Other than Oregon's home floor, have you seen an uglier floor? Who comes up with this stuff?

Look at the last paragraph...wow!

Here are the highlights, ordered according to awesomeness:



No. 12 Villanova Wildcats at No. 8 Virginia Cavaliers, Noon ET, ESPN2

On Sunday, Villanova beat La Salle 76-47. This is not noteworthy in its own right. What is noteworthy is that one game after their 4-for-32 3-point whiff-fest in a blowout loss to No. 3 Oklahoma, the Wildcats once again happily hoisted more 3s (28) than 2s (23). This time they made 13. We bring this up because the Wildcats' struggles from the 3-point line this season are the only difference between their current No. 12 ranking and a likely spot in the AP top five -- and it is only a matter of time before a team this confident from long range (and this accurate elsewhere on the floor) starts burying some of those 3s. It's entirely plausible that Virginia could be the second victim of a gathering storm of statistical correction, and if you think Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett isn't worried about that very notion at this very second, you haven't been paying attention.

Then again, Virginia's own early shooting woes -- like all those open looks that wouldn't fall in the Hoos' lone loss Nov. 16 at George Washington -- are decidedly a thing of the past. The Cavaliers are averaging 38 percent from 3, led by Malcolm Brogdon's high-volume efficiency and a 14-of-26 season mark from London Perrantes. Combining that accuracy with the customary aversion to turnovers has made UVa one of the nation's best offenses since the GW defeat -- and, yes, it is still playing top-five defense, too.

The point is, both of these teams are better than the numbers next to their names. Virginia might be the best team in the country. Villanova isn't far behind. And this game isn't merely the best of the day: It's one of the best nonconference games of the season.

Might want to get used to the new look of our content pages...

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One of those days you don't even get out of the chair.

Big UVA basketball game at noon. Get to watch our new football coach get his 100th win at 3:30. Any number of basketball and bowl games. Cowboys-Jets on NFL network and a solid UFC on FOX card at 8. HBO Boxing After Dark to cap it all off.

I might have a hard time finding a chance to grab a pizza with all that going on.

The WAR ROOM is back and this special edition is full of hoops recruiting scoop! The Wahoos are coming off their exam break this weekend and face a Top 15 opponent but before that, the coaches were able to get back out on the road to do some more scouting and evaluating, which isn't always easy during the season. We'll give you a rundown of where each of Virginia's three assistants coaches were, who they saw, what they liked, and what it means for the program's recruiting efforts but not before we give you an overview of the current scholarship situation. How will the Cavaliers use the spots they have? And might they be looking to do something a little out of their norm when it comes to the one scholarship they have available in the 2017 class? We'll give you that info and more.

As always, what's said in the War Room, stays in the War Room. Let's go!


Staff hits the road

The exam break last week afforded UVa a chance to get its coaches out on the road to do some recruiting, which during the season is always a bit of a challenge. All three of the assistant coaches hit the trail following last Tuesday night's game in New York City before they returned to Charlottesville for practices following the weekend.

In short, Tony Bennett and his staff continue to widen the net in the 2018 and 2019 classes, while the focus in 2017 continues to be somewhat open ended. Sources say the Wahoos are continuing to assess their needs based on the current roster but in reality, they will know a great deal more once the four members of the 2016 class arrive on Grounds.

Talking to various sources this week, it certainly sounds like UVa may go best available, meaning the staff allows the various recruitments they're involved in to sort of just work themselves out. Four-star Rivals150 point guard Matt Coleman, for example, remains a player the Cavaliers are very high on and word is that Bennett and Jason Williford may be heading out tomorrow after Virginia's game with Villanova to see Coleman in action in the Chick-fil-a Classic in South Carolina depending on how the timing works out following the game. Regardless, UVa remains very interested and will continue to recruit him hard even though the thought is that the Hoos might not necessarily "need" a PG given the way guys have played this season.

One thing that happened last week while being out on the trail is that associate head coach Ron Sanchez got to see four-star Rivals150 signee Ty Jerome play live. And the thought process among sources is that his game is really continuing to develop even more. Between the summer and the start of his senior campaign, he's showing a lot and the Cavaliers love what they're seeing.

So what does all of that mean for 2017? Our read is that at this moment, UVa has the luxury of getting into a few "marathon" recruitments, like Coleman's, and looking to take the best player the staff can get at pretty much any position. That way, if things don't work out in their favor, they could (though Bennett isn't one to wait around much) pocket the scholarship and roll it over to 2018. Also, keep in mind that it's likely that Jay Huff will redshirt in 2016-2017, meaning that UVa would still have one member of that "class" if they decide to sit tight. That scenario also gives UVa the flexibility to do something similar in 2017 to what the staff did with four-star signee DeAndre Hunter this past summer: Find a guy in the summer, turn up the heat, and wrap it up in the fall. By that point, the 2016 kids will be in town for summer workouts and the staff would probably have a better feel for needs and fit. Either way, over the next two classes UVa has six spots to use and the staff is recruiting with that in mind: There are a lot of evaluations that need to be done.

The most important thing, our sources said, is that the lack of 2017 pressure gives the staff a chance to watch more 2018 and 2019 guys, which fits with Bennett's model in recent years. He likes to ID talent early, push hard to close, and then use the time he has available to scout younger players. It's a cycle that is working for the program and looks to be continuing to work as they move forward.

