Cavaliers Look to Prove They Deserve to Dance
As the ACC tournament approaches, the Virginia Cavaliers are preparing to prove that they are worthy of dancing this March. Inconsistency has been the Achilles heel of Virginia this year, and it has continued over the last couple of games. The Cavaliers followed their huge with over Duke by loosing back-to-back games against Boston College and Florida State before grinding out an overtime win against Maryland. Although the win against Maryland was huge for the Wahoos, they cannot relax just yet. They are still likely on the bubble due to their 5 losses to non RPI top 100 teams.
March 10, 2013; Charlottesville, VA USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Jontel Evans (1) shoots the ball as Maryland Terrapins guard Nick Faust (5) defends in overtime at John Paul Jones Arena. The Cavaliers won 61-58 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The Cavs have a bye in the first round of the tournament and will face the winner of Virginia Tech and NC State, both are teams that Virginia knocked off in the regular season. If they are able to make it past the second round, they will likely face a Miami team that defeated them at the buzzer. The Wahoos will undoubtedly want to avenge the loss to the Hurricanes, but they cannot look too far ahead and dismiss the challenge they will get from NC State or in state rival Virginia Tech. NC State will definitely give the Cavaliers a challenge and although Virginia Tech is last in the ACC, the rivalry aspect and ACC Player of the Year, Eric Green, will not let the Cavaliers get off easy. Due to the nature of Virginia’s season to this point, anything short of winning the tournament will likely keep the Cavaliers on the bubble, but whether they win or lose, they need to show that they deserve to be playing in late March by playing tough defense and crashing the boards. Virginia has never been a flashy team, but they do not need to be great offensively to catch the attention of the selection committee. They need to play their style of basketball and play it well. For more coverage of the ACC tournament later this week, tune into All Over The Hill!