Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus- Wow! We are at the quarter pole and Virginia is undefeated and in 1st place in the ACC. Everyone who predicted that, raise your hand. Nobody in Charlottesville has their hand raised either! Great job by Tony Bennett and his staff- he has them playing hard-nosed defense and not looking at the bench when they make a mistake. They have a big test at Wake on Saturday- more on that later.
At least as surprising is a look at the bottom three- UNC,Miami, and Virginia Tech. We know about the talent drain at Carolina and the injuries and killer non-conference schedule, but 1-3?? Their guard play has been spotty but the most glaring weakness is their defense, last in the ACC, giving up 73 points per game. The defense can be improved but I’m not sure about the guard play and perimeter offense. At this point, Carolina is barely a bubble team with 3 of their next 4 on the road where they are 0-4. Miami has been the most disappointing team in the league to me. They got off to 16-1 start, built on a very easy schedule, but have hit the wall hard in league play. The loss to BC at home on Tuesday was one of the great head scratchers of the season so far. Miami was ahead by 16 in the second half to a team in disarray and still found a way to lose.3 of their next 4 are on the road as well where they are winless to date. Virginia Tech has only one win but have 5 of their next 8 at Cassell. Jeff Allen has to step up to get the Hokies rolling.
Can I show you to your seats? Congrats to Sidney Lowe and the red jacket for the Wolfpack’s win against Duke. I thought that Tracy Smith would struggle against taller front lines but he was terrific. It was also impressive to watch Javi Gonzalez pull out of his funk and play with confidence. I look forward to being at RBC next Tuesday when the Tar heels come to town!
Games this weekend- Virginia @ Wake- 4:00pm – This will be a tough test for the Cav’s. They must battle Wake’s size advantage on the boards. Mike Scott must be a man in the post- his production will be a key. Virginia’s point guards must also keep Ish Smith under control-no easy task. Smith is playing with a lot of confidence. This is clearly his team and he is the engine that drives Wake. Wake is really tough when freshmen C.J. Harris and Ari Stewart are making shots. If they are making 3’s, Virginia will be hard pressed to match Wake’s offense. The best matchup may be L.D. Williams against Sylven Landesberg.This game is all about tempo- Wake wants it in the 80’s, Virginia in the high 60’s.
Sunday- Noon- Georgia Tech @ Florida St. – Yes, Noon! Lots of coffee for the G-man!! This is a rematch of a game in December when FSU went to Tech and got a win. This will be a battle of two BIG teams that are very good defensively. The first game’s score was 66-59…in overtime!! Look for another low scoring game. Chris Singleton may be the best defender in the ACC. He’s in the top five in blocks and steals- a rare feat! FSU does not have a dominant scorer but are much more balanced. The big difference is a healthy Iman Shumpert for Tech. He missed the first game but is back and playing at a very high level- witness his 30 point effort in the win at Carolina. Tech has beaten 3 ranked teams in their last 4 games. They are playing as well as anyone in the conference. They will be looking for revenge on the road!