The ACC has not seen a regular season three-peat since North Carolina did so between 2007 and 2009. For No. 3 Virginia, the hope of becoming just the ninth program to claim at least a share of the conference title in three straight seasons remains alive, but there is still serious work to do.
The Cavaliers (21-6, 10-5 ACC) no longer hold control their own fate. They lost that privilege Monday night with a 64-61 road defeat against No. 12 Miami. Now all Virginia can do is win out and hope for the best.
Winning a basketball game in the BankUnited Center is not an easy task, and the Cavaliers showed tremendous heart in a hostile environment. However, there were several discouraging signs — troubling signs as Virginia prepares for their Saturday night showdown with No. 7 North Carolina.
The Cavaliers struggled on the boards very early on against the Hurricanes. Miami coach Jim Larrañaga implored his team to battle for rebounds, and they responded with seven offensive boards and nine second-chance points in the first half, which kept them in the game while their offense sputtered.
Virginia did clamp down in the second half — limiting Miami to three offensive boards and three second-chance points.
“We fought hard in the second half, got on the offensive glass, played pretty spirited,” coach Tony Bennett said.
Locking down missed field goals will be a top priority against the Tar Heels (23-5, 12-3 ACC). Coach Roy Williams’ team is ninth in the nation with a 38.9 percent offensive rebounding rate due to the contributions of senior forwards Brice Johnson and Joel James and junior forwards Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks — all of whom grab at least 11 percent of their own team’s errant shots.
More importantly, North Carolina knows with the offensive boards they secure. The Tar Heels shoot 79.3 percent on putbacks.
Keeping Johnson off the offensive glass will be the first step in slowing down the ACC Player of the Year candidate. The Orangeburg, S.C. native is averaging nearly three offensive rebounds per game and is shooting over 90 percent at the rim on putback opportunities.
Even at full strength, Bennett’s front court will have their hands full against the Tar Heels big men that run four deep — Johnson, Hicks, Meeks and James all see significant playing time.
“Brice Johnson is playing at such a high level,” Bennett said. “They certainly have talent and athleticism and size that makes you really have to be sharp.”
However, the Cavaliers may be undermanned Saturday, as the status of sophomore forward Isaiah Wilkins and senior forward Evan Nolte remains in the air. Nolte did not play against Miami with a toe injury, and Wilkins did not return after being kneed in the back of the head by senior center Tonye Jekiri late in the second half. Bennett hesitated to label the Greater Atlanta Christian alum’s injury as a concussion.
“There are, of course, steps for someone who gets hit in the head and — I don’t know if you call it a concussion,” Bennett said. “[For Nolte] it’s just what he can tolerate. … [Thursday] will tell a lot with both of those guys.”
If Virginia does play down Wilkins, who has started in each of the last seven games, the onus to step up falls on senior forward Anthony Gill.
The month of February has not been kind to Gill. Virginia’s second-leading scorer entered Feb. 1 scoring 14.9 points per game on 60.4 percent shooting. In six games this month, the South Carolina transfer is averaging only nine points per game on 40 percent shooting, including a six-point outing against the Hurricanes.
Fouls have played a significant role in Gill’s February decline. In his first 21 games Gill was shooting more than five free throws per game, but in the last six the High Point, N.C. native has 19 total free throws to his name — 10 coming against lowly Boston College on Feb. 3 — and has not gotten to the line in the last two games.
Gill’s slump coupled with the inconsistencies of senior center Mike Tobey and the trio of sophomore guards Devon Hall, Marial Shayok and Darius Thompson has placed the weight of the world on senior guard Malcolm Brogdon’s wide shoulders.
The co-ACC Preseason Player of the Year has demonstrated his ability to carry his team on any given night, but he cannot win basketball games on his own, as demonstrated by his 28-point, 12-of-18 performance in Monday’s loss to Miami.
Virginia cannot afford to play through Brogdon alone against a top-ten team like North Carolina. A team win will be necessary the Tar Heels and will set up the Cavaliers for a potential deep run into late March.
Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
Matt Wurzburger is a Sports editor for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at m.wurzburger@cavalierdaily.com or on Twitter at @wurzburgerm.
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