Following a momentous week of two big ACC wins, the Virginia men's basketball team has a well-deserved eight-day break to regroup before finishing the regular season.
With their victories over No. 3 Duke (23-3, 10-2 ACC) and Florida State (7-18, 2-10) last week, the No. 9 Cavaliers (18-6, 7-6) didn't just prove that they could beat a top-ranked team. They also demonstrated that they can defend well, make big plays and win on the road.
After the FSU game, Virginia coach Pete Gillen spoke about the strength of the Cavaliers' competition.
"I'm thrilled with the win," Gillen said. "It wasn't pretty, but winning on the road in the ACC is like winning twice. We consider ourselves very fortunate."
The Cavaliers have had a solid season so far. They are undefeated in non-conference play and 12-1 at home. They entered the season at No. 24 in the AP poll, rose as high as No. 6 and now are at No. 9. Virginia has struggled in conference play, but such are the travails of playing in what many see as the nation's toughest college basketball conference.
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Recent developments have shown that not only does the ACC produce the best basketball, it also has the nation's toughest competition. Besides Virginia's upset over Duke last Wednesday, cellar-dwelling Clemson thoroughly trounced then-No.1 North Carolina, 75-65, on Sunday.
This year's contests disprove previous notions that the ACC is a two-dog fight between Tobacco Road neighbors UNC and Duke. Along with UNC, Duke and Virginia, three other ACC teams placed in this week's AP Top 25: No. 20 Maryland (16-9, 7-6) and No. 22 Wake Forest (17-8, 6-7).
Virginia, Maryland and Georgia Tech (15-9, 7-6) currently are tied for third place in the conference, just one game ahead of Wake Forest.
Maryland, coming off a win over Wake Forest last Saturday, hopes it has regained its touch after a three-week long funk. The Terps started the season ranked No. 5, were preseason Final Four candidates and were picked to finish second in the conference. But hosting Duke on Jan. 27, the Terrapins blew a 10-point lead with less than a minute remaining. After that they went into a 1-4 tailspin that belied their top-flight talent.
Georgia Tech has enjoyed its best campaign in recent memory, in large part due to senior center Alvin Jones' career-best season. Jones, who leads the ACC in rebounding and is second in blocked shots, also provides crucial leadership for a team playing under first-year coach Paul Hewitt
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"I'm just glad that Jones and [guard Tony] Akins have stepped to the front in leading the team," Hewitt said.
With the competition only stiffening, the last two weeks will just get harder leading up to the ACC Tournament. Sunday's game is one of three important contests that will shape the tournament rankings. Next Tuesday, Duke hosts Maryland in a rematch of the Jan. 27 debacle. Then, on March 4, the final day of the regular season, Duke and UNC meet in a contest that will likely determine the ACC Tournament's top seed.
"When you look at the teams in the top 25 plus Georgia Tech, I think six teams deserve to go to the NCAA Tournament from the ACC," Maryland coach Gary Williams said.
Virginia's Gillen agrees, saying that the next two weeks will be difficult.
"We're looking forward to a great UNC team Sunday," Gillen said. "Every game is going to be a battle down the stretch, no matter who we play"
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