I think many here are underestimating Virginia for a number of reasons.
Some reasoning is perhaps legit, some not as much. I see this as a 50-50 game for the following reasons …
· We are on the road in a hostile environment. JPJ Arena is state of the art. A fantastic venue for a game. And in terms of stakes, this’ll be the biggest game played in this arena’s history.
· Tony Bennett can REALLY coach. I have him safely among the top 15 current coaches in the country. Usually, I think that the Boeheim coaching factor is worth +5-6 points per game. I think he’s the best (yea, biased, shoot me!). But Bennett is a real master in his own right. Son of a great coach. Very very good college player. Drafted in the NBA. Played 3 seasons in the NBA. Won at Washington State. I repeat, he won at Washington State! Heck, they were a 3-seed one year. I think any good UVa fan will tell you that the Wahoos played, at times, terribly during the non-conference portion of their schedule. But Bennett coached them up. They are a vastly different team at present. He really has them humming along now. Look at the margins of victory. They are not exactly skating by like, well … we are!?!
· So with Bennett’s Wisconsin/UWGB background in full view, I feel like game will be akin to the SU-Wisconsin Sweet 16 game from March of ’12. Low scoring. We won that game 64-63 and we all hated it. UVa does not score a ton, but don’t sleep on them. They have some serious talent. Harris is an NBA player. Brogdon is as athletic as anyone we have (he might be an NBA player someday). Gill might be the guy to play the high post. And their fans think that their PG, Perrantes, is everything that Ennis is and more (the guy’s Asst/TO margin is better than Ennis’). Perrantes is very very good in my mind, just not the scoring threat that Tyler is. But don’t be fooled by his packaging. He can really run a team. He too is a frosh first-year.
· JPJ Arena is going to be electric. Later start time (kinda wish this were a Nooner). Also consider that, at least the last 20 years or so, UVa is more of a football school that a hoops school. Ralph Sampson played a long time ago folks. And the gridiron Cavaliers were, well, brutal this year. So, all of Cavalier Revenue-Sport Nation is pouring their energies into this hoops squad. I see this as a positive for the ACC, but perhaps not us on Saturday.
With all that said, I think SU’s big-game DNA will play a role. Other than perhaps Duke and Kansas, is there a better program in CBB than SU when it comes to winning games on the road? No, we don’t win them all. But we’ve always played pretty darn well with few exceptions.
Note that CJ and Baye are 29-6 on the road during their careers. Sorry. That is remarkable. And Boeheim’s road record stands up to anyone’s through the true test of time.
I, for one, am not underestimating the Cavaliers, but I think we win … say 57-54.
Some reasoning is perhaps legit, some not as much. I see this as a 50-50 game for the following reasons …
· We are on the road in a hostile environment. JPJ Arena is state of the art. A fantastic venue for a game. And in terms of stakes, this’ll be the biggest game played in this arena’s history.
· Tony Bennett can REALLY coach. I have him safely among the top 15 current coaches in the country. Usually, I think that the Boeheim coaching factor is worth +5-6 points per game. I think he’s the best (yea, biased, shoot me!). But Bennett is a real master in his own right. Son of a great coach. Very very good college player. Drafted in the NBA. Played 3 seasons in the NBA. Won at Washington State. I repeat, he won at Washington State! Heck, they were a 3-seed one year. I think any good UVa fan will tell you that the Wahoos played, at times, terribly during the non-conference portion of their schedule. But Bennett coached them up. They are a vastly different team at present. He really has them humming along now. Look at the margins of victory. They are not exactly skating by like, well … we are!?!
· So with Bennett’s Wisconsin/UWGB background in full view, I feel like game will be akin to the SU-Wisconsin Sweet 16 game from March of ’12. Low scoring. We won that game 64-63 and we all hated it. UVa does not score a ton, but don’t sleep on them. They have some serious talent. Harris is an NBA player. Brogdon is as athletic as anyone we have (he might be an NBA player someday). Gill might be the guy to play the high post. And their fans think that their PG, Perrantes, is everything that Ennis is and more (the guy’s Asst/TO margin is better than Ennis’). Perrantes is very very good in my mind, just not the scoring threat that Tyler is. But don’t be fooled by his packaging. He can really run a team. He too is a frosh first-year.
· JPJ Arena is going to be electric. Later start time (kinda wish this were a Nooner). Also consider that, at least the last 20 years or so, UVa is more of a football school that a hoops school. Ralph Sampson played a long time ago folks. And the gridiron Cavaliers were, well, brutal this year. So, all of Cavalier Revenue-Sport Nation is pouring their energies into this hoops squad. I see this as a positive for the ACC, but perhaps not us on Saturday.
With all that said, I think SU’s big-game DNA will play a role. Other than perhaps Duke and Kansas, is there a better program in CBB than SU when it comes to winning games on the road? No, we don’t win them all. But we’ve always played pretty darn well with few exceptions.
Note that CJ and Baye are 29-6 on the road during their careers. Sorry. That is remarkable. And Boeheim’s road record stands up to anyone’s through the true test of time.
I, for one, am not underestimating the Cavaliers, but I think we win … say 57-54.
