Tag: Virginia

WATCH: Highlights of Dolphins 6th-round draft pick Malik Washington

Malik Washington led the nation in receptions last season at Virginia before becoming a Dolphins’ sixth-round pick.

Malik Washington didn’t rack up impressive stats in his four seasons at Northwestern. The wide receiver never had a 100-yard game and caught three touchdowns in four years.

But after transferring to Virginia, he put up the type of big numbers that earned him a spot in the 2024 NFL draft with the Miami Dolphins taking him in the sixth round.

Washington led the nation in receptions with 110 and was fourth in receiving yards with 1,426. Two of three who finished with more yardage in 2023 — Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze — were top 10 draft picks Thursday.

“The part of Malik that we like the most is there are some professional football players in that room that he’s going to have to compete against to get opportunities,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Saturday. “We identified him as a person and an athlete that would be up for the challenge and that’s a tall task. So you know that when you’re looking at these guys and that’s one of the reasons we felt he was a fit to be here.”

A look at his highlight tape from the 2023 season can give Dolphins fans confidence too that Washington is up for that challenge:

Instant analysis of Dolphins’ No. 184 overall pick WR Malik Washington

The Dolphins added an ultra productive receiver to their offense. Can Malik Washington be the third receiver they need?

The Miami Dolphins have a dynamic duo at receiver with Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Finding anyone else at the position has been a challenge.

In the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft, the Dolphins hope they found a solution in Malik Washington.

Expecting a sixth-round pick to be productive is always wishful thinking, but Washington certainly didn’t lack for stats in the collegiate ranks. After transferring from Northwestern, Washington put up huge numbers — 110 receptions for 1,426 yards and nine touchdowns — at Virginia.

The Dolphins can now hope that Washington and/or 2022 fourth-round pick Erik Ezukanma become productive players in the team’s offense. Will it keep the team from going after Odell Beckham Jr. or Tyler Boyd? Don’t count on it.

Washington fits the profile of a Dolphins receiver at 5’9 with an explosive 42.5-inch vertical, even if he his 4.47 speed won’t win him any races in Miami. But it may be a while before he’s a polished enough route-runner to be a productive player in the NFL.

Even though Washington is a smart and logical choice who should fit in well, the Dolphins will look for more. Miami needs a third receiving option for Tua Tagovailoa and waiting until the sixth round to add at the position probably means the Dolphins will parse through the list of available veterans.

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Dolphins pick Virginia WR Malik Washington at No. 184 in 2024 NFL draft

The Dolphins added another offensive weapon late in the 2024 NFL draft by picking Virginia’s Malik Washington in the sixth round.

The Miami Dolphins selected Virginia wide receiver Malik Washington with the No. 184 overall pick in the sixth round of the 2024 NFL draft.

Washington spent the majority of his collegiate career at Northwestern before finishing with one season at Virginia. In his sole year with the Cavaliers, Washington was über productive with 110 receptions for 1,426 yards and nine touchdowns.

Like the majority of the Dolphins receivers, he isn’t very big at 5’9, 191 pounds. And while he isn’t going to make Miami’s 4×100 team, he isn’t exactly slow with 4.47 speed and a 42.5-inch vertical.

The Dolphins have struggled to find another receiving option to complement the stellar duo of Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle. Tight end Durham Smythe was the team’s third leading receiver last year with just 366 yards.

Washington is the fifth member of the team’s 2024 draft class after pass rusher Chop Robinson, offensive tackle Patrick Paul, running back Jaylen Wright, and pass rusher Mohamed Kamara.

After picking Washington, the Dolphins are now scheduled to pick two more times with one selection each in the sixth and seventh rounds. The team’s next selection is the No. 198 overall pick.

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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

Contact/Follow @J0shFr3d & @MWCwire

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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ACC men’s basketball leaders as of March 17

No Notre Dame players.

The NCAA Tournament officially is here with five ACC teams among those seeking a national championship. The ACC particularly drew attention from the rest of the country after No. 10 seed NC State won the conference tournament for the first time since 1987. Strangely, no one on the Wolfpack concluded the ACC season as a leader in any of the major statistical categories. Some are going to March Madness though, and here they are:

Virginia Tech coach Kenny Brooks talks Notre Dame ahead of rematch

See what the next opposing coach had to say about the Irish.

After Notre Dame defeated Louisville in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals, Virginia Tech beat Miami, 55-47. That sets a semifinal rematch between the Irish and top-seeded Hokies after the teams met in South Bend only a week ago. The Irish won that game, so the Hokies will be out for revenge.

The big question surrounding the Hokies is the health of three-time ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley, who was injured in the Hokies’ regular-season finale at Virginia and didn’t play Friday. In fact, she won’t play at all in this tournament.

Hokies coach Kenny Brooks was asked about the upcoming rematch in his postgame news conference and said the following:

“Bruh, can I just enjoy this one for a second? Notre Dame is playing as well as anyone in the country right now. We experienced it last week, their physicality – they’re a little bit different than they were last year. They’re tenacious on the defensive end, obviously with the addition of (Hannah) Hidalgo.

They got off to a great start today. And bless his heart, I’m in my locker room, and I think we’re on like a three, four, five-second delay in watching the game and what happens, and Jeff Walz gets thrown out. He gets thrown out, and two seconds later, boom, my door flies open, and it’s Jeff Walz.

I did thank him for their comeback and making Notre Dame play harder down the stretch, to be able to do that.

They’re playing well. They’re playing extremely well. Hidalgo really makes them go. (Sonia) Citron – I’ve said it before – is one of my favorite players. She just doesn’t get rattled. (Maddy) Westbeld is playing really well right now. They don’t play a lot of people, but the people who play are playing well.

We know it’s going to be a tough task. We’ll get back, and we’ll figure some things out, and we’ll try to see what happens.”

This shows the Hokies won’t take the Irish lightly, so the Irish better be ready to play whether Kitley is available or not. Whatever the case though, it should be a good game.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

ACC men’s basketball leaders as of March 3

No Notre Dame players on this list.

Well, we finally have reached March. The spotlight will shine bright on every team from here on out. But nowhere where the spotlight shine brighter than on the players most expected to lead their teams. That includes the ACC’s major statistical leaders, and you can find those players below:

How Notre Dame still can earn a top-four seed in NCAA Tournament

It’s doable.

Notre Dame is running out of chances to strengthen its NCAA Tournament resume. Every bracketology currently has the Irish as a No. 5 or No. 6 seed, which is bad if they want to host the first two rounds. Recent losses to Louisville and NC State haven’t helped, and their most recent wins have done little more than keep their needle where it is.

The Irish currently have an NET Ranking of 10th and a NET SOS of 25th. Their next two opponents are lowly ones in Clemson and Boston College, so while it’s important that they win those games, they won’t help their resume. All eyes will be on their last two regular-season games against ACC-leading Virginia Tech and Louisville, which have respective NET Rankings of 14th and 23rd.

So what does this mean for the Irish’s ever-decreasing chances to gain a No. 4 seed or better for March Madness? As I have a couple of times already, here’s what my friend Lucas Mitzel had to say while also giving out some additional NET Rankings:

ACC men’s basketball leaders as of Feb. 18

No Notre Dame players.

The ACC is in its final few weeks before its tournament. If any team lying in the weeds is going to make a move, now is the time to get moving. Otherwise, they might as well just sit back and let the teams that deserve it more grab the best positions. Speaking of the best, here are the best statistical players in the conference: