Below, find quick previews of this weekend's men's basketball, wrestling and women's basketball matchups. Full previews for men's soccer, women's soccer and the swim and dive team can be found online or in Thursday's print edition of The Cavalier Daily.
Men’s Basketball
What: No. 7 Virginia vs. Virginia Commonwealth
When: Saturday, 2 p.m.
Where: Richmond, Virginia
The Cavaliers are 8-0 for the first time since 2003, largely thanks to their stifling defense, which currently ranks No. 2 nationally in scoring. Their most recent triumph came Wednesday, 76-65, at the expense of former ACC foe Maryland, who scored 12 points less than their season average against Virginia.
The Cavaliers recognize, however, that their next opponent will put up a fight. The Rams currently stand at 5-2 and are coming off a 66-62 win against Illinois State. This in-state rival has given Virginia trouble in recent years, most notably with their buzzer beating 59-56 win a season ago in Charlottesville.
VCU took that game after Treveon Graham hit a three pointer with 1.1 seconds to play in front of a packed John Paul Jones Arena. Graham continues to be a threat this year, as the senior put up 17 points and grabbed seven boards in the Rams latest victory. He will certainly be on the attack against the Cavalier defense Saturday afternoon.
Virginia has several dangerous scoring threats of its own though, with four players who play more than 15 minutes a game shooting more than 50 percent from the field. Junior guard Justin Anderson leads the way with 15.1 points per game, largely thanks to his red hot three-point shooting, hitting nearly 60 percent of his shots.
The Cavaliers have also benefitted from a rebounding advantage in each of their eight games thus far this season. Virginia has put up a combined 116 more rebounds than its opponents, including a +36 differential on the offensive glass. The Rams will need to put a body on Cavalier junior big men Mike Tobey and Anthony Gill — who each average more than six boards a game — if they hope to pull off the upset.
—compiled by Ryan Taylor
Wrestling
What: Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational
Where: Las Vegas Convention Center; Las Vegas, Nevada
When: Friday & Saturday December 6-7
No. 12 Virginia heads to Sin City for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational — the premier individual tournament in collegiate wrestling. The two day affair closely mirrors the structure and competition which will be found at March’s NCAA Championship.
Thirty eight teams join the Cavaliers (5-1) in Las Vegas including four top-10 teams.
Virginia expects to send four individually-ranked wrestlers to the tournament — No. 10 sophomore George DiCamillo, No. 9 senior Joe Spisak, No. 2 senior Nick Sulzer, and No. 9 junior Blaise Butler.
The Cavaliers placed seventh at the meet last season, a mark they’ll look to improve on this time around. In 2013, Sulzer won the 165-pound bracket, and Butler and then-sophomore Ethan Hayes both claimed sixth at 157-pounds and heavyweight, respectively.
—compiled by Matthew Wurzburger
Women’s Basketball
What: Virginia (5-2) vs. Delaware State (1-6)
Where: Charlottesville
When: Saturday, 2 p.m.
After an 86-63 loss to Illinois in Champaign Wednesday, Virginia returns to the comfort of JPJ — where the team is undefeated this season — to face Delaware State.
The Hornets are on the road once again, having only played one game at home through their first seven contests. In that game, they claimed their lone win of the year so far with a 71-60 defeat of Division II team Millersville.
Despite only having one win and picked to finish 12th in the Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference, Delaware State has one of the most potent offenses in the conference. Shooting 43.9 percent from the field, the Hornets boast the best field goal percentage in the MEAC. However, they are also last in the league on the opposite side of that category — allowing opponents to shoot almost 46 percent from the field for an average of 82.7 points per game.
Part of their struggle on the defensive side is due to the loss of guard/forward Deanna Harmon. Harmon led the team in steals in her senior campaign. She was second on the team in scoring behind current sophomore guard Raven Bankston.
In addition to Bankston, the Hornets also rely on redshirt senior forward Tierra Hawkins, who missed the last 12 games of the 2013-14 season due to a shoulder injury. Before the injury, she was one of only eight players in the nation averaging at least 20 points and 10 rebounds per game. This season, she is back to scoring at that same high level, but her rebounding average has dropped to only 6.6 per game.
The Cavaliers will look for a comeback of their own after allowing Illinois to shoot 55 percent from the court Wednesday night.
—compiled by Chanhong Luu
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