The snow in Charlottesville may be melting, but the Virginia men's basketball team remains ice cold after a 68-55 loss at Boston College Wednesday stretched its losing streak to a dismal eight games.
The Cavaliers (14-14, 5-10 ACC) will hope to turn things around this weekend as they face a Maryland team that throttled Virginia 85-66 at College Park, Md. Feb. 15, and will be ranked much higher than No. 23 after knocking off No. 4 Duke Wednesday, 79-72.
Virginia's loss to the Eagles Wednesday came exactly one month since the team's last win - a 59-47 decision against North Carolina State - and marks the sixth straight double-digit defeat.
Despite the Cavaliers' precipitous descent into the bottom of the ACC, Saturday's game against the Terrapins (22-7, 12-3 ACC) at John Paul Jones Arena - the last of the regular season - still holds plenty of significance for the team.
Tomorrow likely will be the final home game of the collegiate careers of four Virginia seniors, including guard Calvin Baker and forward Jerome Meyinsse.
The lone bright spot in an otherwise ugly week for Virginia has been the inspired play of Meyinsse, who has made his final games in a Cavalier uniform count by shooting 86 percent from the floor and tallying a combined 33 points and 12 rebounds against Duke and Boston College.
Virginia will look to its top post presence, junior forward Mike Scott, to build upon his 13-point, nine-rebound performance against Boston College. During the two games prior, Scott was absent offensively, shooting 0-for-13 and grabbing only four rebounds combined.
In addition, sophomore guard and midseason Naismith Trophy candidate Sylven Landesberg returned to action against Boston College after missing the Duke game with a deep thigh bruise. He remains day-to-day, but his offensive production will aid the Cavalier cause greatly, as they face a Maryland team that ranks first in the ACC in scoring at 80 points per game.
Maryland travels to JPJ on the heels of its 79-72 triumph against the No. 4 Blue Devils, which extended the Terrapins' season-long winning streak to six games and moved them to the top of the ACC standings.
Led by guard 'General' Greivis Vasquez, who averages an ACC-leading 19.5 points and a second-best 6.4 assists per game, Maryland's high-powered offense shoots 47.7 percent from the floor, which also leads the conference.
After outdueling Duke guard and fellow ACC star Jon Scheyer Wednesday, Vasquez likely has the inside track to winning ACC Player-of-the-Year. Vasquez scored 30 points against Virginia during the two teams' last match-up Feb. 15, and the Cavaliers will look to contain the dynamic guard during tonight's contest.
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