According to sources, Williford was in Washington, D.C. this past weekend attending several different tournaments in the area but he started his time on the trail in Charlotte seeing Jairus Hamilton, a 2018 guard that UVa feels like its gaining a lot of traction with. He visited for a football game this fall and got to meet Bennett and the staff. From there, Williford got a chance to see a lot of talent in D.C. this weekend including Brandon Slater, the four-star 2018 guard from Paul VI in Fairfax as well as 2019 DeMatha prospect Justin Moore. A new 2019 name on the board following Williford's time in D.C. is Karim Coulibaly, a standout 6-foot-9 post from St. Vincent Pallotti in Maryland by way of Mali. There were a couple of 2017 guys that he got a chance to see but the future was really where the focus was.

Assistant coach Brad Soderberg did a little tour in the midwest following the WVU game and got a chance to see several key targets. One was 2018's Joey Hauser, the 6-foot-8 younger brother of former target Sam Hauser. The Stevens Point (WI) native continues to project well in the 2018 class and is getting a lot of interest. Soderberg also got a chance to see 2018 prospect Nate Laszewski from Northfield (MA) Mt. Hermon as well as an intriguing name in the 2017 class: Vermont Academy's Christian David. He's someone our sources say the Cavaliers are very interested in at this point and they'll continue to track him going forward.

Sanchez, meanwhile, was in the northeast before the WVU game and then stayed there after. The main kids we hear he watched was Blair Academy 2017 prospect Deng Gak, a long, athletic big man that has been picking up some traction lately, as well as Jerome and four-star 2018 guard Jahvon Quinerly. That's a name folks might want to file away as well given that Virginia's interest appears to be growing.

That is it for this week, and as always, what's said here, stays here!

St. Anthony's had the bigger and better team and won 68-58, but Barcello was the leading scorer with 31 points. My unofficial scoring had him 11 for 16 from the field. Other players were the primary ball handlers, so it was difficult to assess his ability in that area, but it was not hard to assess his ability to shoot.

Three-star Hawaiian offensive lineman Toleafoa Auwae has been offered by UVa.

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In their third game of the season, Iona Prep lost their first game to Thomas Jefferson High 71 - 58. Jerome scored 35 of his team's 58 points with 27 coming in the second half. Thomas Jefferson is 5 and 0 so far this year.

http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/...rk-richt-david-cutcliffe-or-someone-else-no-1

The answers are as varied as the new candidates.

It is a shame that he was not good enough to play for UVA.

The board can accuse me of being preachy until its blue in the face. Are we going to s!@# all over every 18 year old that decommits? I really find it funny that so many people, who didn't even attend UVA, have the nerve to blast a teenager, whom they've never met, and have ZERO understanding of their personal or family situation, for not going to a University they never even attended.

I want to make this clear, since the board has a bad habit of putting words in other people's mouths, I'm not saying you can't be a UVA fan without having attended the school, but seriously, the guys you can't wait to kick in the ass on the way out the door are 17 or 18, making the biggest decision of their lives so far. Guess what? As a UVA alumnus, I can say that the culture of UVA ain't for everyone. Best years of my life, but I get why some people don't want that experience. Some recruits commit to the coach IN SPITE of UVa not being a good fit for them.

If the fan base REALLY believes that the Mendenhall era is going to be better than the London era, there should be a lot more "good luck wherever you end up" than "good riddance, don't let the door hit you on the way out." Every person we lose will be replaced. Bunch of old farts rewriting history where they were actually "wise" at 18...smh.

Now I'll wait for the usual suspect to rain hate on me for being preachy by hoping our fan base will be better than that and/or infringing on their right to whine.

Could never punting and always going for insides work in college

You know what I just thought? War Rooms will be super exciting again on the football front! Please don't get me wrong, Brad and Justin do an AMAZING job and the basketball War Room content is awesome. However, with the struggles of the football program over the last few years and a coach on the hot seat, the War Room has been lacking some fire on the football recruiting front (again, not Brad's fault...he has to work with what he has). Now, with a new coach, and some excitement back in the program, Friday mornings will be fun again with football scoop!! I am so excited!

GO HOOS!

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/14384781/ken-niumatalolo-staying-navy-considering-byu

BYU may have a tough time replacing Bronco.

Last week 5* QB Kyle Allen left the team. Today 5* QB Kyler Murray announced that he was transferring. It appears that Sumlin has some splaining to do.

He just announced he is retiring at the end of the semester during the postgame press conference.

How long before people fire up the "Tony Bennett to Wisconsin" rumors....

As expected, Neru N'Shaka has decommited.

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Hey guys,

Just wanted to let you know that the motherhship will be performing some planned maintenance on all of the message boards midnight until about 2 a.m. tomorrow night. During this time (they're saying they might not need the full two hours), you will see a maintenance message and won't be able to use the board here or anywhere else on the network. Once they're done, things should quickly go back to normal so if you see an error page, don't be alarmed.

If anyone has any questions, feel free to email me.

Thanks.

Brad, did he get a redshirt this year?

At first, I recoiled at the idea of facing Villanova and a more seasoned Cal team on the road next year. Then I found out about a West Virginia home game. Then I realized the ACC BIG 10 challenge game will be a home game. Then I looked at this year's schedule with two pretty tough true road games at GW and Ohio State to go with the Villanova and Cal games and I realized this very well may be by design. I think Tony is trying to play two tough OOC home games and two tough OOC road games every year.

Does Whitmire get a 6th year?
How about Olanrewaju?

He may (or may not) had reason to be upset with the old staff, but I would think that he ought to wait until he could sit down with the new coaches. Of course, there may have been other factors in play.

Is the plan just to hold on to the recruits we have? We have a lot of bodies, but not a lot of talent in this class.