Tag: NCAA Men’s Basketball

Six stats that explain how Virginia knocked off No. 7 Duke on the road

The numbers tell an interesting story in Monday night’s upset win for Virginia.

On paper, it was hard to see a way that the Virginia Cavaliers could pull off a massive road upset over No. 7 Duke. The Blue Devils were double-digit favorites, boast a litany of five-star players on the roster and were coming off of a huge road win over rival North Carolina.

Virginia, meanwhile, got off to a slow start with losses to Navy and JMU early in the season, and are trying to claw back onto the tournament bubble. The Cavaliers were double-digit underdogs in Monday night’s matchup, with Tony Bennett needing to maximize performances from his squad for a chance at the upset.

The Cavaliers delivered. Virginia came out swinging at Cameron Indoor, building as much as a 12-point lead before taking a five point advantage into halftime. Duke clawed back into the game, staying within reach before retaking the lead with four minutes left.

Things were close down the stretch, but a couple turnovers by the Blue Devils and a handful of clutch plays by the Hoos set up this moment:

Here are six stats that explain how the underdogs pulled off the upset.

Virginia Cavaliers’ radio call of Reece Beekman’s game-winning three over Duke was too good

THE SILENCE IS DEAFENING!

Virginia went into Cameron Indoor Stadium as 10.5 underdogs (per Tipico Sportsbook) and a huge mountain to climb against No. 7 Duke. They left victorious after second-year guard Reece Beekman canned a corner three to give the Hoos a 69-66 lead with 0.7 seconds remaining.

Recent matchups between the two teams have been electric — the margin of difference is just 4.7 points in the previous 12 matchups — but Beekman’s game-winner shoots near the top of the list.

Despite facing mismatches in size and talent, the Cavaliers led for almost the entire game before Duke took a late lead with four minutes remaining. Virginia didn’t give up, forcing two turnovers in the final 32 seconds to give themselves one final shot at overtime or the win.

Here’s the call from John Freeman of Virginia Sports Radio Network:

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Why double-digit favorite Duke could be in for a close game against Virginia

Duke is a double-digit favorite over Virginia tonight at Cameron Indoor, but does recent history indicate it might be closer than that?

The ACC as a whole is not the college basketball stalwart it usually is, but Big Monday’s clash between the No. 7 Duke Blue Devils and the visiting Virginia Cavaliers is still must-see action. Duke (19-3, 9-2 ACC) sits atop the conference standings, while the 2019 champions are currently sixth in the ACC. Virginia (16-9, 8-5 ACC) got off to a slow start this season with several new faces, including leading scorer and Jayden Gardner, a transfer from ECU.

The Cavaliers will need Gardner (14.4 points per game, 6.8 rebounds per game) and Indiana transfer Armaan Franklin (12.3 ppg) to put up points against a Duke defense that ranks 15th on KenPom. The Blue Devils have a collection of highly talented players that pose difficult matchups for any opponent, led by freshman sensation Paolo Banchero (17.5 ppg, 8.4 rpg).

Both teams are coming off of big wins on Saturday as Duke dominated rival UNC in Chapel Hill and Virginia shot lights out against a better-than-expected Miami squad. Will matchups negate the defensive prowess of potential ACC Defensive Player of the Year Reece Beekman? Will the talent of Jeremy Roach, Wendell Moore, and Trevor Keels be too much to manage?

Tipico Sportsbook has Duke as double-digit favorites before game time.

Spread: Duke (-10.5)

Moneyline: Duke (-700), Virginia (+470)

Over/Under: 128.5

Although the Blue Devils are understandably heavily favored in this matchup, recent history has shown that the Duke-Virginia games have been pretty close. How close? The average margin of victory is under five points:

This is definitely a Virginia squad that isn’t quite at the same level that we’ve come to expect from Tony Bennett teams, but if history is any indicator, it might end up being closer than expected.

The game is at 7pm on ESPN.

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Butler’s adorable mascot dog road trip included visits with some similarly very good mascot pups

This is the best road trip with the best dogs.

Butler University’s live mascot, Blue IV, is on the road trip of his young pup life.

Thanks to men’s basketball games against Georgetown, Villanova, and UConn, Butler Blue hopped a flight from Indianapolis to the east coast for an adventure. Aptly dubbed the “Big Dawg Tour,” this trip serves multiple purposes.

First, there’s basketball! The obvious benefit is having a super cute dog mascot on hand for the men’s games, but it also serves to introduce Butler University to more regions and to connect alumni and future Bulldogs to their school.

“Big Dawgs Tour began during the 2013-14 season when Butler joined the Atlantic 10 as a way to introduce the university to new markets,” Blue’s handler Evan Krauss told For the Win.

Krauss — who arguably has the best job in the country — and Blue manage to do all of that, while also creating the most amazing social media content. They added a few bonus stops to meet both in-and-out-of-conference dog friends and pose with dog statues, in front of major monuments and more.
Blue met a grand total of three very good dogs, thanks in part to the robust live handler network. The handlers meet frequently over Zoom and met in person in 2018 when Colorado hosted the first live mascot conference in Boulder.
Let’s take a look at Blue IV’s journey.

 

Here are all the celebrations from Baylor’s first NCAA men’s basketball title win

It’s been a long time coming for Baylor!

The Baylor Bears officially have their first NCAA men’s basketball title. The Gonzaga Bulldogs’ undefeated season is no more, as Baylor bested the No. 1 seed 86-70 in Monday’s championship match, a game that was never close after tip off.

Baylor never trailed to Gonzaga with the Bears getting going fast early on, eventually picking up their largest lead of the night at 20 points. There was no magical buzzer beater moment to be found for Gonzaga on Monday, as the Bulldogs could not put together much of a comeback in the second half against the dominant Bears.

Though there was no last-second moment of drama, Baylor’s celebrations upon winning their first NCAA title were worth the wait.

Can’t forget the confetti!!

And of course, the congratulations on Twitter flowed freely for Baylor after the final buzzer sounded.

What a moment!

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