Tag: Virginia Basketball

2024 NCAA Tournament: Colorado State Blows Out Virginia 67-42

Colorado State came into this game with something to prove and they did so in dominate fashion over the Virginia Cavaliers.

2024 NCAA Tournament: #10 Colorado State Blows Out #10 Virginia 67-42

The Rams made a statement for the Mountain West

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CSU leaves their mark.

The entire basketball community said the Mountian West was underseeded in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The committee basically said prove it. And the Colorado State Rams took that personally. They came into Dayton on a mission and walked out with a giant confidence gaining 67-42 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers.

First Half

The game started out in typical Virginia fashion with the under 16 timeout having a score of Virginia 4 – Colorado State 2. Then Isaiah Stevens made a three, one of just two field goals in the game for him, to give the Rams the lead for the rest of the game. Joel Scott, Nique Clifford, and Patrick Cartier led the way for the Rams in the first half offensively. The Rams shot 50% from the floor and 43% from three, which against a Virginia defense is fantastic.

The real story of the first half was Virginia’s shooting. It was part just missing shots and part CSU defense. Virginia went almost an hour of real time with out scoring a point. Reece Beekman made a free throw with 9:20 left on the clock in the first half and they didn’t score again until Beekman made a jump shot at the 16:37 mark of the second half. A 12:43 stretch of no points for the Cavaliers.

Second half

You would think Virginia would do better in the second half and they did. It’s just Colorado State continued to dominate the game. Anytime the Cavaliers went on a run, the Rams came right back. Reece Beekman was able to get to the line more in the second half which pushed his point total into double digits, but the Rams were able to hold everyone else to seven or less points.

Nique Clifford and Joel Scott both came away with double-doubles, with 17 points, 10 rebounds and 23 points, 11 rebounds respectively.  The Rams made all the necessary plays even without Isaiah Stevens having a large impact. He drew Virginia’s toughest defender and was held to just five points, but he chipped in six rebounds and four assists.

Final thoughts

This was just a great performance from a Rams team that definitely need this type of performance after the past few months. They also fired a shot at the commitee for underseeding the Mountain West like they did. Everyone was watching and it became the talk of the sports world on twitter.

Some fun facts from Reddit, courtesy of u/longconsilver13:

  • UVA had 42 points and 42 missed field goals.
  • UVA over 40 minutes only outscored second half Colorado State by just 2 points.
  • If we take out Colorado State’s highest scorer, they still win by 2.
  • UVA scored 12 points fewer than their NET ranking.
  • And one from u/morrisjr1989, CSU had more rebounds than Virginia had points (CSU had 43 rebounds).

Next UP

The Rams now travel to Charlotte to face the Texas Longhorns and a couple familiar faces. Former Fresno State head coach Rodney Terry is the Longhorns head coach and the Rams will see former Oral Roberts guard Max Abmas as well.

This will be a matchup of two very similar teams and almost a complete opposite game from the Virginia game. If you look at the stats, both teams are very similar across the board. The other player to watch for Texas is Dylan Disu, the 6’9″ 225lbs forward is shooting 50% from three. So this will be a fun one.

Thursday, March 21st 4:50 pm MT in Charlotte vs #7 Texas

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2024 NCAA Tournament: #10 Virginia vs. #10 Colorado State: Game Preview, How To Watch, Odds, Prediction

The Virginia Cavaliers face off with the Colorado State Rams in a First Four matchup. Here’s what to look out for.

2024 NCAA Tournament: #10 Virginia vs. #10 Colorado State: Game Preview, How To Watch, Odds, Prediction

The Rams and Cavaliers face off in the First Four

Contact/Follow @J0shFr3d & @MWCwire

Can the Rams move on?

WHO: #10 Virginia Cavaliers (23-10) vs. #10 Colorado State Rams (24-10)

WHEN: Wednesday, March 19th — 7:10 p.m. MST / 6:10 p.m. PST

WHERE: UD Arena; Dayton, OH (13,409)

TV: TruTV

STREAM: Max will be carrying the entire NCAA Tournament

SERIES RECORD: This will be the first ever matchup between the two schools.

ODDS: Colorado State -2.5

It’s not the expected First Four matchup, but we’re here now. Colorado State was not predicted to be the final team in the tournament and Virginia was not predicted to be in the tournament at all. Now both squads face off to send themselves to the first round.

Colorado State finished 7th in the Mountain West and lost to New Mexico in the Mountain West semi-finals. Virginia finished 3rd in the ACC and lost to NC State in the ACC semi-finals. Both squads lost to the eventually tournament champions.

