Gill 3/9 and Tobey 2/5. Gill tends to struggle against bigger guys and did so tonight. He and Tobey probably missed six shots within four feet between them. My concern is that UNC has superior size as well. Some funny shot choices down the stretch and little sense of urgency. Hate we dropped this one.

MB cant do it alone. LP doesnt seem to want to shoot unless the defender is 5ft away, Tobey still soft as hell on the court. Hall, Thompson, Shayok and Wilkins seem to be scared to do anything offensively unless time is running down other than that they are setting screens and passing it back to Gill and MB. Wish someone would have put a tracking device on Gill's game so we could locate it. I see us no better than Sweet 16 if that.

Frustrating thing about this club when we get stuck in a scoring drought I think we rely on our defense a little too much to hold teams under a certain point total. Defense carries but not all the time and I just feel like our offense can be so robotic.

Case in point, when down three LP after not being able to get that elevator screen option to Malcolm took way too much time off the clock. Guys on this board have been screaming about this for years, even in games we're down we just gradually walk the ball up the court. Sometimes we have to understand the need to push tempo or the results in March are going to be the same and we will just spend another season underachieving.

Im confused. Why is the thread blocking any further posts? I didn't read any inappropriate comments. Honestly confused.

About 20 minutes before the tip down in Coral Gables between No. 3 UVa and No. 12 Miami. I'll be back with starters and game updates in a few but according to multiple sources in the building, the Cavaliers will be without Evan Nolte tonight due to a toe injury on his left foot.

As always, have at it folks...

Nm

I'd like to shove K's comments from last season up his can.

He said "look at the schedule to see who will win the title" in order to lessen the magnitude of our winning it outright again last year (implying only got it by the scheduling gods giving us an easier path). If we somehow get at least a tie for the title playing Louisville, Miami, Clemson and VT twice each and only getting Pitt, Duke, and FSU on the road, then that would be one heck of an accomplishment. Throw in the GA travel/Cameron "magic" and it would really be something.

be it the NBA, Wisconsin, wherever. What do you think our strategy would be to find a replacement?

Only curious because I occasionally drop in (but don't post) on the Washington State boards. After seven years, there's rarely a time when there isn't a TB thread on the first page or two. It's like they've been in a state of never-ending mourning since Spring 2009. Like most, I hope Tony ends up being our K or Boeheim, and is here the next couple of decades. However, the day may come when he wants something else.

If an NBA team threw money and opportunity at Tony in June, who do you think we could get right now given where we are as a program, the current roster and the talent that's in the pipeline?

Do you think we'd roll the dice on Jason W. or Ron S. for continuity and to keep the system in place, despite no head coaching experience? Or are we at a place TODAY that we could pull a young, highly sought-after replacement? Someone like an Archie Miller.

I'm sure most folks initial reaction after reading this will be "Why even ask such a question...he's not going anywhere!!". And there's a 99.9% chance that's the case. I just wonder how attractive UVa would be today (before Tony takes us to FF's or wins a title) if we suddenly found ourselves in WSU's position back in 2009.

… And that's the one that usually underrates us. It feels like a long time ago when some were fretting that this could be a 9-9 ACC team.

Every time I watch any of the other elite teams, I like our chances going up against them on a neutral court. It's not just where we have a 'chance' to beat them, but I have every expectation that we should. That's a terrific feeling. We just need to keep our aggressiveness and mojo up heading into the post season!

Has us a 1-seed playing Texas Tech/VCU winner in the second round in Raleigh. That seems reasonable.

With a chalk bracket, we would be facing the Kentucky-IU winner in Louisville (less than two hours from each campus and obviously with huge followings for each in those cities). That, my friends, would be the equivalent of playing Michigan State in Detroit or UConn in the Garden. Jeez.

Then, for good measure, he has Xavier as our #2. Stylistically I would welcome that match up, but an hour and a half from their campus? Really?

