Virginia took care of business Tuesday night by defeating North Carolina State and significantly enhancing its NCAA Tournament resume. But the Cavaliers must back that up by taking a key road game at Georgia Tech on Sunday afternoon.
Because Tony Bennett’s team put itself into a hole by losing some undesirable teams in the pre-conference part of the season, including to RPI (Ratings Percentage Index) No. 323 Old Dominion, the Cavaliers’ impressive 15-5 record (5-2 ACC) isn’t reflected with a similarly notable RPI, which jumped from No. 113 to No. 91 by beating to now-No. 19 Wolfpack.
Winning at Georgia Tech (No. 133) won’t shoot up Virginia’s numbers all that much, but losing will essentially nullify the win over N.C. State. To win a second-consecutive road game — Virginia won at Virginia Tech last week — the Wahoos need more contributions from the Mike Tobeys on the roster.
Tobey, a 6-foot-11 freshman from Monroe, N.Y., scored 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the victory, battling for 20 minutes against the Wolfpack’s powerful front line.
“He’s got a terrific touch,” Bennett said about Tobey. “I think his length bothered Howell some. Mike’s continuing to improve, and again, he is certainly a threat on the blocks, and I love that he had seven rebounds. I see three offensive rebounds and four defensive rebounds. He’s put together three real nice games.”
Tobey has totaled 31 points in Virginia’s last three games and can be counted on like junior wing Joe Harris is each game.
Harris might be the ACC’s best kept secret, though he’s getting pretty well known around the league Harris is having an All-ACC season, averaging 15.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest. But the Chelan, Wash., native’s statistics only tell part of his story.
No player in the ACC moves without the ball better, he’s always in the right spots in Bennett’s offense and is a terrific defender. Harris is a cerebral player who also has the physical gifts to take over a game.
He may need to Sunday. Tech (12-8) is better than its 1-6 ACC mark, and playing at home will be a tough out for the Wahoos.
Pick: Georgia Tech, 59-57
Feb. 2
When: Noon
Full Court Press: Clemson’s recent cycle has been to win two consecutive games then lose two, win two, lose two and so on. The Tigers will either push their winning streak to three by defeating the Eagles or remain on that up-and-down track. To win in Chestnut Hill, the Tigers must get another nice game from sophomore K.J. McDaniels, who has played some of his best basketball of late. Boston College will launch a bunch of 3s, and really play into Clemson’s strengths defensively. Boston College also failed to score a fast-break point in a home loss to UNC on Tuesday, and it may get precious few in this game, too. But, the Eagles are due for a league win.
Pick: Boston College, 63-57.
When: Noon
Full Court Press: North Carolina won’t have sophomore guard P.J. Hairston, who suffered a concussion Tuesday after scoring 33 points in 29 minutes of playing time dating back to last weekend’s game at N.C. State. But UNC will have Leslie McDonald back after he missed six games. This game will be about focus for UNC. If the Tar Heels are ready to play with spirit they will win, and possibly win big. National scoring leader Erick Green may get his 25-30 points, but unless he gets a lot of help the Hokies stand no chance at stealing one in the Dean Dome.
Pick: UNC, 87-70.
When: 2 p.m.
Full Court Press: This is it for Maryland. If the Terrapins are to make a push to the NCAA Tournament they simply can’t afford to drop this game. The Terps need to come out with the intent of running Wake Forest out of Comcast Center from the opening tip. The longer they let the improving Demon Deacons stick around the more difficult this assignment will become for a team still searching for its most effective combinations.
Pick: Maryland, 71-62.
When: 2 p.m.
Full Court Press: The Blue Devils have dropped half of their last eight games in Tallahassee plus fell at home and on a neutral court to the Seminoles a year ago. But this is a different FSU club, though it’s coming off a second buzzer-beating shot by Michael Snaer in 10 days and is improving. FSU beat Maryland on Wednesday, but to take care of the Blue Devils the Seminoles need to battle extremely hard, throw a ton of bodies at the Blue Devils — notably big man Mason Plumlee — and hit enough shots to hang around. Duke, on the other hand, has not played that well on the road and could very well lose. FSU is better than Wake Forest, and Duke almost fell at the Demon Deacons on Wednesday.
Pick: FSU, 64-62.
When: 4 p.m.
Full Court Press: This game is almost impossible to predict without knowing if N.C. State point guard Lorenzo Brown is going to play. If he does, the Wolfpack can rise up like they did in recent home wins over Duke and North Carolina. But if he doesn’t play, it’s difficult to imagine N.C. State winning. Since a pick must be made, the Wolfpacks strength up front and Scott Wood getting hot from the perimeter, which hasn’t been the case in the last couple of games, will be enough to carry Mark Gottfried’s team to a crucial victory.
Pick: N.C. State, 72-66.
Season record: 151-31
