Tag: Virginia Cavaliers Basketball

Preview: No. 10 seeds Virginia, Colorado State battle to play Texas

Texas finds out its next opponent on Tuesday night.

March Madness is here. The NCAA tournament begins Tuesday, and perhaps with more relevance to the Texas Longhorns than usual.

The Longhorns battle the winner of the No. 10 play-in game between the Virginia Cavaliers and the Colorado State Rams.

The teams narrowly reached the tournament in a more competitive field than usual. Their contrasting styles will play a role in the matchup and could determine how likely are Texas’ chances to advance.

Virginia’s style is straightforward. The Cavaliers want to play suffocating defense. The team allows 59.6 points per game.

While its defense led the team to a national title victory over Texas Tech and former Texas head coach Chris Beard, its lack of offense has also led to some of the more memorable upsets in recent tournament history. The list includes the first ever round of 64 upset of a No. 1 seed when the No. 16 UMBC Retrievers upset the Cavaliers.

Virginia isn’t separating from teams offensively this season. Its 63.6 points per game average has lifted it to a 1-3 record vs. Top 25 opponents. The Cavaliers rank No. 254 nationally in field goal percentage (43.4%) and No. 355 in free throw percentage (63.7%).

On the opposite side is a Colorado State squad that can score in droves. The team averages 76.4 points per contest and has gone 2-0 vs. Top 25 opponents for the season. The Rams have not fared as well defensively allowing 68.4 points per game.

The teams are scheduled to play Tuesday at 8:10 p.m. CT on TruTV.

What Texas’ tournament draw means for its postseason chances

The Longhorns couldn’t have asked for a better first weekend than their 2024 tournament draw.

The Texas Longhorns (20-12) have been a frustrating team to watch on the basketball court this season. From inconsistent offense to lackluster defense, the team has looked disjointed for much of the year.

Despite the above concerns, this season’s tournament draw gives Texas a chance to reach the Sweet 16.

Winning in the NCAA tournament isn’t easy as Texas knows well. The program is 39-40 all-time in the NCAA tournament. That resume includes plenty of first round exits. The Longhorns suffered losses to the likes of No. 11 seed Northern Iowa, No. 14 Abilene Christian and No. 11 Nevada when Shaka Smart led the team.

Chris Beard and Rodney Terry had better success as head coaches in Austin. Beard earned the team’s first NCAA tournament victory since 2014 in his first season. Terry took Texas to its first Elite Eight since 2009.

The dysfunction for the current squad is more reminiscent of the Smart era than the last two tournament runs. Albeit, the Longhorns’ potential opponents provide matchups that could give Texas a chance to win a couple of games.

Texas is set to play the winner of the No. 10 seed play-in game between the Virginia Cavaliers and Colorado State Rams. Some question whether or not the Cavaliers should be in the tournament given their lackluster resume. The two teams weren’t worthy of a tournament bye. They were among the last teams in the field. That favors Texas.

Stylistically, some suggest Virginia’s suffocating defense is a bad matchup for Texas. If the Longhorns run through guard Max Abmas they could certainly see the matchup go in Virginia’s favor. Abmas isn’t very tall or fast and seems to have limited vertical jump. While an effective scorer, his lack of ability to create space for himself has created issues not only in consistent scoring but in protecting the basketball.

Despite the issues Virginia’s defense present, the Cavaliers’ offensive limitations were enough to keep them on the bubble. Should Texas get high scoring forward Dylan Disu and efficient forward Dillon Mitchell shot opportunities in the first game, they could advance to face the No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers.

Tennessee, like Texas, did not have the most impressive entrance to the tournament. The Volunteers lost to the Mississippi State Bulldogs in their first SEC tournament game, 73-56.

While Mississippi State is a good team, Tennessee’s launch to March Madness is similar to how it has fared in the NCAA tournament. Barnes’ squads have struggled in the postseason since he took over at Tennessee. The Vols should be favored in the potential matchup, but the Longhorns would have an opportunity to win.

There is plenty of reason to doubt Texas entering the weekend. The inconsistent product is among the top concerns. Even so, if the team was going to make another Sweet 16 appearance you would expect their tournament draw to look like it looks this year.

