The theme of this ACC basketball season has been constant. When Virginia falters coming out of the gate, it creates a large deficit that’s too great to overcome. When Virginia starts out a game strong — like in matchups against Clemson and Virginia Tech — it more often than not finds a way to win.
When Virginia jumped out to a 17-7 lead with 11:38 left in the first half last night against Miami, it appeared as if the Cavaliers could claim their third upset victory in four games.
Alas, in the end, the team wasn’t able to come out on top.
Two big things stand out about last night’s game: First, Miami senior guard Jack McClinton did not have the greatest game. McClinton came into the matchup averaging more than 20 points per game. Yet, against the Cavaliers, he failed to score his first basket until there were 4:12 left in the first half and only hit three of his 10 field goal attempts.
In crunch time, however, he made two game-changing plays.
McClinton made a crucial steal with 1:06 left and Miami up just two; during the Hurricanes’ ensuing possession, he knocked down a big three-pointer from the right side with 46 seconds left to put the Hurricanes up five. Such a sequence shows why McClinton is deserving of First Team All-ACC Honors. He made big plays when he had to, and as a result, the Hurricanes still have a shot at making the NCAA Tournament.
The second note to take away from last night’s game was the overall discombobulation of the Virginia offense down the stretch. Between 2:41 and 0:24 left in the game, the Cavaliers failed to get off a single shot. Freshman standout guard Sylven Landesberg hardly even touched the ball down the stretch.
Miami found a way to get its best player the ball. Why couldn’t Virginia do the same?
While most of us will be enjoying Spring Break, the Cavaliers will face three games in which they have an opportunity to cause some major headaches for teams with NCAA Tournament plans. But they’ll need to play better to have that kind of impact.
“We know that most of the teams that we are going to play have a chance to make the NCAA Tournament,” Landesberg said. “We’re just going to come out there and try to break their dreams.”
The next three teams to test Virginia all have something for which to play. The first two — Wake Forest and Clemson — have staying close to home during the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament on their minds. It is widely believed among experts that the two best teams in the ACC will have the privilege of playing the first and second rounds of the tournament in Greensboro, N.C. For nearby North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest or Clemson, such an incentive means the teams will not have to travel far at all, and more importantly, it also allows their fans to make a huge presence. North Carolina will likely get that privilege, but the other three teams will battle it out down the stretch, and — surprise, surprise — Virginia plays two of those teams next.
Wake Forest visits Charlottesville tomorrow, and while the Demon Deacons are extremely talented, they are also extremely young and have already been upset four times during ACC play. Virginia played capable basketball against these same four teams. The Cavaliers have already defeated Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech this season; they came back against N.C. State and had chances in the final minute to pull out the victory. And with a little better offensive execution, Miami might have gone down last night. Tomorrow will be a great spoiler opportunity for the Cavaliers.
An even greater spoiler opportunity presents itself Tuesday when the Cavaliers head to Clemson, S.C. to face the Tigers. The Cavaliers played surprisingly well in their upset against Clemson Feb. 15, and while the Tigers would love to enact revenge, Virginia should be ready. In addition, the Tigers have been notorious during the past three seasons for playing to the level of their opponents. The game against Virginia is a perfect trap game, too, as Clemson will be looking ahead to its next matchup against Wake Forest. A loss to the Cavaliers would all but send Clemson away from Greensboro the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, something that the Tigers would not like to see happen.
The greatest possible goal for this year’s Virginia team, though, is the golden opportunity to outright pop a rival’s tournament bubble — and that’s exactly what Virginia has the chance to do against Maryland next Saturday. Currently, the Terps sit at 17-10 overall, 6-7 in the ACC. With only two marquee wins — against Michigan State and North Carolina — Maryland can ill afford to slip up and lose to Virginia during the Cavaliers’ Senior Night. The Terps have been playing much better basketball lately — especially after The Washington Post ran a series of articles highly critical of Maryland coach Gary Williams — but they have lost their last two games in Charlottesville. Virginia, on the other hand, has won its last three Senior Night games.
Most of us will be at home or chilling on the beach when the Virginia men’s basketball team will have a lot for which to play. The Cavaliers will not just be attempting to close out the season strongly and gain momentum for the ACC Tournament, but they also will be trying to ruin some teams’ ideal NCAA Tournament plans — or prevent one from even joining the party.
The last time Virginia failed to win 10 games in the regular season was 1969-70. Playing spoiler to one of the three teams remaining on the schedule would avoid such a misstep from happening again. Just remember to get your best player on the team the ball in crunch time.
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