I know Lunardi never gets the actual matchups right, that there is still a lot of hoops left, etc., etc., etc., but does anyone else get the feeling that he might not be that far off in his projection? I mean other than sticking MSU in as the 3 in that region, is there a worse scenario UVa could get as a 1-seed?

lost to Coastal? Anybody have summary thoughts?

This is something I'll try to update as we move closer to the end of the regular season. With most teams in the league having four games left, we're getting a clearer picture to what the ACC standings and conference tournament could look like in two weeks time. Right now, the following teams are legitimate contenders for the ACC Regular Season title, and double byes in DC*:
(*Louisville is not a factor for the ACC Tournament, but could still win the regular season title)

Standings & Remaining schedule:
1. North Carolina (11-3): @NC State, @UVa, Syracuse, @Duke
2. Virginia (10-4): @Miami, UNC, @Clemson, Louisville
3. Miami (10-4): Virginia, Louisville, @ND, @VT
4. Louisville (10-4): @Pitt, @Miami, Georgia Tech, @UVa
5. Notre Dame (9-5): @Wake, @FSU, Miami, NC State
6. Duke (9-5): FSU, @Pitt, Wake, UNC

For now, we'll leave Clemson (9-6), Pittsburgh (8-6), and Syracuse (8-7) out of the discussion. But they could still sneak into the top 4 if other teams lose, particularly Clemson.

UVa tiebreakers:
UVa has clinched a head-to-head tiebreaker over Notre Dame. With wins over Miami, Louisville, and UNC, they will clinch tiebreakers over those teams as well. At worst, UVa will split the head-to-head tiebreakers with Louisville and Miami, as they've already beaten them once. UVa loses a head-to-head tiebreaker with Duke.

Path to the Regular Season Title:
The easiest path for UVa to win their third straight regular season title, or at least a share of it, is to win out. If UVa finishes 14-4 in the ACC, they will be the #1 seed in the ACC Tournament, and at worst will share the regular season title with North Carolina. If the Heels were to drop one more game, UVa would win the title outright at 14-4. If UVa loses a game, or more, the path to the regular season title becomes much trickier. If that loss is to UNC, then it would be almost impossible for UVa to win the regular season title. Carolina would need to drop two more games and UVa would have to win out just for the two teams to tie, and Carolina would still win the head-to-head tiebreaker and get the #1 seed in DC. The most important game for UVa, after this weekend's results, is Saturdays matchup with North Carolina.

Rooting Interests in Upcoming Games:
When one of the teams listed below is playing a team further down the league standings that's not listed above, root for that team. Simple as that. So if NC State beats UNC at home this week, that's good for UVa, and every other team at the top of the standings, really. Both Pitt and FSU have a chance to do some damage over the next two weeks. Pitt hosts both Duke and Louisville, and FSU has games with Notre Dame and Duke.

Louisville at Miami (Saturday): Root for Louisville. Louisville won't be in DC, so them beating Miami will help UVa with seeding in the ACC Tournament. Louisville did UVa a big favor on Saturday, by beating Duke at home. That result was bigger than UNC beating Miami, as Duke holds the tiebreaker over UVa.

Miami at Notre Dame (Next Week): Root for Notre Dame (probably). Notre Dame has five league losses, so them beating Miami would ensure Miami has at least five league losses of their own. That means even if UVa loses to Miami on Monday, the Irish could ensure that the Hoos and Canes are tied in the standings heading into UVa's clash with UNC. If UVa beats Miami, then this game isn't as important, as both teams will already have five league losses, and UVa will hold the tiebreaker over both. But if UVa beats Miami and the Canes follow that with a loss to Notre Dame, that would make it much less likely that Miami would finish above UVa in the standings, especially if UVa beats UNC.

UNC at Duke (March 5): TBD. It's too early to tell which team winning would benefit UVa more at this point. If Duke has a chance to tie UVa with a win in that game, then UVa fans should definitely root for UNC.