Texas A&M Basketball falls in newest AP Top 25 Poll

After falling to Virginia last week, Texas A&M took another dive in the newest AP Top 25 Poll.

Texas A&M Basketball suffered its second loss of the season after falling to Virginia 59-47 on the road in the ACC/SEC Challenge last Wednesday, as senior guard Tyrece “Boots” Radford missed his second consecutive game due to an undisclosed injury suffered during the Aggies’ first loss to FAU.

Sitting at 6-2 through eight games, the road only gets more challenging with back-to-back matchups against Memphis and Houston in the coming week. On Wednesday, A&M will host Depaul (1-6) in Reed Arena in what is hopefully a “get back” game after struggling to score consistently against the Cavaliers.

On Monday, the Associated Press released its updated men’s basketball poll. The Aggies dropped seven spots to No. 21 and were the third-highest-ranked SEC team below Kentucky (No. 16) and Tennessee (No. 17), While Alabama, Ole Miss, Arkansas, and South Carolina are all on the outside looking in.

Last week, Aggies’ head coach, Buzz Williams, made it clear that he would not provide any injury updates until further notice. Radford’s status will remain game-to-game throughout the remainder of non-conference play.

Texas A&M will host Depaul on Wednesday, Dec. 6, in College Station (TX). The game will air on the SEC Network at 8:00 p.m. CT.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

Texas A&M Basketball takes a steep drop in newest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll

After falling to Virginia in the ACC/SEC Challenge last week, Texas A&M took an unsurprising dive in the newest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.

Texas A&M Basketball suffered its second loss of the season after falling to Virginia 59-47 on the road in the ACC/SEC Challenge last Wednesday, as senior guard Tyrece “Boots” Radford missed his second consecutive game due to an undisclosed injury suffered during the Aggies’ first loss to FAU.

Sitting at 6-2 through eight games, the road only gets more challenging with back-to-back matchups against Memphis and Houston in the coming week. On Wednesday, A&M will host Depaul (1-6) in Reed Arena in what is hopefully a “get back” game after struggling to score consistently against the Cavaliers.

On Monday, the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll released its updated men’s basketball poll. The Aggies dropped six spots to No. 19 and were the third-highest-ranked SEC team below Tennessee (No. 13) and Kentucky (No. 17).

Outside of Texas A&M, Kentucky and Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi State both dropped out of the rankings after recent losses, as the SEC has struggled outside of three ranked teams thus far due to early season challenges.

Texas A&M will host Depaul on Wednesday, Dec. 6, in College Station (TX). The game will air on the SEC Network at 8:00 p.m. CT.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Cameron on Twitter: @CameronOhnysty.

Texas A&M to face high-profile opponent in 2023 ACC/SEC Men’s Basketball Challenge

Texas A&M has officially added a top-tier interconference opponent to their schedule for the first-ever ACC/SEC Men’s Basketball Challenge.

With Texas A&M basketball shaping up to be one of the ascendant teams next season, they’ve just added a top-tier interconference opponent to their schedule.

CBS Sports insider Jon Rothstein reported Wednesday morning that Virginia would host Texas A&M in next season’s inaugural ACC/SEC Men’s Basketball Challenge. The Atlantic Coast Conference, Southeastern Conference, and ESPN announced back in November 2022 the formation of the challenge for both men’s and women’s basketball, in what will be the latest chapter of pitting the best teams across the country in an interconference bout.

The creation of the ACC/SEC Challenge marks the end of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, which ESPN established back in 1999 as a first-of-its-kind event. Adapting the competition to include the SEC is a sound move given the conference boasted some of the best teams in the country last season.

The SEC sent eight teams to the NCAA Tournament last year, and arguably the hottest team among them heading into the postseason was Texas A&M. The Aggies finished the year 25-10 (15-3 SEC) while reaching back-to-back conference title games.

The Maroon and White would go on to earn the No. 7 seed as they reached March Madness for the first time since 2018, eventually falling to Penn State in the first round.

