Basketball

After a 73-66 win Saturday over Pittsburgh, Virginia will travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets will be the second opponent in what is Virginia’s toughest five-game stretch of the season, one that will culminate with games against North Carolina, Florida State, and Duke. It may not seem like a difficult group of games, but with the ACC in another down year, the run of games that Virginia embarked on Saturday is about as hard as it gets. Starting off that period with two successive wins would be a good sign, especially against a Georgia Tech team that has shown it can play with—and beat—the big boys. Here’s the game preview for the rematch with a fiery Georgia Tech team.

Virginia used a 16-0 second half run to take down Pittsburgh 73-66 Saturday afternoon. Four Wahoos reached double figures in the win, Sam Hauser leading the group with 23 points and Tomas Woldetensae adding 14 off the bench. It was an important win for the Hoos, and one that came with plenty of positives. It also serves to give them breathing room atop the ACC standings with a tough stretch of games approaching. But one telling stat exposes an underlying problem that has come to the fore in recent games. Click the link to find out what it is.

After a member of Louisville’s basketball program tested positive for COVID, Virginia’s schedule was shuffled to accommodate a matchup with Pittsburgh. The Hoos got a nice bounce-back win on the road over NC State on Wednesday, but the Pitt team that will take the floor in John Paul Jones Arena is markedly more talented. The game will be another good opportunity to evaluate a Virginia team that is still finding itself, even as we tick towards March. Here’s our game preview for an important ACC game.

Two six-minute scoring droughts made for some rough viewing, but when all was said and done Virginia had defeated NC State 64-57 for an important bounce-back win. The win may not do much for the resume, but it does instill some confidence back into the hearts of the Wahoo players. Sports are a business where wins are the most valued currency, and Virginia chalked up another on Wednesday night in Raleigh. Here are five takeaways from the win.

Virginia’s second-half collapse against Virginia Tech Saturday led to their first ACC loss of the season (and in roughly a year). Luckily, the next opponent to step into the ring will be NC State, a team that has lost five of six games and currently sits at 12th place in the ACC. To make matters worse for an already-flailing Wolfpack team, leading scorer Devon Daniels was recently declared out for the season after an ACL tear. Daniels led the team in scoring and assist averages, and was the only player on the roster playing more than 30 minutes per game. The loss of such an important player will likely prove detrimental on both sides of the court. That being said, Virginia Tech lost starting guard Tyrece Radford prior to their matchup with the Hoos and almost looked better because of it. The Hokies were able to find other ways to score and NC State may do the same. Kevin Keatts has his group playing the nation’s 62nd best offense and 93rd best defense. They don’t exactly excel on either side of the ball, but of course anything can happen on any given night in the ACC. Here are four things to watch as Virginia looks for a bounce-back win.

An unwillingness to try and work the ball inside doomed Virginia to its first ACC loss in 357 days. The Hoos took 54% of their shots from three in the 65-51 loss to Virginia Tech, making less twos (9) than they did threes (10). It was a poor showing from a Virginia team that had plenty of its problems exposed over the course of a tumultuous 40 minutes.

In what is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing Virginia-Virginia Tech matchups of the last few years, the eighth-ranked Hoos will travel to Cassell Coliseum on Saturday night to take on the 20th-ranked Hokies. Here are three things that will determine who wins.

With a core of solid returners and some exciting new additions, this year’s Virginia basketball team was heralded preseason as one of the best teams in the nation. But they suffered some early losses, lowering those expectations in the process. Now, however, the Hoos are right back where they belong, and continue to improve. So how high is the ceiling for this team?

Virginia steamrolled Syracuse Monday night behind superlative three-point shooting and a number of rim-rocking jams. The Hoos have now won all seven of their ACC games, and have entered the spotlight as one of the best teams in the nation.