Path to a Double Bye in the ACCT:
Losses by Duke and Notre Dame on Saturday make UVa's path to a double-bye easier. With Louisville out of the mix, there are five teams for four double-bye spots, with 9-6 Clemson lurking. Here's how different UVa finishes would impact their chances to finish top four in the league and have the chance to rest until the tournament's Quarterfinals:

4-0: Lock. UVa would be the #1 seed in DC.
3-1: Lock. 3-1 means UVa would've beaten at least one of UL or UM, giving them at least 5 losses.
2-2: Pretty likely. A 12-6 finish would probably be enough for a double-bye because of tiebreakers, but they probably wouldn't be better than 3rd place, barring upsets.
1-3: Unlikely, depending on who they beat.
0-4: If UVa finishes 0-4, they have bigger problems than the double-bye in the ACC Tournament.

Summary: Winning out delivers UVa the ACC Regular Season title, the #1 seed in DC, and a good shot at a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament depending on how the Hoos do in the conference tournament. A 3-1 finish gets them a double-bye, and an outside shot at the #1 seed in DC, if the loss isn't to UNC. 2-2 or worse, and UVa will be looking for help from other teams.

From UVa:

Virginia Falls at No. 23 Coastal Carolina, 5-4
Chanticleers rally as UVA pitchers walk seven batters in defeat

No. 23 Coastal Carolina rallied in its final two trips to the plate in scoring a 5-4 victory over the Virginia baseball team Sunday afternoon in the Caravelle Resort Tournament at Springs Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C. Ranked between No. 4 and No. 13 in the preseason polls, the Cavaliers (2-1) walked seven Chanticleer batters in the defeat.

“Tommy Doyle settled in and gave us six great innings, but today is an example that you don’t beat good teams – and Coastal Carolina has a really good ballclub – when you don’t take care of the game,” Brian O’Connor said. “We had seven walks, with five in the last two innings, and we made two really crucial baserunning mistakes. That’s too much to overcome.”

Virginia reliever Alec Bettinger (Jr., Woodbridge, Va.) suffered the loss and fell to 0-1 after allowing a run, hit and two walks in the eighth inning. Coastal Carolina reliever Andrew Beckwith (1-0) worked 4 1/3 scoreless innings to pick up the victory.

UVA starter Tommy Doyle (So., Vienna, Va.) worked six strong innings in his first college start, giving up two earned runs, four hits and two walks while striking out six. Over the course of the opening weekend, Virginia’s starting rotation of Connor Jones (Jr., Chesapeake, Va.), Daniel Lynch (Fr., Henrico, Va.) and Doyle allowed two earned runs over 18 innings.

Coastal Carolina starter Cole Schaefer pitched 4 1/3 innings, giving up four runs (three earned), seven hits and two walks while striking out three.

Virginia out-hit Coastal (2-1), 12-6, with Ernie Clement (So., Rochester, N.Y.) going 3-for-4 to cap an 8-for-15 weekend. Matt Thaiss (Jr., Jackson, N.J.), Jake McCarthy (Fr., Scranton, Pa.) and Andy Weber (Fr., Aurora, Ohio) each recorded a pair of hits.

Both teams scored in the opening inning, as UVA got a run-scoring single from Thaiss, while Coastal countered with a two-run home run from G.K. Young.

The starting pitchers settled down until Virginia was able to break through for three runs in the fifth inning. After a one-out Weber single, Adam Haseley (So., Windermere, Fla.) launched a two-run home run over the left-center field wall. Clement followed with a single to knock Schaefer from the game. Facing Beckwith with runners on second and third and two out, Daniel Pinero (Jr., Toronto, Ontario) grounded in the hole at shortstop, but Michael Paez’s throw was wide and Pinero avoided the tag, with Clement scoring on the errant throw.

Coastal knotted the game 4-4 in the seventh inning against the UVA bullpen, taking advantage of three walks before Paez delivered a 2-out single with the bases loaded to score Cameron Pearcey and Billy Cooke.

The Chanticleers pushed the go-ahead run across in the eighth inning. After a pair of one-out Bettinger walks, Coastal got a two-out RBI single from Cooke to score pinch runner Dalton Ewing. UVA put runners on the corners with one out in the ninth inning, but Beckwith induced a 4-6-3 double-play ball from Thaiss to end the game.

