First Round win over Richmond
2008 CBI Second Round win over Old Dominion
2008 CBI Semifinal loss to Bradley
2007 NCAA Round of 64 win over Albany
2007 NCAA Round of 32 loss Tennessee
2006 NIT First Round loss to Stanford
2004 NIT First Round win over George Washington
2004 NIT Second Round loss to Villanova
2003 NIT First Round win over Brown
2003 NIT Second Round loss to St. Johns
*all team stats through 3/6
