At this point in the season, the Virginia men’s basketball team is right where it should be.
The Cavs’ 3-3 record is certainly not pretty. It puts them squarely in last place in the ACC, and they now have two long weeks off for final exams to think about it.
And indeed, dead last is the appropriate slot for Virginia, right? It’s where the ACC media picked them preseason.
That is not, however, where I picked Virginia: I had them 11th. A bold prediction, I know.
But then again, it is rather bold. Most people aren’t even giving Virginia a chance to compete in the conference; I, however, am suggesting that they can.
And after what I saw the past two days, I’m sticking to it. Here are a few reasons why:
1. Strength of schedule: Everyone in the ACC must deal with the ACC/Big 10 Challenge early in the season. Virginia, however, was the only team that had to play a Syracuse team four nights before that was fresh off two straight wins against ranked opponents.
And, of course, the ACC/Big 10 Challenge was no treat, either. Minnesota is no Michigan State, but nor is it Northwestern, who Virginia had the pleasure of throttling by 42 points last season at John Paul Jones Arena. Throw in the fact that the Cavs were playing in Minneapolis, and we’ll say they broke even in the drawing for this year’s opponent in the Challenge.
With that in mind, let’s now consider how they fared in the two games. Certainly, 0-2 doesn’t invite optimism; I can picture Virginia coach Dave Leitao now saying something about how it’s hard to be encouraged by anything after a loss.
From the standpoint of a competitor, I always understand that perspective; but of course there is such thing as a silver lining.
Indeed, the Cavs very nearly stole one from Syracuse at the Carrier Dome, and that is certainly worth something. In the first half of that game, Virginia shut down one of the best point guards in the country in Jonny Flynn on its way to a 13-point lead. It took lights-out shooting by the Orange and two of Virginia’s hottest-playing guards to get in foul trouble — freshmen Sammy Zeglinski and Sylven Landesberg were both forced to the bench in the second half — for Syracuse to scurry away with a 3-point win.
What about the loss to Liberty the game before, you say? Admittedly, like you fans out there, I was considering the possibility that night that Virginia could go winless in ACC play. The Flames shot a ridiculous 69.6 percent in the second half on their way to an 86-82 win. It would appear that if Liberty can find holes in Leitao’s defense, Virginia might as well throw in the towel in the conference.
But, Virginia’s performance against Syracuse shows that the Cavs can hang in with a premier opponent. Chalk that Liberty embarrassment up to youth and give a little credit to Liberty’s Seth Curry, the brother of Stephen Curry of Davidson and the one who put up 26 points against Virginia. If another Curry comes around, perhaps teams from the major conferences will figure out that maybe they should recruit him.
But that’s a tangent; the point is, Virginia is young and still figuring itself out, and playing against a Curry certainly spiced things up.
2. Freshmen who can play: While Landesberg has gotten most of the attention as Virginia’s leading scorer, Zeglinski is quickly becoming a fan-favorite, and for good reason. He is filling Virginia’s obvious need for a point guard and then some. While he is easily the best ball-handler on the team and hits the open jumper as a starting point guard should do, he has also shown the ability to get into the lane and create. Defensively, he is an annoyance to the opposing team’s point guard in a similar fashion to Singletary last season.
Throw in the 7-foot, hustling freshman center Assane Sene — who has started the last two games after he was ineligible early in the season because of problems with pre-college enrollment — and Virginia has gotten some contributions from the youth.
3. Jerome Meyinsse: He is a reason unto himself because he deserves it — against Syracuse, the junior nearly put up double-double numbers while coming up with huge offensive rebounds in the second half, keeping Virginia in the game despite a stagnant offense. Though undersized, Meyinsse does not look overwhelmed as he did at times in his first two seasons.
With Sene, Meyinsse and the experience of 6-foot-11 senior center Tunji Soroye at the five, and a versatile, rebounding fiend in Mike Scott at the four, Virginia’s bigs are still far from anything to brag about. It appears, however, that they can at least hold their own.
So, Virginia is 3-3. Already, I have seen fans who, if they haven’t cashed it in for this season, have at least opened the register. And frankly, if you’re one of these people, you’ve got good reason.
On the other hand, it looks like Virginia’s season might not be a train wreck. That, in my book, is reason enough to stay tuned.
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