Virginia heads back to Charlottesville to open its home schedule on Tuesday when it takes on VMI in a 3 p.m.game at Davenport Field. The Cavaliers play host to East Carolina next Friday through Sunday in a three-game series.

talent Appy State has, but I think that we can feel a little better about our pitching. Lynch was very impressive in his first college start, and Grounds and Roberts pitched well in relief. In case no one has noticed, the Smith kid can hit.

Obviously we're going to marvel at the brilliance of Tony Bennett, but thinking back to the previous two coaches was it really our recruiting was that bad or was the coaching that bad?

I thought Pete got the most out of his kids from a rankings standpoint and was robbed by Mapp getting hurt.

Dave brought some pretty talented kids in, but when you start bringing in the likes of Sam Warren we were doomed.

Think it boils down to guys who recruited pretty decent but just didn't have a vision of where the program was going to go kind of like we saw under Mike London. Recruiting wasn't so bad, but coaching development was off.

Imagine if:

Elton Brown
Adam Hall
Sean Singletary
Diane (he would have killed it in the packline)
Travis Walton
Tat

Could've all play for Tony with his current players. The proof in the pudding is what he did with Meyinsee his last season.

It's crazy how much a good coach with a plan for a system can make things go which is why am excited to see what Bronco does on the football side because he has a vision.

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In the latest installment of the CavsCorner Podcast, we look back at the loss Virginia suffered in Durham last weekend and what that result, and really what the officiating at the end of the game specifically, says about college basketball in general. We'll also get into the game itself, why it matters for the Cavaliers, and also too what's there to take away from the dominant second half against NC State and how that gives a glimpse of what UVa's ceiling might be going into the postseason.

I meant to post this at the time, but with it being basketball season, football obviously gets lost in the background, but during his introduction as coach he made a comment that he doesn't really believe in redshirting and if a guy deserves a fifth-year that is more his approach. Now I know the world of recruiting was way different at BYU because of the kids leaving for their mission and it's been a hot contentious issue on this board about guys redshirting. So first of all I want to more insight into what bronco really meant, and secondly like I've said many times we are not loaded enough on our roster to say a freshman can't play over an upperclassman at most positions. If you think about it imo, unless you have a stud, the only position where most guys should be redshirted is QB and OL and if you look at our roster now how deep are we really?

QB- not like we have a superstar, but enough bodies where we can redshirt

RB- deep enough that we can redshirt at least this season

WR- a lot of bodies, but no one really sticks out in my mind

TE- not really sure the numbers here, but the quality at that position has to get better

OL- we need numbers and should be able to redshirt, but we also need to start getting better at that position

DL- another position we need numbers, maybe not as much now that we're running a 3-4, but we could use more talent as well as redshirting guys

LB- not exactly sure where we're going to go with this considering we switched our defense, but definitely a position we need numbers, but also feel like we're good enough for at least a year most guys at that position can RS

DB- actually think next to running back this is our second strongest position and with better coaching we can afford a redshirt some guys for year too because of the talent we have

Coach Mendenhall Born Feb. 21 ,1966

Win our remaining 4 games, and it's done. Another #1 seed in the ACCT. Heels drop one of their remaining 3 (in addition to our game) and it's a 3rd straight outright...2 of their other 3 are on the road, including Cameron.

IMO Monday night holds the key. We win in Coral Gables, and I think we do it. Don't see Carolina beating us at JPJ, or Malcolm and crew losing to Louisville on SR night. We're just better than Clemson...even in Greenville.

I couldn't help but notice that in the ACC standings Miami is listed above us even though we have the same 10-4 conference record. We hold the tiebreaker against them and should therefore be listed ahead of them, but I'm guessing that ESPN just places teams with the same record in alphabetical order. Not a big deal, but if the season ended today we would be a 2 seed and not a 3 seed as the standings would indicate on ESPN. Just wondering if anyone had the 411 on why the standings aren't accurate or don't take into account the actual tiebreakers.