Virginia Faces NC State In ACC Semifinal
The 3rd seeded Virginia Cavaliers will face the 10 seed NC State Wolfpack in a Friday night ACC semifinal matchup. Game time is 9:30 PM Eastern at Capital One Arena in Washington, DC, televised on ESPN2.
NC State has won three games in as many days at the ACC Tournament, advancing to the semifinals with a 74-69 upset over Duke on Thursday. In the nightcap, Virginia held off Boston College in an overtime thriller. The Cavaliers and Wolfpack split their two regular season meetings, each winning at home.
About NC State
Led by head coach Kevin Keatts in his 7th season, NC State enters with an overall record of 20-14. They finished 9-11 in ACC regular season play. It’s an older team, featuring several players in their bonus year. All five starters arrived as transfers, three of them new this season.
NC State is at number 73 in the NCAA’s NET ranking system, as of Thursday. Which makes this a Quad-2 game for Virginia.
NC State’s Personnel
Keatts has settled into a primary seven man rotation late in the season, typically starting the following lineup.
G- Michael O’Connell (6’2” Senior) Averages 5.2 points, 3.0 assists
G- DJ Horne (6”1” Super Senior) Averages 16.8 points, 43% from three
G- Casey Morsell (6’3” Super Senior) Averages 11.8 points, 2.8 rebounds
F- Mohamed Diarra (6’10” Senior) Averages 5.5 points, 6.8 rebounds
C- DJ Burns (6’9” Super Senior) Averages 12.1 points. 4.0 rebounds. 2.6 assists
Junior guard Jayden Taylor (12.7 PPG) is their second leading scorer in 29 minutes per game. And forward Ben Middlebrooks (5.5 PPG) provides solid depth up front.
Dealing with Burns
Virginia will need to deal with another of the league’s best big men. DJ Burns offers a unique challenge. NC State likes to run their offense through him in the post. He scores very efficiently in the paint, using his wide body to back defenders down. On top of that, he’s a terrific passer. It creates a dilemma for opponents, whether to double team him when he catches the ball.
In the first meeting between these teams, a 76-60 Wolfpack win in Raleigh, Virginia frequently doubled Burns. They limited him to only 6 points, but the strategy largely contributed to NC State connecting on 10 three-pointers. The next time, a 59-53 overtime win for UVA at home, they mostly played Burns straight up with far better overall results. Virginia center Jordan Minor logged 30 minutes, holding Burns to 11 points (5-12 FG). Minor also contributed 10 points and 9 boards of his own.
Quinten Post did not attempt a shot in overtime and had one turnover after scoring 23 points in regulation.
— Preston Willett (@PrestonWillett) March 15, 2024
The reason: Jordan Minor, who had three steals in overtime mainly on passes into Post.
Those are the types of efforts UVA needs in the postseason.
After being a defensive hero in Thursday’s win over Boston College, Minor figures to play an important role again in the semifinal matchup.
Guard Trio Steps Up
With Isaac McKneely less than 100% on Thursday night, Virginia received much needed contributions from three guards off the bench. Taine Murray (11 points), Andrew Rohde (8 points), and Dante Harris (4 points) combined to go 10 for 15 from the floor. All of them made key timely plays to help Virginia overcome an off scoring night from their starting guards.
Tony Bennett said before the game that McKneely was dealing with an ankle injury. He played 29 minutes, scoring 5 points on 1-8 FGs. Hopefully, he’ll be good to go on Friday. But UVA may again need to rely more than usual on the trio of backups.
Up Next
The winner of this game will advance to face either North Carolina or Pittsburgh in Saturday’s ACC Championship Game. As usual, the Locker Room Access pregame show gets things started 30 minutes before tipoff. Available on Facebook, YouTube, and X.
(Featured Image Credit: Getty)