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18 Jan, 2023
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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)
UVA Spring Sports Roundup 3/18
By Josh Burton
A lot has happened for UVA’s spring athletic programs in the last two weeks. Let’s take a look at where things currently stand.
Baseball
It’s been a mixed bag for #17 UVA Baseball (16-4, 3-3 in ACC play) since our last roundup. They won the weekend series 2-1 over UMass while also extending their undefeated midweek record with wins over Penn State, George Washington and William and Mary.
Things got a little trickier with the start of ACC play. The Hoos went 1-2 in their opening series at Miami, with their issues really showing. In both of their losses, the Cavaliers built up multiple run leads (including being up 12-3 in the second loss) before ultimately giving them away as the relief pitching simply wasn’t up to par.
Over the weekend, the Hoos hosted #7 Wake Forest in a heavyweight clash where the Hoos managed to take 2 of 3, including a thrilling 11-10 victory in extras on Sunday. This time, the Hoos spotted leads of 5 or more in each game through a combination of off pitching and shaky fielding.
No quit in this group. #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/P2Mq1SHS5L
— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) March 17, 2024
The silver lining, however, has been some consistency starting to take place within the bullpen. Former starter Jack O’Connor pitched in relief twice this weekend and looked very good in each appearance. Unfortunately, Sunday he was called in for the 9th but had to leave with an apparent injury. Kevin Jaxel entered in his place and gave a very gritty performance, going 1 and 1/3rd innings to the finish line without having been able to get warm. Both pitchers are looking to cement themselves within the rotation and may have found their best spots as key relievers.
The Hoos will be back at the Dish to host Georgetown on Tuesday (3/19, 4 pm) before heading to Pitt for the weekend series.
Men’s Lacrosse
#4 Men’s Lacrosse dropped their first game of the season in a tight 16-14 loss to #7 Johns Hopkins. They have since rebounded nicely, going 3-0 including a huge road victory over #5 Maryland 14-10. Connor Shellenberger continued to write his name in record books, this time becoming the programs career-leader in assists after picking up 7 in a win over Towson.
This week they will be in action twice at Klockner, playing against Albany on Tuesday (3/19, 4 pm) and then again on Saturday as they host Drexel (3/23, 3 pm).
Women’s Lacrosse
#10 Women’s Lacrosse is now 8-1 overall and has picked up three consecutive ranked wins after being victorious at Clemson, against Richmond and on the road against perennial heavyweight Notre Dame. They also picked up an ACC victory over Pitt on Saturday.
It was also a big stretch for a few players individually. Morgan Schwab set both the single game and career assist records while also earning both conference and national player of the week honors. Maggie Bostain also picked up ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Morgan Schwab snatches the pass and scores for her hat-trick! #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/yN0YJGdbL0
— Virginia Women's Lacrosse (@UVAWomensLax) March 16, 2024
They will be back in action at Klockner twice this week as they host JMU on Wednesday (3/20, 5 pm) and then take on Syracuse on Saturday (3/23, noon).
Roundup
UVA Softball now sits at 17-9, having picked up 2-1 series wins over Boston College and Syracuse while having dropped a 2-1 series to UNC. They split a pair of road weekday games in between, winning at Longwood then dropping a tight 2-1 contest at Maryland. They’ll be back in action this week as they host Rutgers on Tuesday (3/19, 4 pm) before hosting Clemson for the weekend ACC series.
#3 Men’s Tennis has been on a tear the last 2 weeks, now sitting at 14-4 with ranked victories over Wake Forest, NC State and at Duke. They also just picked up a victory over Notre Dame on Sunday. Multiple players were recognized individually, with Inaki Montes receiving ACC Player of the Week and first-year Dylan Dietrich receiving ACC Freshman of the Week, the fifth time he’s taken home the honor. Tennis will be on the road twice next weekend with matches at Miami on Friday (3/22, 10 am) and Florida State on Sunday (3/24, 1 pm).
#5 Women’s Tennis (13-2) has also been on a winning streak as they went 3-0 with wins over Georgia Tech, Clemson and Virginia Tech, all on the road. They’ll begin a 4 match homestand next Friday against Syracuse (3/22, 4 pm) and will also host Boston College on Sunday (3/24, noon)
(Featured Image Credit: Grace Landini/UVA Athletics)
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)
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