Players to Watch

F Jacob Groves – Virginia

The senior forward form Spokane, WA will be a player for the Rams to key on on defense. Groves is a 6’9″ forward who isn’t afraid to let it fly from deep (He has three or more attempted threes in 20 out 33 games for Virginia). Limiting Groves from deep will be a big factor for CSU.

F Joel Scott – Colorado State

The former D2 Player of the Year has stepped up in a big way for the Rams at the end of the season. Since a defeat to San Diego State in February, Scott has been averaging 16.4 points on 58.7% shooting from the floor. His inside game has been key for the Rams since they’ve struggled from the outside in conference play.

Keys to the Game

Virginia

Limiting the Rams open looks and keeping them on the outside will be the keys on defense for Virginia. The Cavaliers defense is one of the best in the nation, but the CSU offense is one of the best at ball movement. If Virginia wants to play on Thursday, they’ll have to stay consistent the entire game.

On offense, the Cavaliers need to keep the Rams moving. CSU’s defense doubles the post a decent amount which leaves 4 on 3 for the offense. This causes the Rams to rotate to cover the open man and they have a tendency to overrun their rotation leaving a wide open shot or cut to the basket.

Colorado State

Wait for your shot. The Virginia defense allows for ball rotation and the CSU Princeton-style offense wants to keep the ball moving back and forth. The Cavaliers defense is suffocating, so the Rams can’t force a shot like they have been. They need to be patient and get inside looks.

When CSU is on defense, it’s a similar story. Virginia plays at the slowest tempo in the NCAA. This can lull teams to sleep at times. So the Rams will need to maintain their patience and cover their man until they get the ball back on offense.

Predictions

This one will be a dog fight. CSU has the better offense and Virginia has the better defense. The Rams have been doing damage inside and win when they do so. The Cavaliers smothering defense will keep this close. This could come down to the last couple minutes, but the Rams will use that chip on their shoulder to come out on top.

Final Score: Colorado State 62, Virginia 57

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Clemson Tigers vs. Virginia Cavaliers: How to Watch/Stream/Listen

A look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, stream, and listen to Saturday’s game against Virginia.

After a much-needed victory against Louisville earlier in the week, Clemson will face a streaking Virginia team trying to play its way into NCAA Tournament consideration Saturday at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Virginia (16-5 overall, 7-3 conference) enters the weekend as one of the ACC’s hottest teams, having won each of its last five games — all by six points or more.

The Cavaliers defeated Notre Dame, 65-53, on Wednesday night to move into third place in a crowded conference where only No. 3 North Carolina has stood out all season.

Virginia sank 13-of-24 3-point attempts in its win over Notre Dame, punctuated by Reese Beekman’s 21 points. Beekman is the Cavaliers’ leading scorer this season with an average of 13.3 points per game. He’s also averaging six assists per game.

For its part, Clemson (14-6, 4-5) held off a last-place Louisville team that was down by 24 points at one point in the second half before making a late charge and getting to within four points of tying the game. PJ Hall led the Tigers with 25 points, marking the 10th time this season he has scored 20 or more in a game.

Chase Hunter added 16 to carry him over 1,000 points for his Clemson career.

The Tigers have yet to win back-to-back games since ACC play resumed on Jan. 3. They’ve also been struggling with getting shots to fall, particularly at home — something coach Brad Brownell acknowledged after his team shot 43 percent from the floor against Louisville and was only 5-for-21 from 3-point range.

“I don’t know that I know,” Brownell said when asked about the team’s cold shooting at home. “I don’t think you make a mountain out of a molehill. We’ve done a lot of shooting (in practice). Guys are coming in and shooting with coaches before practice, after practice, during the day. You just kind of work your way through it.”

The Tigers still have some time to work through things, but they’ve slipped noticeably in the past month. Once ranked No. 16 in the nation, Clemson has fallen completely out of the AP and USA TODAY Coaches Top 25 polls in recent weeks.

Series Notes and Recent History

Virginia leads the all-time head to head series, 82-52. The two schools met twice last year — once in the regular season and again in the postseason. Virginia won both contests, a 64-57 victory in Charlottesville and a 76-56 rematch in the semifinal round of the ACC Tournament in Greensboro.

How To Watch

Here’s a look at how and where Clemson fans can watch, listen, and stream Saturday’s game vs. Virginia.

Date: Saturday, Feb. 3

Time: 2 p.m. EST

Where: Littlejohn Coliseum

TV Channel: ESPN

Live Stream: ESPN+

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network | TuneIn App | SiriusXM (Channel 193)

Broadcast Teams

ESPN: Kevin Brown, Chris Spatola

Clemson Radio: Don Munson, Tim Bourret

Virginia hurts NCAA Tournament odds with rare loss to Notre Dame

The Virginia Cavaliers took a rare loss against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to move to 1-1 in ACC play.

