One of the biggest questions lingering throughout the offseason was who would fill the void at point guard left by Jontel “Bub” Evans. Evans was a fixture in the Cavaliers’ backcourt dating back to the 2009-2010 season, playing in 120 of his team’s 129 games during his four years at Virginia and starting 92.
Last year senior guard Joe Harris had a breakout season, establishing himself as the Virginia men basketball team’s best scoring option and one of the top scorers in the ACC. That status came with burden of carrying the Cavaliers’ offense — through 19 games last year, Harris had 12 games in which he attempted more than 10 shots.
North Carolina kept the game close for the opening 15 minutes, but the Virginia men’s basketball team ended the first half on a 12-2 run and never looked back.
Monday’s win for the Virginia men’s basketball team was utterly workmanlike. The Cavaliers’ opponent never truly troubled them in the second half, and looking up and down the score sheet, there was no clear star—just a coordinated, complete win.
When you consider eight players were ejected in the opening two seconds of Saturday’s Flames-Canucks game, a pair of ejections for Virginia’s men’s basketball team doesn’t sound too bad in comparison.
For the fourth time in five games, the Virginia men’s basketball blazed out to a fast start against a conference opponent, piling on early against Florida State.
The Virginia men’s basketball team, coming off a heartbreaking loss to Duke, will take on Florida State Saturday at home.
The old adage goes: you learn more from failure than success. Personally, I would prefer winning every time, and I would bet the Virginia men’s basketball team would agree. Yet in spite of a heartbreaking sequence of events in the final 30 seconds of a 69-65 road loss to Duke, the saying held true and we learned just how gritty the Cavaliers are. Virginia spent much of the first half trying to claw its way back into the game.
The 2013 season was a breakout season for senior Akil Mitchell. He emerged as one of the most well-rounded big men in the ACC and was third in the conference with 12 double-doubles.
Shooting just 38 percent from the field, Virginia really had no business being in their game Monday night against Duke. But after a stunning second half run, Virginia took a 65-64 lead with 38 seconds left. Duke would take the lead back, and on the ensuing possession, a missed deflected pass would give the Blue Devils the ball and the dramatic 69-65 win.
If the Virginia men’s basketball team resolved to go undefeated in the New Year, the Cavaliers have kept their resolution much longer than I have.
The Virginia men’s basketball team won its third consecutive conference game by double figures Saturday, handily dispatching N.C. State in Raleigh, 76-45. The Cavaliers are 3-0 in the ACC for the first time in four seasons and are one of just three remaining undefeated teams in the conference, along with No. 2 Syracuse and Pittsburgh.
The Virginia men’s basketball won its sixth consecutive ACC season opener Saturday against Florida State, defeating the Seminoles 62-50 in Tallahassee and rebounding from its second-most lopsided defeat ever under coach Tony Bennett. The Cavaliers ended a 17-game losing streak in the state of Florida, notching their first victory in the state since a 69-66 win against the Seminoles Feb. 17, 2001.
When Tennessee senior guard Antonio Barton hit a half-court 3-pointer as time expired in the first half, it epitomized the Virginia men’s basketball team’s night. The Volunteers shot the lights out Monday in Knoxville, trouncing the Cavaliers 87-52 and dealing the team its worst defeat since falling to No. 11 Washington 106-63 Nov. 22, 2010.
For the second time in as many games, sophomore guard Justin Anderson led the Virginia men’s basketball team to victory, recording a game-high 14 points and eight rebounds against Norfolk State. The Cavaliers never trailed in their 66-56 win against the Spartans, and enter their short holiday break on a two-game winning streak.
The Virginia men’s basketball team snapped a two-game skid Saturday afternoon, overcoming a sluggish first half at John Paul Jones Arena to defeat Northern Iowa, 57-43.
To say Virginia failed to “throw it in the ocean” in a deflating 48-38 home defeat to No. 8 Wisconsin Wednesday night might represent a gross understatement.
With two and a half minutes to go in Virginia’s Wednesday night game against No. 8 Wisconsin, the Cavaliers picked up a rebound and brought the ball down the court looking to start something – anything, really.
When No. 8 Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan steps on the court at John Paul Jones Arena Wednesday, he will be looking to best Virginia coach Tony Bennett for his 300th win with the Badgers. But over a decade ago, the two shared the court a different time, when Bennett coached on Ryan’s staff for his very first win.
The Virginia men’s basketball team cruised to an 83-63 win Saturday against Missouri State to win the Corpus Christi Challenge in Texas after narrowly defeating Southern Methodist in the semifinal.
