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Virginia Basketball Hangs With Syracuse In The ACC Race

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Syracuse might be undefeated, but the Orangemen aren’t running away with the ACC’s regular season title. More surprising is that it’s Duke, North Carolina or even Pitt that’s presenting the strongest challenge as we move into February. Virginia is quietly putting together a big year, and 17-5 overall and 8-1 in ACC play. Let’s take a look at Virginia basketball, how they’re doing it and what lies ahead.

This isn’t a glamour team by any stretch of the imagination, which explains why you aren’t hearing about them. The Cavaliers only have two double-digit scorers, Malcom Brogdan and Joe Harris. They’re 6’5” and 6’6” respectively and can present a matchup problem for teams with small backcourts, particularly when you throw 6’6”Justin Anderson into the mix as well.


What the Cavs don’t have is great inside play. Akil Mitchell is the tallest player on the team at 6’8”, and while he does a credible job rebounding (seven per game), UVA doesn’t get much in the way of offensive production (also seven per game). The lack of easy points inside can grind an offense to a halt if the shots aren’t falling.

Virginia has made up for it in the most admirable way possible, and that’s to just dig in on defense and then go hard to the boards, lack of size be damned. The first two games of the conference schedule were against Wake Forest and N.C. State, each of whom has since played competitively. Virginia won the rebounding battle by a combined 78-53 in those two games and completely locked down on the defensive end.

Then came a near miss on the road at Duke. The Blue Devils hit ten threes, and while Virginia played well on defense and on the glass, the edges weren’t prohibitive. It’s here that you see the Cavaliers’ ceiling—against a really good team, they just don’t have the star power to bail them out if the opponent can hit from the perimeter.

Virginia still kept its focus and showed what they can do. Harris and Brogdan each scored 16 points in an easy win over North Carolina. Then this past weekend the Cavs went to Pitt, held the Panthers to 31 percent shooting and won 48-45 when Brogdan hit a three-pointer at the buzzer. Pitt is renowned for winning while being physical and the fact Virginia beat the Panthers at their own game on the road speaks volumes.


The sophomore Brogdan has really found his groove in ACC play, and has scored between 16-18 points each of the last six games, and gone for double figures each time out in conference. His consistency is what has elevated Virginia from a marginal NCAA Tournament team in November and December to one currently projected for a 5-seed by ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi—and that projection was done prior to the Pitt win.

You would not think in looking at Virginia’s talent that they can hang in the ACC race, but the schedule works in their favor. They don’t play Duke or Pitt again. Their game with Syracuse will be at home on March 1. And the immediate slate is very favorable, with bottom feeders Boston College and Georgia Tech up next. Don’t sleep on the Cavs in this conference race. 

ACC Basketball: Why Duke & North Carolina Are Struggling

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One of the many memorable moments in NCAA Tournament lore came in 1979, when fans of North Carolina and Duke converged on Greensboro to watch their teams play in the first round of what was then a 32-team bracket. The Tar Heels and Blue Devils were the top two seeds in the East. Both lost, in what became known on Tobacco Road as “Black Saturday”, and ushered in the NCAA Tournament’s first gutted bracket.

The start of the 2014 ACC basketball race won’t reach that magnitude, but it’s been a dark stretch for both Duke and North Carolina. The teams are a combined 1-5 in conference games, in spite of Duke being seen as a prime national contender and Carolina not far behind. We’ll review each team’s three ACC games to ask a two-part question—what’s wrong and is this something to be concerned about for the long haul?


Let’s start with Duke…

@Notre Dame (77-79): Notre Dame shot 53 percent and outrebounded Duke 39-30, to offset twelve three-pointers by the Blue Devils. Highly touted freshman Jabari Parker is held to seven points, while Rodney Hood goes for 27.

vs. Georgia Tech (79-57): In spite of the rout, Georgia Tech shot 49 percent from the floor. And if you believe in the conspiracy theories that surround Duke at home, how about this—the Blue Devils outscore the Yellow Jackets 22-0 at the free throw line.

@Clemson (59-72): Clemson shoots 47 percent, dominates the boards to the tune of 48-30, in spite of 20 points from Hood.

These early returns can’t be dismissed. Duke clearly has problems on the defensive end, and what’s more, that has been a problem for this program in recent years. You aren’t going to be an elite team routinely allowing opponents to get into the high 40s, percentage-wise, from the floor.  The same goes for the lack of rebounding, all of which adds to the concern over Parker’s slow start in ACC play.


Now let’s go to North Carolina…

@Wake Forest (67-73): When you dominate the glass, 53-34, like Carolina did, you have to work pretty hard to still lose the game. The guards—Marcus Paige, Nate Britt and Leslie McDonald—combine to shoot 9-for-31.

vs. Miami (57-63): The guard trio shoots 6-for-31 this time out, in a home loss to a rebuilding team.

@Syracuse (45-57): In spite of the low score, Paige has his best game, shooting 7-for-16 against the Syracuse zone and scoring 17 points. But having to play on the perimeter meant limited opportunities to get to the foul line. On balance though, this is not a game they would have been expected to win to demonstrate championship bona fides.

North Carolina has clearly not recovered from losing guard to P.J. Harrison to NCAA suspension. The guard play is just very problematic, and while respect for head coach Roy Williams dictates we at least assume the Tar Heels will make the NCAA Tournament and improve enough to be a spoiler at home, they look nothing like a contender for an ACC basketball title.