Notre Dame coach Micah Shrewsberry picked up his first conference win on Saturday in a 76-54 thrashing over Tony Bennett and Virginia.

The Fighting Irish move to 6-7 on the year and 1-1 in ACC play, while Virginia drops to 10-3 overall and 1-1 in conference.

It’s a rare win for Notre Dame, who came into the game trailing the all-time series 17-3 and who had only beat Virginia twice since Bennett took over.

Notre Dame’s 76 points is the second most surrendered by the Cavs and their notoriously excellent defense this season, behind only the 77 scored by Memphis.

Virginia didn’t just struggle on defense, they shot 38% from the field and only attempted 11 three pointers – making just two – despite being behind most of the game.

For Virginia a Quad 4 loss like this one seriously hurts their NCAA Tournament at-large hopes, as the Fighting Irish came into the day a whopping 239th in the NET.

For Notre Dame it’s a reminder that – while this season has had plenty of low points already – the future with coach Shrewsberry is bright.

4-star SF Jacob Wilkins commits to UGA basketball

Jacob Wilkins, who is the son of former Georgia basketball legend Dominique Wilkins, has committed to Georgia basketball

Elite shooting forward Jacob Wilkins has committed to the Georgia Bulldogs over the Virginia Cavaliers. Wilkins, who is the son of former Georgia legend and NBA great Dominique Wilkins, announced his commitment to Georgia shortly after taking an official visit to the University of Georgia on Oct. 26.

The shooting forward has recently visited both Georgia and Virginia basketball. Georgia was not the only school with family ties for Jacob Wilkins. Interestingly, Jacob Wilkins’ brother, Isaiah, played at Virginia from 2015-2018. Isaiah Wilkins is now an assistant coach for the Cavaliers.

Head coach Mike White and Georgia basketball extended a scholarship offer to Jacob Wilkins in January 2023. Wilkins’ commitment is a big addition to Georgia basketball. The Bulldogs are building a lot of recruiting momentum. Georgia just earned a commitment from five-star forward Asa Newell. Georgia basketball remains in the mix for five-star Derrion Reid.

Wilkins is ranked as a four-star recruit, but is very close to being rated as a five-star. He’s the No. 16 player in the country and the No. 4 shooting forward in the class of 2025. Wilkins is the No. 3 player in Georgia, per 247Sports.

The four-star shooting forward plays high school basketball for Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia. Wilkins previously played for Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia.

The 6-foot-8, 170-pound small forward is lengthy and athletic. He excels in transition play and is a good dunker. He will continue to add to his weight and strength frame throughout the remainder of his high school career.It will be fun to watch Jacob Wilkins make a name for himself.

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Wilkins’ dad, Dominique Wilkins, played basketball at Georgia from 1978-1982. Dominique Wilkins, who is arguably the best basketball player in Georgia history, was the No. 3 pick in the 1982 NBA draft. Wilkins played the majority of his NBA career for the Atlanta Hawks and made National Basketball Hall of Fame.

4-star SF Jacob Wilkins sets commitment date

Jacob Wilkins, who is the son of former Georgia basketball legend Dominique Wilkins, plans to announce his commitment soon

Elite shooting forward Jacob Wilkins has set his commitment date. Wilkins, who is the son of former Georgia legend and NBA great Dominique Wilkins, announced his commitment date after taking an official visit to the University of Georgia on Oct. 26.

Wilkins plans to announce his commitment on Oct. 31 at 5:30 p.m. ET. Wilkins will decide between Georgia and Virginia. The shooting forward has recently visited both basketball programs.

Jacob Wilkins’ brother, Isaiah, played at Virginia from 2015-2018. Isaiah Wilkins is also an assistant coach for the Cavaliers.

Head coach Mike White and Georgia basketball extended a scholarship offer to Jacob Wilkins in January 2023. Georgia has some recruiting momentum heading into Wilkins’ commitment. The Bulldogs just earned a commitment from five-star forward Asa Newell.

Wilkins is ranked as a four-star recruit, but is very close to being rated as a five-star. He’s the No. 16 player in the country and the No. 4 shooting forward in the class of 2025. Wilkins is the No. 3 player in Georgia, per 247Sports.

The four-star shooting forward plays high school basketball for Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia. Wilkins previously played for Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia.

The 6-foot-8, 170-pound small forward has recent scholarship offers from the Alabama, Cincinnati, Virginia,and Indiana.

Wilkins is lengthy and athletic. He excels in transition play and is a good dunker. He will continue to add to his weight and strength frame throughout the remainder of his high school career.

Wilkins recently took an official visit to the Virginia Cavaliers.

