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UVA clinched a top 4 ACC seed

UVA clinched a top 4 ACC tournament seed and corresponding double bye with the results over the past couple of nights. The worst UVA can do with a loss to GT is be in a 3 way tie with Clemson and Pitt. If that happens, Clemson would be the 3 seed, UVA the 4 and Pitt the 5 based on the combined win percentages between the 3 teams. Pitt lost to Clemson twice making them 1-2, UVA 1-1, Clemson 2-1.

Everyone plays in Virginia's 26-12 romp over George Washington

Every starter and two reserves had at least 1 of Virginia's 24 hits. Every starter and one reserve had at least 1 RBI. Every starter and 1 reserve scored at least 1 run. Six starters and 1 reserve hit home runs, and Ford had 2. The pitching was not as sharp although Osinski, who was the winning pitcher, and O'Connor, who struck out the GW side in the 9th, had good outings.

Illinois ATH/S Robinson talks UVa interest, recruiting

Illinois ATH/S Donovan Robinson talked to @Dylan Callaghan-Croley about his interest in UVa, why he’s excited to get back to Charlottesville soon for his official visit, and more.

Pure lack of talent

Guys it wouldn't have mattered who was coaching tonight or what schemes they ran, we lost this game because we have so much less talent than Duke. We have less talent than some of the teams we have beaten too. I agree we should have seen more of Gertrude earlier this year, but really that wasn't going to make the difference in a game like this. Duke had more talent at every position except for Beekman. If Tony wants to return to his former level, he must get better talent from the portal, Power 5 level players, not kids from Merrimack and St. Thomas, not to knock Minor or Rhode but they are not that level talent. Then he needs to recruit and play the kids that he recruits so he can keep them for three or four years. We will never recruit the same kids as Duke or Carolina but we should be able to get kids at a level or better than every other team in the ACC.

UVA mens lacrosse just CHOKED big time; Nunes had one of the worse days I've seen in a while missing easy stoppable balls just inches from his net

We blew this game and mostly on Nunes that was a #1 recruit as a goalie, but not seeing that #1 play over the last few years. This was on a half dozen easy stops he let get by his net within inches and it was from guys way out in front with no impediment or being blocked out. This was equivalent to a pitcher throwing from between pitcher mound and second base at you and you let it get by cause you didn't drop your net down to ground level. Then he gets frustrated and punches the dirt.

Also the announcer rightly chastised Nunes for abandoned his back and body on the back side pole twice and once with just 6 seconds to score leaving his back side open and he got burned then did the punching the ground in frustration.

I've said this last season on this guy he has poor coordination skills when balls get by him and in the back net before you see him reflexively jerk his net up or down way after the fact and two embarrassing moments is when he had the ball dribble by and he is looking all around for the ball like a small child hunting the ball as it dribbles in the crease.

I thought we had recruited another #1 goalie and was he red shirted?

Nunes seems to never show up in big games and this was a game of historic magnitude given the history of UVA and John Hopkins.

Nunes had 6 to 7 scores that were on his strong side just inches from his net/pole and never seem to see them coming even looking right down at the guys serving them up. Just baffled how his reflexes could be so slow and several were just mental errors of not going down far enough on the ground that allowed several scores to go under his net he had 4 inches off the ground. So frustrating to have that many mental errors as a #1 guy/goalie in the country to take his back, leg, body off the back pole to not allow the ball to sneak by.

Virginia tames the PSU Lions 6 - 3

Coady started on the mound and went 4.2 innings. He gave up 7 hits and all 3 runs, all of which scored in the 5th inning. Hungate, Tonas, Osinski, Barker, and Teel followed Coady on the mound. They allowed 4 more scattered hits but 0 runs. Every player in the line up got at least 1 hit except Stephon, and O'Ferrall, Saucke, and Whalen had 2. O'Ferrall had 2 RBI.
Virginia scored 1 run in the 1st and 2nd innings and added 3 more in the 4th before PSU got on the board. They added an insurance run in the 8th. Hungate was credited with the win and Teel with his 4th save of the season.

Now baseball team gets embarrassed by a UMASS team that had only one win so far this year. What is going on?

We get embarrassed badly today to a team that only has one win this year. Didn't show up. Base running was bad with errors and we couldn't seem to get going or stop them from scoring on 2 outs in several innings.

