Virginia Meets Colorado State In NCAA First Four
By Josh Burton
Finally, Wahoo fans, it is time. After a long season that had its ups and downs, the Hoos and their fan base had to sweat it out until the 3rd of 4 announced regionals to hear their name called. The University of Virginia Men’s Basketball team will be headed to Dayton as part of the “First Four” where they will take on Colorado State. This game is scheduled for a 9:10 pm EST tip and will air on truTV. Be advised, however, this is the late game of a 2 game set so it could be delayed depending on when the prior game comes to an end.
🧡💙 This is what it means!
— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) March 18, 2024
🔶⚔️🔷#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/KDiMyngbvD
About Colorado State
The Colorado State Rams of the Mountain West Conference are led by head coach Niko Medved, in his sixth season. He has amassed a 115-74 record, also going a combined 195-161 with previous stops at Furman (4 seasons) and Drake (1 season). This year, the Rams are 24-10 and are battling us for the right to be the 10 seed in the Midwest Region. CSU is coming off a Mountain West tournament semifinal run in which they upset #23 Nevada (10 seed, West Regional) before falling to eventual champion New Mexico (11 seed, West Regional) 74-61.
The Rams have a very solid team. They boast a top 50 offense that really excels in getting shots close to the basket. Nationally, they rank 2nd in assist rate and 10th in 2 point percentage while also being top 50 in both effective FG% (32nd) and TO% (48). Maybe most importantly, they are comfortable playing at a slower pace.
CSU generally goes eight deep in their rotation and are a senior-laden group. All five of their starters are seniors, coming to the team with a variety of backgrounds. Here is how they line up:
PG - Isaiah Stevens (6’ Covid-year Senior) Averages 16.5 points, 7 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game while hitting 44.7% from three-point range.
G - Josiah Strong (6’4” Senior, Illinois State transfer) Averages 6.7 points per game.
G - Nique Clifford (6’6” Senior, Colorado transfer) Averages 12.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game while hitting 38.2% from three.
F - Joel Scott (6’7” Senior, Division II transfer) Averages 12.9 points and 6 rebounds per game.
F - Patrick Cartier (6’8” Senior, Division II transfer) Averages 10.5 points and hits 36.1% from three.
Isaiah Stevens is the superstar of the team, a potential All-American. The rest of the lineup is a collection of players from all levels who complement each other pretty well. Our guy and former UVA Basketball manager Shane Nelson did a great preview of the matchup immediately after the Hoos were selected, you can check that out here.
Handling Stevens and Screens
This matchup is in many ways both good and bad for the Hoos. On one hand, this is a smaller team that doesn’t really shoot 3’s at a high rate or percentage. On the other, as I mentioned previously, Stevens will be an absolute handful, particularly when they decide to run their pick and roll actions and dribble handoffs. Sets like this have been difficult for the Cavaliers to defend at times this season and will require the entire team to be in unison defensively to slow down the very efficient offensive attack. Luckily for the Hoos, Naismith Defensive Player of the Year semifinalist Reece Beekman will primarily be assigned the task of slowing down their attack.
Small Ball
Coach Bennett and the Hoos have been experimenting more with small ball recently and have seen some success. They have gone to lineups with Taine Murray inserted at the three and Jake Groves at the four spot which gives them plenty of spacing next to our core trio. Looking at the size and style of the CSU lineup, this could certainly be a game where the offensive oriented lineup is able to play more. But as mentioned, the Rams offensive attack is very efficient and effective. For this group to be able to stay on the floor together, they’ll have to defend at a very high level.
Survive and Advance
In March Madness, tomorrow is not guaranteed. It's single elimination from here on out, so everyone will be bringing their A game. Should the Hoos manage to advance, they would next face #7 seed Texas and former Hoo Kadin Shedrick on Thursday. Just as we did with the ACC tournament, Locker Room Access will have our Pregame show beginning at the conclusion of the first matchup of the night to lead you straight into the Wahoos First Four game!
(Featured Image Credit: Emily Faith Morgan/UVA Athletics)