It will be fun to watch Jacob Wilkins make a name for himself. Wilkins’ dad, Dominique Wilkins, played basketball at Georgia from 1978-1982. Dominique Wilkins, who is arguably the best basketball player in Georgia history, was the No. 3 pick in the 1982 NBA draft. Wilkins played the majority of his NBA career for the Atlanta Hawks and made National Basketball Hall of Fame.

Georgia basketball is also looking to gain a commitment from five-star Derrion Reid over the next couple of days.

UVA star Sam Brunelle jokingly said her head coach ‘wouldn’t jump over a rock’ in fake scouting report

Sam, please. You still have to see your coach regularly.

Virginia Cavaliers forward Sam Brunelle has star power, and she’s got the jokes, too.

College basketball season is slowly approaching as several conferences hold media days and exhibition games to showcase their best athletes. Many questions about the upcoming season will be asked, including goals and matchups.

However, the best moments typically involve hard-hitting topics like giving a scouting report on your head coach. Brunelle and fellow teammate Camryn Taylor were asked to discuss that during ACC Tipoff, the conference’s annual media day in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Taylor took a moment to compliment head coach Amaka “Mox” Agugua-Hamilton on the athleticism she displayed in her prime. But Brunelle immediately jumped in with the jokes.

“I like how you said ‘in her prime,'” Brunelle chuckled. “She wouldn’t jump over a rock now.” Welp.

Brunelle quickly followed up by saying she’d previously asked her coach to take a jump shot, and the answer was “nah.”

Later in the clip, Coach “Mox” is told what Brunelle said and appears stunned. But, “Mox” was quick on her feet and fired back a sick burn when asked if she would like to respond.

“What time is practice tomorrow?”

Well-played, coach. Well-played.

Report: Wisconsin basketball to face an ACC blue blood at the 2023 Fort Myers Tip-Off

If you enjoy points, this matchup is not for you.

There is no better introduction to a sport’s season than college basketball’s run of Thanksgiving tournaments. Those events have been great experiences for the Wisconsin Badgers as of late, with recent high finishes at the Battle 4 Atlantis (2022) and Maui Invitational (2021).

Greg Gard’s team will get the season rolling with another tournament this season, the Fort Myers Tip-Off. CBSSports’ Jon Rothstein reported yesterday Wisconsin will open the event with a contest against the ACC’s Virginia. The winner will then face the winner of SMU vs. West Virginia in the final round of the event.

If you’re a fan of high-paced, high-scoring basketball, Wisconsin vs Virginia is not the matchup for you. The two programs have met three times in the past decade. Here are those final scores:

  • Dec 4, 2013 – Wisc 48, UVA 38
  • Nov 27, 2017 – UVA 49, Wisc 37
  • Nov 23, 2018 – UVA 53, Wisc 46

Not once did the total in the game hit the century mark. Round four between these two terrific basketball programs should be a tremendous introduction to the 2023-24 college basketball season.

Virginia big man enters transfer portal

Kadin Shedrick, a 6-foot-11 forward and former four-star recruit entered the transfer portal Monday after three seasons at Virginia.

Kadin Shedrick, a 6-foot-11 forward and former four-star recruit announced that he’s entering the transfer portal Monday after three seasons at Virginia. As a high schooler in North Carolina, the big man received an offer from Wisconsin in July of 2018 before ultimately selecting the Cavaliers.

Shedrick saw his role diminished slightly in 2022-2023, starting 15 games out of the team’s 30 total, playing 17.5 minutes per contest while averaging 6.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks.

With Wisconsin particularly thin behind Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl at the forward position, Shedrick would provide the team with another experienced option down low, especially if Wahl decides to move on following the conclusion of the 2022-2023 campaign.

Greg Gard and his staff will seemingly do their due diligence when it comes to options in the transfer portal this offseason and Shedrick would be a great get for the Badgers next season.

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Furman’s Jalen Slawson wrote an eerily prescient message on his shoe ahead of Virginia upset

Jalen Slawson’s shoe said it all for Furman.

Furman senior forward Jalen Slawson has become one of the best stories of the 2023 NCAA tournament so far.

After the Paladins stunned Virginia in the first round of this year’s tournament, Slawson’s performance catapulted him to fans across the country.

He even sparked a viral moments that’s sure to be remembered for the rest of March Madness.

Slawson’s afternoon seemed to be predicted by his shoe. On it, he wrote an inspiring message to himself that likely helped fuel Furman’s big upset.

The message read: “You ain’t come this far to only come this far.”

Now that’s the kind of rallying cry to propel you to an NCAA tournament upset.

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We bet that Slawson keeps that message on his basketball sneaker for the rest of Furman’s run in the tournament.

The round of 32 is up next for the Paladins, and if Slawson’s shoe is any hint, the team isn’t ready to turn back now after such a monumental victory.

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