We had TONS of opportunity but no focus when we had base runners and came up empty today. When you drop routine flys to the outfield as we did today you are not looking like a #13 team in the country.

The cameras were on UMASS players clowning in the dugout at home is not a good look.

I kind of start feeling O'connor and Bennett seem to have one thing in common these days is it doesn't seem to bother them like it did when they were in their first years here at UVA.

They both seem like they are close to retiring when a coach starts to not be bothered when you lose to an inferior team even on your own home field or court. That's a good time to pass the torch.

I get both are in their early 50's but the demeanor seems like they are both 60's; must be the silver grey hair.LOL

Evaluating UVa's Postseason Outlook (Updated Sunday 3/3)

NCAA TOURNAMENT

•UVa is in a better place than they were in mid-January, but a worse place than they were a few weeks ago. UVa got up as high as the 7-seed or 8-seed lines in most brackets. But three losses in four, with all three losses coming by double digits and all four games rather inefficient efforts, UVa now finds their resume slipping and their place in the bracket much more tenuous.

•Virginia’s average seed in bracketology, according to BracketMatrix, is 10.3. Joe Lunardi (ESPN) had UVa as one of the “Last Four Byes” after UNC, meaning they were a spot or two above the “Last Four In” and a trip to the First Four, but now, he has them in the First Four. Jerry Palm’s bracket, updated this morning, has UVa as a 10-seed, probably a spot or two above “Last Four In.”

•Needless to say, UVa is in on a razor’s edge with their resume. They only have three regular-season games left, while many of their bubble peers have four. That means fewer opportunities to improve the resume, but also, fewer opportunities to hurt it. UVa seems to be just on the good side of the bubble, so maybe it’s a good thing that they have less games to go, as they don’t necessarily have to play their way in at this point.

•What UVa does is most important: I think if UVa wins three games between the regular season and ACC Tournament, they’d have a good chance (though not a 100% lock) to get in. If one of their wins is at Duke, it improves their chances. A neutral court win in DC would also be useful, and I think if UVa can beat BC AND GT and lose at Duke, and then win in the ACC Quarterfinals against say, Clemson or Pitt or NC State on a neutral court, they’ve got a good shot to make the field.

•With all that said, what happens around UVa matters a lot too, and is something to keep in mind. If a lot of bubble teams play their way in over the next two weeks with signature wins, it puts more pressure on UVa and could move them down the seed list by default. If the opposite happens, UVa might be safe with just two more wins. And then UVa fans will have to worry about bid thieves in the conference tournaments (teams that were not going to make the field but take an auto-bid, sending a projected auto-bid team to an at-large spot, shrinking the bubble).

•Right now, based on how UVa is playing, what they have left on their schedule, and where they stand in metrics and bracketology, I’d give the Hoos about a 66.7% (2/3) to make the dance, though their odds of having to play in Dayton have risen considerably. If UVa wins goes 3-0 to end the regular season, I’d have them as a lock. If they went 2-1, beating BC and GT, I’d have them at about the same odds as today (depending on what happens around them) heading into the ACC Tournament, with a win there bumping their odds up to about 75%, and a loss in the first game making it 50/50 at best. If UVa goes 2-1 with wins over Duke and GT and a loss to BC, I’d have their odds at about 75%, given they’d have a signature Quad-1 road win over Duke added to the resume. If UVa goes 1-2, they’re probably less than 50% to make the tournament heading to DC, and would have to win two games to give themselves a good shot.

ACC TOURNAMENT

•With UNC’s win over Miami last night, the #1 seed in DC is officially off the table for UVa. Theoretically they could share the ACC regular-season title if they won out, UNC lost out, and Duke lost to Louisville or NC State in addition to their loss to the Hoos. I’m not even entertaining that scenario. UNC has a 90% chance to finish first at this point with a 1.5-game lead over Duke.

•Despite their recent slide, UVa still has a good chance at a top-four finish and a double bye in the ACC Tournament. Currently, UVa has a 80% at top-4, a number that has dropped considerably since their winning streak ended. If UVa wins out, they’re guaranteed a top-3 seed. If they go 2-1, they’ll have a 96% chance at top-4, and if they go 1-2 down the stretch, they still have a 62% chance to get a top-4 spot. If they lose out, they’re almost surely playing Wednesday in DC, and if they do, they have far bigger problems than ACC Tournament seeding.

