One week ago, some college basketball fans might have hesitated to pick the Virginia men’s basketball team to beat any of the 346 teams in NCAA Division I. After eight consecutive losses, a victory against No. 12 Clemson Sunday seemed unattainable, and even a win against rival Virginia Tech at home seemed out of reach.
After conquering what seemed to be impossible Sunday, however, the Cavaliers (8-13, 2-8 ACC) suddenly appear to have the potential upper hand entering tonight’s game at John Paul Jones Arena against Virginia Tech (16-8, 6-4 ACC).
“It’s very satisfying now that we finally got a win,” said freshman point guard Sammy Zeglinski, who totaled 15 points and six assists against the Tigers. “It feels like forever since we won.”
Against Clemson, Virginia looked like a completely different basketball team than the one that had not managed a win since Jan. 6 against Brown. Despite ranking last in the ACC in field goal percentage (41.6 percent), the Cavaliers shot 53 percent against the Tigers. Even though they entered the game as the league’s worst 3-point shooting team, shooting 29.5 percent, they shot 7-of-15 from behind the arc against Clemson, including 5-of-9 in the first half. Virginia also managed to start the game strong, something it failed to do time and again this season, outscoring Clemson 16-5 in the first seven minutes of the game.
Virginia must now carry its newfound confidence and momentum into tonight’s game against a reeling Virginia Tech squad that has lost three of its last five games, including a recent 10-point loss to Maryland. The Hokies’ two wins in that stretch came against two relatively weak conference teams, Georgia Tech and N.C. State, at home.
Virginia Tech will be at a disadvantage from the start because it will be without sophomore forward Jeff Allen, who was suspended one game for raising his middle finger at Maryland fans after he fouled out of Saturday’s game. Allen ranks third in the ACC in rebounding (8.8 per game) and third in the team in both points (14.5 per game) and minutes (30.5 per game). Allen’s replacement in the starting lineup will likely be sophomore forward J.T. Thompson, who is averaging 4.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 21.6 minutes per contest.
Tonight’s game is especially important for the Hokies as they try to strengthen their resume for a potential at-large selection into the Big Dance. After tonight’s game, Virginia Tech closes the season against four teams currently ranked in the top 20 by RPI, making its game against Virginia a must-win.
Virginia, meanwhile, is seeking revenge for the 78-75 loss it suffered against the Hokies in Blacksburg Jan. 10 — a loss that the Cavaliers felt could have been avoided.
“I remember it was an emotional game,” Zeglinski said. “And it definitely was a game we could’ve won. It kind of slipped out of our hands, but we’ll be ready this time. I think we’re a pretty different team, and we really know who we are now.”
Sophomore power forward Mike Scott had a nice night in the previous matchup against Virginia Tech, putting up 16 points and six rebounds; he may be an even more important factor to tonight’s outcome, particularly in the absence of Allen. The ACC’s ninth leading rebounder (7.8 per game), Scott has been playing his best basketball of late, including an 18-point, 10-rebound performance in 40 minutes against Clemson.
Scott said he is “just trying to play with a lot of energy, rebound and finish.”
Although the Hokies may have to play without Allen, they still have sophomore guard Malcolm Delaney, the ACC’s fifth leading scorer. Delaney has emerged as the Hokies’ most complete player this season, leading the team in points (18.6 per game) and assists (3.6 per game). He has scored in double figures in an ACC-best 29 consecutive games.
Senior guard A.D. Vassallo, the ACC’s sixth leading scorer, also will pose challenge for the Cavaliers, as he is averaging 18.4 points per game. Both he and Delaney had big nights in the first contest against Virginia; Vassallo led all scorers with 29 points, and Delaney dropped 24.
From Virginia Tech’s perspective, the Hokies will have to contend with Sylven Landesburg, who put up 23 points in the win against Clemson, including a clutch basket at the end of overtime to seal the victory. Landesburg, the ACC’s ninth leading scorer (18 per game), played all 45 minutes of Sunday’s game, becoming the first Virginia player to play an entire game since Sean Singletary did so in 2005 in a win against Virginia Tech. Landesberg was rewarded with his sixth ACC Rookie of the Week award, tying him with Bryant Stith (1988-89) for the most times winning the award by a Cavalier.
With the rest of Landesberg’s teammates catching up to his performance, Virginia looks to earn its first winning streak tonight since winning two in a row at the end of December.
“We’re playing for a purpose now,” Zeglinski said. “We don’t really have anything to lose, so I think that makes us pretty dangerous.”
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