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Justin Anderson
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Robert Barnes
18 Jan, 2023
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Virginia at Louisville Basketball Preview
y Josh Burton
Coming off a disheartening 54-52 loss to SMU, the University of Virginia Men’s Basketball team is now 8-9 (1-5 in ACC play) and will once again try to right the ship as the Hoos head to Louisville to take on the Cardinals on Saturday. This one will tip at noon and air on ESPN2.
Louisville Lineup
Louisville has tweaked their lineup since we last saw them. One key bench player now starts as they have gone smaller with four guard lineups over their last 2 games. It has worked well for the Cards, having picked up road wins at Pitt and Syracuse. They now start:
G - #24 Chucky Hepburn (6’2” Senior, Wisconsin transfer, 15.6 points and 5.7 assists per game)
G - #5 Terrence Edwards Jr. (6’6” Super Senior, JMU transfer, 13.3 points per game)
G - #1 J’Vonne Hadley (6’6” Senior, Colorado transfer, 11.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game)
G - #6 Reyne Smith (6’2” Senior, Charleston transfer, 13.3 points per game)
F - #0 James Scott (6’11” Sophomore, Charleston transfer, 7.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game)
Smith had a big game against the Hoos last time. He'll certainly have the team's attention as they try and prevent him from getting open looks.
Blake’s Ballin’
Although the buzzer-beating loss to SMU was tough, there were some positives to take away. The team battled hard and even came back to take the lead after going down multiple possessions. In contract to recent contests when issues seemed to snowball into blowout margins. They hung tight against SMU, just couldn’t close the door.
The biggest star of the night was second-year forward Blake Buchanan. Blake provided a major lift for the Hoos, recording 11 points and 15 rebounds. He recently passed 800 career minutes, which has often been a turning point benchmark in the careers of past UVA big men. Look for Blake to try and build on that success.
As always, pregame coverage will begin 30 minutes before tip. Also, if you haven’t heard, our annual Locker Room Access meetup is next weekend before the Notre Dame game. Be sure to follow the forum for more details!
(Featured Image Credit: Josie Drumheller/UVA Athletics)
SMU at Virginia Basketball Preview
Back home after a tough road trip, the Virginia Cavaliers will try to break out of a three-game slump when they host the Southern Methodist Mustangs on Wednesday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 9:00 PM Eastern, televised on ACC Network.
Virginia carries an 8-8 overall record, off to a disappointing 1-4 start in conference play.
About SMU
The Mustangs are led by first-year head coach Andy Enfield. He came over from Southern Cal, where he took the Trojans to five NCAA Tournament appearances in his 11 seasons there.
SMU enters with an overall record of 12-4, including 3-2 in ACC play. Their conference losses were to Duke and North Carolina. Despite a solid top 50 NET ranking, they’re still looking for their first quality win of the season. The offensive end is where they thrive, 30th nationally in adjusted efficiency, averaging better than 84 points per game.
SMU’s Personnel
Enfield changed his starting lineup in Saturday’s blowout win over Georgia Tech, opening with a smaller three-guard look. There’s a clear top seven in the rotation, but they typically go at least nine deep.
G - #2 Boopie Miller (6’0” Junior, Wake Forest transfer, 14.6 points and 5.9 assists per game)
G - #3 Chuck Harris (6’2” Super Senior, 12.4 points per game, shoots 47% from three)
G - #0 BJ Edwards (6’3” Junior, 10.6 points and 3.4 assists per game)
F - #33 Matt Cross (6’7” Super Senior, UMass transfer, 10.9 points and 8.3 rebounds per game)
C - #24 Samet Yigitoglu (7’2” Freshman, 9.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game)
Power forward Yohan Traore (8.6 PPG) had started every game until the last one. And senior wing Kario Oquendo (9.6 PPG) scored a season-high 21 in the first meeting with UVA.
Rematch
SMU knocked off the Wahoos in Dallas in a very early conference game back on December 7th. It was a historic game from the Mustangs’ point of view, their first ever in the ACC.
It was a close contest throughout that ended on a very sour note for the Wahoos. UVA led 45-38 with around 10 minutes remaining, then never scored a field goal the rest of the game. The Mustangs padded the margin in the final minutes, pulling away for a 63-51 win.
UVA did some good things in the first meeting. They very much dictated the style, keeping it a halfcourt game, and played well defensively. And they shot the three-ball well, hitting 8 of 19, led by Isaac McKneely's 17 points.
They just seemed to run out of gas down the stretch. Forward Elijah Saunders was limited by foul trouble, held to a season-low 3 points. That was also the game in which guard Dai Dai Ames, then a starter, left early with an ankle injury.
Up Next
Virginia will head back out on the road for another rematch Saturday when they travel to Louisville. The Cardinals, currently on a six-game win streak, downed the Wahoos by a score of 70-50 in Charlottesville on January 4th.
Be sure to tune in for the pregame show Wednesday night, starting at 8:30 PM. Available on the Locker Room Access Facebook page and YouTube Channel.
(Featured Image Credit: Getty)
Virginia at Stanford Basketball Preview
By Josh Burton
Coming off a pair of disheartening losses, first a 70-50 home loss to Louisville last Saturday followed by a 75-61 road loss to California this week, the University of Virginia Men’s Basketball team is now 8-7 (1-3 in ACC play) and will look to get on back on track as they take on Stanford this Saturday. This game is scheduled to tip at 4 pm and will air on ESPNU.
About Stanford
The Stanford Cardinal are the final ACC newcomer left for the Hoos to face. They are led by first year head coach Kyle Smith. Smith has a career record of 268-198, with Stanford currently being 10-5 (2-2 in ACC play). He was previously at Washington State, where he coached five seasons and took the Cougars to the Round of 32 last March.
Lining Up
Stanford plays a fairly deep lineup, with 9 players averaging over 12 minutes per game. They start:
G - #21 Jaylen Blakes (6’2” Senior, Duke transfer, averages 14.8 points and 5.3 assists per game)
G - #4 Oziyah Sellers (6’5” Junior, USC transfer, averages 14.1 points per game, hitting 39.7% from three-point range)
G - #11 Ryan Agarwal (6’6” Junior, averages 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game)
F - #10 Chisom Okpara (6’8” Junior, Harvard transfer, averages 6 points per game)
F - #42 Maxime Raynaud (7’1” Senior, averages 20.7 points and 11.6 rebounds per game)
Okpara’s starting spot is new as of their last game. Before that, 6’10” Freshman Aidan Cammann had been starting. Although Okpara started the last game, he only saw 6 minutes of action as they opted to primarily use 6’8” Freshman Donavin Young. The Cardinal are deep on bodies to run out in the frontcourt.
Lead Man
Maxime Raynaud is very clearly the best player on the team, and is also one of the top players in the ACC. This season he’s expanded his game to be able to score from outside, and has been hitting at very respectable 37.5% from three-point range on good volume.
The Hoos will have their hands full trying to shut Raynaud down. They’ve had difficulty slowing down talented big men this season. This should be an excellent spot to extend the rotation and get as many different looks onto Raynaud as possible. This could be a matchup Anthony Robinson can shine. Look for him to get his crack at defending Raynaud, as it will certainly be all hands on deck.
Next Up
Following the west coast trip, the Hoos will head back home to take on SMU. That one will be Wednesday night (1/15) at 9. Be sure to follow all the action with Locker Room Access, our pregame shows will begin 30 minutes before tip.
(Featured Image Credit: Getty)
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