•UVa is far more likely to end up 3rd or 4th (combined 63% chance) than 2nd (17% chance) at this point. Really, UVa’s only path to 2nd would include beating Duke (to get the tiebreaker there), probably winning out, and having Duke lose to UNC at home in the finale, or at NC State. Wake could also get involved in tiebreakers as they’re 10-6 and could theoretically win out. Wake has four games left: at ND, at VT, GT, Clemson; a trip to Blacksburg could be tricky, and Clemson at home should be an interesting finale for both teams.

•Here’s what UVa has already clinched: They can finish no worse than the #9 seed, so they won’t play on Tuesday in DC. UVa has a 99% chance to finish 6th or higher. The Hoos can clinch a top-6 seed with a win at BC on Wednesday, or any win in their final three games. It would be UVa’s 13th-straight year with a top-6 ACC Tournament seed.

•There are a bunch of scenarios where UVa can clinch higher than 9th without winning on Wednesday night, but there are a ton of them. There are four games tonight in the league, and there’s a decent chance UVa clinches no lower than the #8 seed by the end of the evening. (That would happen, for example, if VT lost at Syracuse and Louisville lost at Duke, among other scenarios).

•For Top 4 Tiebreakers: Wake is 10-6 to UVa’s 11-6, and then there’s a big group of teams at 9-7: Clemson, Pitt, NC State, and then Syracuse is 9-8 and FSU is 8-8. For UVa to avoid tiebreaker issues, the most-important teams to lose from that group are Pitt and then NC State. Pitt beat UVa head to head so if they end up tied at 13-7, let’s say, UVa would lose a head-to-head tiebreaker, or a three-way tie with Pitt and Wake. The good news is that a lot of these 9-7 teams play each other down the stretch, so somebody has to lose the games. The worst scenario for UVa from a tiebreaker standpoint would be Wake and Pitt winning out.

Remaining Schedules
 Wake (10-6): at ND, at VT, GT, Clemson
 Pitt (9-7): at Clemson, at BC, FSU, NC State
 NC State (9-7): at FSU, at UNC, Duke, at Pitt
 Clemson (9-7): Pitt, at ND, Syracuse, at Wake
 Syracuse (9-8): VT, at Louisville, at Clemson
 FSU (8-8): NC State, at GT, at Pitt, Miami

Deep Dive- Part I: How the Golden Era of UVa hoops lost some steam

Deep Dive: On the heels of the 10th anniversary of UVa’s ACC regular-season title clinching win over Syracuse, @justin ferber looks back at what’s happened since.

Part I focuses on how the Golden Era of Wahoo basketball has lost some steam.

Beekman

Because of our team's overall performance in several of our most important games, Beekman has not received the recognition that he deserves from the media and even some Virginia fans. Today was a prime example. On offense the team made 17 field goals; Beekman made 7 and assisted on 7 made by his teammates; he participated in 82.3% of our made field goals. His field goal shooting percentage was 46.6%, and the rest of the team was 25%. His 6 rebounds tied for the team best. He had all 3 of our team's steals. He did this while not committing any fouls and drawing 4 of the 11 fouls committed by Duke. He did this while facing off against very talented opponent players.

Virginia takes game three 10 - 6 over UMass

Woolfolk started on the mound for Virginia, and in spite of giving up at least one hit in each of the six innings that he pitched, he allowed only 1 run. Tonas pitched the 7th inning and gave up two hits and one unearned run. Osinski set UMass down in the 8lth. Barker struggled on the mound in the 9th inning and gave up four runs on three hits. He gave way to Teel, who gave up one hit before retiring the final two batters.
Virginia scored three runs each in innings two, three, and four and the final run in the 7th. Stephon, Ford, Saucke, Didawick, and Godbout each had two hits for Virginia. Ford and Godbout each hit a home run and had 3 RBI.

Virginia defeated New Hampshire 4-3 in 10 innings.

