The second-ranked Virginia men’s basketball team plays its final home game of the 2014-15 regular season Saturday when in-state rival Virginia Tech comes to Charlottesville. When the two squads clashed in Blacksburg Jan. 25 the Cavaliers staged a second-half comeback to win 50-47.
Virginia (25-1,13-1 ACC) comes into the game riding a seven-game win streak, with its most recent victory coming at the expense of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Cavaliers used one of their strongest offensive performances of the season to dominate Wake Forest 70-34 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The win marks Virginia’s 10th road win on the year and its second against the Demon Deacons, as the Cavaliers prevailed 61-60 in Charlottesville two weeks ago.
“Any road game is a challenge, and they’re very good offensively,” coach Tony Bennett said. “When they played us at our place, it could’ve gone either way. At this stage of the year, we’re getting everybody’s best shot.”
Conversely, the Hokies (10-18, 2-13 ACC) enter Saturday’s game in the midst of one of their worst slumps of the season. Following its 91-86 loss to No. 4 Duke Wednesday night, the Hokies have lost seven of their last eight contests. Their last win came against Georgia Tech, where they eked out a 65-63 victory.
Despite the Hokies’ lackluster record, they always play Virginia tough. In their first meeting, the Cavaliers were undefeated and no team had come closer than six. Virginia Tech took advantage of some sloppiness from the Cavalier defense to earn uncontested layups and force the nation’s No. 2 team to play catch up for much of the second half.
The major story from this game was the explosion of junior guard Justin Anderson, who scored eight of his 12 points in the second half of the contest. His late three-pointer also sparked a 12-0 run that gave Virginia the final advantage.
However, the Cavaliers will be without the dynamic Montross, Virginia native for the sixth consecutive game due to a fractured finger on his left hand. To further the Cavaliers’ offensive struggles, it is unclear whether sophomore point guard London Perrantes will be available for Saturday’s game after sustaining a concussion and broken nose against Florida State. Perrantes played 37 minutes and dished out seven assists in the first contest.
“I don’t have much on Justin Anderson’s progression other than that he’s coming along and slowly progressing,” Bennett said.
Against Wake Forest, Bennett relied on redshirt freshman guard Devon Hall, freshman guard Marial Shayok and junior forward Evan Nolte to pick up the slack in the absence of two of Virginia’s star offensive players. Bennett surely will look towards these players again against the Hokies, as they have played well in Virginia’s last two games.
“When key players go down, other guys have to step up and play their role,” junior guard Malcolm Brogdon said.
Brogdon has been a key player for the Cavaliers all season long. The 6-foot 5-inch, 215-pound junior leads the team in minutes played, averaging 32 per game, and also leads in points per game, with 13.7. This trend held in the first game against the Hokies as he played 37 minutes and added eight points for Virginia. Brogdon and this committee will need to ensure they handle the ball better in this meeting, as Virginia committed 13 turnovers against Virginia Tech earlier in the year.
On the defensive side of the ball, Virginia will have to be better than it was in Blacksburg, particularly in the first half. The Hokies shot 52.4 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from three in the first 20 minutes to remain competitive despite turning the ball over several times.
The key player for Virginia to stop is junior guard Adam Smith, who averages 13.6 points per game for the Hokies. Freshman guard Justin Bibbs follows closely behind Smith with 12.6 points per game. Bibbs was absent from the first contest, so he will be an added challenge for the Cavalier defense to confront.
Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday at John Paul Jones Arena.
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