What a month it has been for the Virginia men's basketball team.
Since Feb. 1, Virginia (16-6, 8-2 ACC) has toppled Duke and Miami at home and defeated Maryland on the road in front of a hostile crowd. Now, the Cavaliers find themselves at the top of the ACC standings, above perennial contenders such as North Carolina and Duke.
With such accomplishments, players are taking pride in their recent success.
"We just found our identity, and we just defended the heck out of the ball every night, and that's what is getting us wins," junior guard Sean Singletary said.
The players have pushed themselves to a first-place tie in the ACC standings, as the win against Maryland added to Virginia's current winning streak of seven consecutive conference games. The sudden surge has left many wondering: What got into the Cavaliers?
"I think what we've done is turn the corner a little bit with our mindset," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "We respect what we do in the gym during practice each day and we respect what we're in the middle of."
This weekend's game against Virginia Tech (16-7, 6-3 ACC) may help to clear the crowded picture at the top of the ACC standings. Virginia and Boston College (17-6, 8-2 ACC) are tied for first place, with UNC sitting a half game behind.
The Hokies sit at fourth place in the ACC. They last played Saturday, falling 80-59 to the Eagles in Boston. That loss knocked the Hokies out of the AP Rankings after climbing to No.16, and highlights the inconsistency of the team's season. Virginia Tech beat Duke on the road and North Carolina in January, but lost to Marshall early on and has dropped its last two games.
Tomorrow's game will feature the ACC's fourth-best scoring offense in Virginia against Virginia Tech's second-ranked scoring defense. Neither team's offense is a stranger to the three-pointer, as Virginia Tech has the conference's second-highest three-point field goal percentage (38.4), and Virginia leads the ACC with 8.24 threes made per game. Two of the Cavaliers who frequently contribute to this statistic are Singletary and senior guard J.R. Reynolds, who has led the team in scoring in seven of the last nine games.
Singletary and Reynolds will be matched up against Hokies' senior guards Zabian Dowdell, who leads Virginia Tech with 18.1 points per game, and Jamon Gordon, who boasts a team high 4.43 assists per game. Gordon and Dowdell rank first and third in the conference in steals, with 58 and 53 steals on the season, respectively.
Singletary and Reynolds are ranked second and fifth in scoring in the ACC, respectively, but the Cavaliers' backcourt may not give the team as big an edge against the Hokies as Virginia's frontcourt.
Virginia Tech has the second worst rebounding defense in conference, allowing 34.2 boards per game. Virginia, meanwhile, is currently second best in the ACC with 39.6 boards per game. Based on their recent play, the Cavaliers feel the big men need some credit for the winning streak.
"We definitely have matured in every aspect," Singletary said. "People say we don't have a down-low presence, but [Jason] Cain has been doing a great job on offense, and Tunji [Soroye] is doing a great job on defense. They are just always there for us, and they are the reason we're winning right now."
Last year, the Cavaliers swept the Hokies in all three of their matchups, including one in the opening round of the ACC tournament.The two teams will meet again March 1, in a game that will be televised on ESPN from the John Paul Jones Arena.
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