As winners of seven in a row and 12 of the last 14, the Virginia Cavaliers (23-3, 11-2) now have an opportunity for not only another home win, but a chance to add some cushion between them and the third-best team in the ACC. The Miami Hurricanes (21-5, 10-3) travel to JPJ in what looks to be one of the better games of the entire college basketball slate Saturday.
UVA enters the weekend off of a dominant win at Georgia Tech, a game in which the Yellow Jackets didn’t touch double digits until the 5:50 mark of the opening half, with UVA’s lead climbing as high as 38 at one point. The Cavaliers went on to drill 14 threes and dominated the rebounding battle, per usual, by 17 boards.
Ryan Odom and the ‘Hoos have continued to what’s most important throughout the heart ACC play (win ball games) but after finally beating the brakes off a bad team for the first time in a while, perhaps it can provide a jolt as a challenging three game stretch begins this weekend.
While Duke, North Carolina, and UVA have garnered most of the headlines for the league this year, Miami has silently put together a respectable resume in Jai Lucas’ first year as head coach. The Canes have won four in a row, including a nine-point ‘W’ over UNC to go with narrow escapes of NC State and Virginia Tech.
Offensively, the Canes own the best field goal percentage in the ACC at 50.5%, with five of their rotation guys shooting 31% or better from three. Malik Reneau (19.7 PPG) and Tre Donaldson (16.4 PPG) lead the offensive push and have alternated who did the bulk of the scoring in the team’s past two games with Donaldson pouring in 32 against the Hokies and Reneau dropping 26 on NC State. Donaldson has emerged as one of the best passer’s in the league in his first year in Coral Gables, dishing out almost six assists per night.
Tip off in Charlottesville is slated for 2PM on ESPN2. Wes Durham and Randolph Childress will have the call. Here are two keys and a prediction for the game.
Can UVA Neutralize Ernest Udeh Jr. on the glass?
While the 6-foot-11, 266-pound senior hasn’t been much of a scoring threat the last two games, he’s been critical when it comes to cleaning the glass. Udeh pulled down nine boards against the Hokies and eight against the Wolfpack. He’s also had games of double digit boards against two ranked teams in UNC (who employs two of the ACC’s best in the rebounding category) and Clemson.
Udeh’s season average stands at 9.5 rebounds per game, trailing only Duke’s Cam Boozer. He outweighs both Onyenso and Grunloh by 20 pounds, so not only rebounding positioning, but UVA’s overall defensive attitude towards Udeh Jr. will need to be physical from the moment the ball passes mid-court to ensure one and done trips for the Canes. With a bout against Boozer and Duke looming, this should be the best dress rehearsal the ‘Hoos can get in terms of containing a bigger body for loose balls.
Dallin Hall and Chance Mallory’s defense against Tre Donaldson
UVA held Georgia Tech to 38% shooting from the field, allowing only 27 first half points. The combination of solid on-ball defense with the reliable rim protection on the back end kept the Jackets from finding the bottom of the cup for the vast majority of that game.
Miami’s scoring in the past four games hasn’t eclipsed past the 77-point mark, despite the Hurricanes averaging around 83 per game on the season. A big part of what makes this offense go is the passing of Donaldson all over the floor. He’s dished out five-plus assists eight times throughout conference play, but was held to only two his last time out. Whether it’s as the trigger man for Miami in the half-court or another night where he looks to be the main man in the scoring department, Dallin Hall and Chance Mallory will have an important task on their hands to contain him, or at least force him to score on his own in or around the paint, where Ugonna Onyenso, has been on a tear as of late as a shot blocker.
With UVA set to officially name the court inside JPJ after Tony Bennett before this game tips off, maybe that means we’re due to see a second consecutive defensive gem, not only from Mallory and Hall, but the team as a whole.
Prediction
Given the physicality of both teams, particularly in the front court, I think this game ends up looking like a fist fight in a phone booth. A win here would be a one giant step closer to a potential conference-deciding game with Duke next weekend. I’ll take the ‘Hoos in a close one, with a sold out JPJ proving huge to go with big-time scoring lifts from the supporting cast of Sam Lewis and Jacari White.
Prediction: ‘Hoos 73, ‘Canes 66