New Hampshire scored all of their runs in the 6th innings to take a 3-2 lead over the Cavs. Blanco started on the mound for the Cavs and allowed just one hit in 5.2 innings and was relieved by Jaxel with two outs and two runners on base. Jaxel gave up a home run to the first batter he faced. Osinski pitched the 7th, Tonas the 8th and 9th, and Teel pitched the 10 and got the win. The first six batters each had one hit for Virginia, and Godbout had two hits, including the game winning RBI single which sent home Didawick who had singled and stolen second base. This was his second RBI of the game; the first two runs were taliied in the 4th inning when Ford led off with a single, Anderson walked, and Saucke beat out a bunt to load the bases. Didawick walked to bring in Ford, and Anderson scored on a ground out by Godbout. Godbout had scored the game tying run in the 9th when he led off with a double, moved the third on a sacrifice by Hanson, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Whalen.

Hard to believe this was six years ago (and a day)

I remember being so mad at the end of this game being down 4 knowing we were going to lose and was on my way to grab the remote to turn the channel when for some reason I stuck with it, I guess to see Bennett still react with class after the loss. So glad I did, couldn't sleep for hours after that finish being so amped by what happened. One of the most improbable endings to any college basketball game I've ever seen.

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The Athletic: Virginia basketball has taken Tony Bennett on a roller coaster ride this season

Good article based on a recent interview with Tony .Virginia basketball has taken Tony Bennett on a roller coaster ride this season It’s paywalled but a couple of notable points.

I didn’t realize the 8 game winning streak was preceded by a players only meeting that was prompted by Tony ending a practice early.
‘Frustration boiled over, as much as it does with the ever-pleasant Bennett, during one practice after the team’s blowout loss at Wake Forest on Jan. 13. Bennett can’t even remember now if he kicked his players out or just ended things early… A players-only meeting ensued, led largely by Beekman… In that players-only meeting, the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year told his teammates that this season was reminding him of his sophomore year in Charlottesville, in 2021-22: when Virginia finished 21-14 … and went to the NIT… Roles were defined right then and there. Frustrations were voiced. “Closed mouths,” Minor says, “don’t get fed.” The result was immediate…”’​

The article goes heavy on what we talk about here – Tony’s approach is to go heavy on experience and time in the system. This team is young and hasn’t played together much. A relevant quote:
‘Bennett’s few returners saw he was trying to embrace experimentation. Letting guys play through mistakes, with a longer-term vision in mind. “He was a little bit more lenient,” Dunn says, “a little understanding that, we’re all new.” But losses of that magnitude, that frequency were unfamiliar.’​

One of one film sessions with the coaches accelerated Minor’s understanding of the defense.

I didn’t realize Bennett found out about Dunn from former BC coach Steve Donahue and his family said he was going to UVA even if it was as a preferred walk-on (Traudt had just filled the last scholarship spot at the time they were trying to close him).

The article quotes Tony on how a lack of confidence is impacting them offensively.

UVA women's team is so perplexing to watch when you see lapses in Defense that don't have to be. You have some players that have poor footwork on D.

I've been a big fan of the ladies team. Kamara's family is personal friends of my younger brother; her dad/granddad played ball with my brother through the years and grandmother is a good friend, so I don't want to sound like I'm being mean toward the ladies team.

We like what Coach Mox has been doing, but there will need to be ALOT of work after the season is over with returnees.

The most perplexing thing is how the taller thinner ladies like Clark, and McGhee on D seem to always be chasing behind the person they are guarding which causes another teammate to come up and cut their person off; which mostly leads to a foul, or the person they come and pick up dishes the ball off to the UVA ladies person they WERE guarding that is then wide open under the basket. We saw that over and over in this Duke game and made it too easy for them to score.

Got to tell you that McGhee is like Rohde 2.0 as far as always being beaten badly on the step and both her and Clark are always chasing from behind. Coach M. will need to work on D drills on footwork and staying in front. Half the time McGhee seems like she is running around chasing butterflies up top and over plays or over purses like Clark does on Run by hands up to have the shooter wait for her to run by and have an easy open 3pt. This team as a whole are slow getting out on 3pt shooters that we see having easy open shots game after game. So frustrating to see that lack of hustle when they hedge back in with three trying to guard underneath to leave 3pt shooters wide open.

We will need some taller post ladies that can defend under the basket better than Burnelle and Clarkson who I both like but they both have a major weight problem and are constantly being beat and out hustled for rebounds and or easy put back. Got to get some slightly athletic girls like we used to have back in Debbie Ryan's era.
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