Shortly thereafter, ESPN announced the full matchups, dates, and times for both the men’s and women’s tournaments. Aggie Hoops’ Twitter account later shared the news of facing the Cavaliers in November:

Virginia finished 25-8 last season (15-5, 1st in the ACC) before going on to earn the No. 4 seed in the South Region. Unfortunately, their trip to the big dance was short-lived after suffering a buzzer-beater loss to No. 13 Furhman in the opening round.

It’s safe to say that after both programs’ NCAA Tournament trips ended prematurely in the first round, Texas A&M and Virginia should be equally motivated to put on a top-tier performance for this must-see matchup.

The Aggies have faced the Cavaliers just once prior in school history, with A&M beating Virginia 60-59 back in 1962. The next chapter between these two programs will be set for November 29 on ESPN, with tip-off scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Pete on Twitter: @PeteThreee.

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Wisconsin needs to follow Virginia, not move away from it

Reflections on the Wisconsin Badgers through the prism of the Virginia Cavaliers.

It is not an accident or an idle coincidence that when Wisconsin Badgers basketball is mentioned, one of the other major college programs which often comes to mind is Virginia.

The Cavaliers and the Badgers have some obvious stylistic and method-based connections. We know that Dick Bennett began this golden era of Wisconsin hoops, and that Tony Bennett took the Bennett Formula to Virginia by way of Washington State. When Virginia beat Purdue to make the Final Four this past spring, it was another instance of a member of the Bennett family beating Purdue, as was the case in the 2000 Albuquerque Regional Final, when Dick Bennett beat Gene Keady for a ticket to Indianapolis and a national semifinal against Michigan State.

The other big connection between Wisconsin and Virginia is neatly explained below. The two programs have a deserved reputation for playing great defense, but have never received due credit for running structured, smart, fluid, often beautiful offense which — at its best — is highly efficient:

As the commentator above noted, this year is a year when the “ugly offense” critique of Wisconsin and Virginia is finally right. This leads me to my main point: Even though Virginia is struggling on offense at a level which is comparable to Wisconsin, the Cavaliers still serve as a model for what this specific Wisconsin team (2019-20, not necessarily the program in a larger context beyond this season) can become.

I will begin to explain that thesis statement with this general point: Virginia’s offense HAS been really bad this season. If you haven’t noticed, here’s all you need to know:

The Cavaliers have shot poorly in a lot of games. Yet, they have lost only once. They have some good road (Syracuse) and neutral (Arizona State) wins in addition to a home win over a very good Vermont team. No, they are not going to be a No. 1 seed this March, but they figure to be very good. They’re not a complete team, but they’re going to be fine. Why? Their defense.

Yes, Virginia is going to lose games this season which it won last season because it doesn’t have DeAndre Hunter, Kyle Guy, or Ty Jerome to hit big baskets. However, UVA is still going to win a lot of games with its defense, which enabled the Hoos to win games this season in which they scored 48 (held Syracuse to 34), 48 (held Arizona State to 45), and 46 points (held Maine to 26). Virginia will lose some rock fights, but it will win some as well. All things considered, an incredible defense won’t fully cancel out a weak offense, but it will compensate more than a lot of other teams would be able to do.

This is the path forward for Wisconsin, at least in the short term while Greg Gard tries to develop his offense (and the NCAA intolerably fails to allow Micah Potter to play). Yes, the Badgers definitely have to improve at the offensive end of the floor; you don’t need to say anything more to any Wisconsin fan on that point. However: Wisconsin did allow North Carolina State to score 26 points in a 10-minute segment at the start of the second half on Wednesday night in Raleigh.

Wisconsin might not be able to make threes this season — just like Virginia — but the Badgers can always defend better. They can always get in better position. They can always rotate and slide and move their feet. They can always box out. They can always contest shots. Wisconsin has to be able to win a 48-45 game, at least this season. THIS team isn’t the Frank Kaminsky team. It isn’t the 2017 team, either. This team won’t be pretty; that’s okay… as long as it can learn to win ugly.

We make use of what we have, not what we wish for. Wisconsin games don’t figure to be elegant. So be it. This team has to embrace rugged rock fights in which it wins not by scoring, but by preventing the opponent from filling it up. Yes, Virginia is struggling on offense. Yet, the Badgers need to embrace Tony Bennett’s methods MORE, not less, in this season of pronounced limitations.