At the start of college basketball’s “Moving Month,” one school finds itself in a familiar place after last season saw the team play in the National Invitation Tournament for the first time since 2013.
Virginia (17-3, 9-2 ACC) may be in second place of the ACC entering February but current leader Clemson may be chasing them as No. 6 Cavaliers are ranked 14 spots higher than the Tigers, at least according to the latest poll from The Associated Press.
And that was before Tigers lost at Boston College Tuesday night. The two teams meet just once this season: Feb. 28 in Charlottesville. But even with traditional heavyweights Duke and North Carolina also on the upcoming slate, it appears as if the Cavaliers are zeroing in on at least the top four seed in the NCAA Tournament.
There might not be a superstar on his team, but head coach Tony Bennett has had four different leading scorers during the team’s current seven-game winning streak. They lead the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio and are top in 3-point shooting. Defensively, they’re where they’ve been for most of Bennett’s tenure, as in atop the conference in scoring defense and second in field goal defense.
Once again, Bennett’s team is traveling the road of efficient offense (four different leading scorers in the last six games, 1st in the ACC in assist to turnover ratio as well as 3-point shooting) and a lockdown defense (fewest points allowed per game in the conference and second in field-goal defense).
They’re also taking care of business: after having last week off the Cavaliers won games over Boston College Saturday (it wasn’t close) and at Syracuse Monday (closer than it should have been). Saturday, they’ll be tipping off “Moving Month” in Blacksburg against a Virginia Tech team that’s trying to scrape its way back to the NCAA bubble. Fire up the smoked turkey legs at Cassel Coliseum.
This Week’s Starting Five
Up Top: Alabama’s loss at Oklahoma (93-69 and it didn’t feel that close) drops the Crimson Tide out of my No. 1 spot, replaced by Purdue who was atop last week’s writers’ rankings as well. Meanwhile, the ACC is paying for giving North Carolina and Duke the vast majority of the spotlight, as teams like Clemson and NC State would be ranked higher if only they wore favored shades of blue. Then again, UNC and the Blue Devils rarely stub their toes at Boston College. Small school shout-outs: FAU, Saint Mary’s, San Diego State and Charleston. Toughest omissions: UConn, Northwestern, Miami, VCU and New Mexico.
Going Inside: American (14-7, 6-4 Patriot League) snapped a four-game losing streak with a sweep of the Service Academies to stay in the top four of the conference (higher seeds host in the PL Tournament). Matt Rogers’ 18 points in AU’s 73-69 win at Navy was just the latest of what’s turned out to be a solid conference season. The junior from Knoxville, Maryland, ranks second in the conference in shooting (he’s first when only accounting Patriot League games) and has made 70% of his attempts over the last four games. Also delivering in January has been Johnny O’Neil, who leads the conference in blocked shots and ranks third in rebounding. AU sees both ends of the spectrum this week as they host last place Becknell followed by first place Colgate (Raiders are one of six schools nationally that enter February unbeaten in league play).
On the Perimeter: VCU (17-6, 8-2 Atlantic 10) saw its winning streak end at six with a 61-58 loss last Saturday at home to St. Bonaventure on a day where the Rams shot 2-16 from 3-point range and 10-18 from the free-throw line. But the Rams bounced back with a 61-59 win at defending regular season champ Davidson Tuesday despite going 0-9 from 3-point range. It was Adam Baldwin’s jumper with 15 seconds left that gave them the lead for good. Coach Mike Rhoades’ team can retake first place in the A-10 Friday night when they visit Saint Louis, but they’ll have to contain Yuri Collins who leads the nation in assists per game. And it doesn’t let up after the Billikens as they go on against third place Dayton.
Who’s Open: Howard (14-10, 6-1 MEAC) wrapped up its five game home stand in fine fashion, routing South Carolina State on Monday while shooting 62% from the field and hitting 12-21 from 3-point range. Better bottle up some of that high-octane offense for the road in February, as they’ll play five of their next six away from Burr Gymnasium. But the only thing that’s worse to momentum than a change of venue is a week off — and the Bison won’t play another game until Saturday, Feb. 11. Hope their midseason momentum has been bottled and corked.
Last Shot: Saturday Georgetown (6-16, 1-10 Big East) battles No. 24 UConn (17-6, 6-6) at noon. These two schools dominated the greater part of the previous incarnation of the conference, with the Hoyas winning six of the first 10 tournaments (1980-89) before the Huskies took six of the following fifteen (1990-2004). UConn is 5-0 in this series since returning to the league a few years ago and at one point this season was ranked No. 2 in the nation. Georgetown hasn’t been ranked in the Top 20 since the final poll of the 2012-13 season, or before Connecticut left the league for the AAC.
