Will's World: Breaking down UVA-Minnesota - SCACCHoops.com

Will's World: Breaking down UVA-Minnesota

by Will Ojanen

Posted: 11/29/2010 7:58:49 AM


 

The ACC-Big Ten Challenge tips off Monday, and while the ACC has dominated in years past, this year might be a little different. Several teams figure to be ranked in the top 25 throughout the season from the Big Ten. The first game of the challenge features Virginia and Minnesota, two teams at different levels at this point. Virginia is young and relatively inexperienced, and Minnesota is a more veteran team. This game appeals to me a lot not just because I do root for Virginia, but I will also be in attendance at this game. Here’s a breakdown of how each team can win this game.
How Virginia can win: The best chance for Virginia to win this game is to make it rain threes all day long. The Cavs do have a lot of options in that department. Freshman Billy Baron has become a sharp shooter from three point range early, and he will need some of the other freshmen, such as K.T. Harrell and Joe Harris, along with sophomore Jontel Evans, to drains threes pretty often. Virginia does not have a lot of size inside, and Minnesota has a lot of it. It will not surprise me if Assane Sene gets the start, and it will be imperative for him and Mike Scott to avoid foul trouble all night long. Scott is the best player in Virginia’s frontcourt, and he will have his work cut out for him trying to get anything done against the Gophers defense.
How Minnesota can win: As mentioned, the Gophers are a big team, and they can pound the ball inside and try and get points that way. Led by 6-11 junior Ralph Sampson III, a name Virginia fans are quite familiar with, the Gophers easily have the advantage. Trevor Mbakwe is a 6-9 guy who is a newcomer to the team, but is very talented. The Gophers also can bring 6-10 junior Colton Iverson off the bench. Iverson is a physical player who can rebound pretty well. In addition to these two, the Gophers have a 300 pound freshman named Maurice Walker who is a wide body that will be tough to defend. If Virginia starts to double team the inside guys, there’s two time ESPY award winner Blake Hoffarber, who is as lethal of a three point shooter as there is in the country.
It’s most likely that the latter of the situation will occur. Minnesota not only has a good home court advantage, with a unique elevated court that’s you don’t see too much. The Gophers size and experience will likely win out over the youth of Virginia. The Gophers do have some backcourt issues right now, with an injury to Rodney Williams keeping him out for this game. Another of the guards, Devoe Joseph, was suspended indefinitely by the team before the season started, and there is a chance Joseph could play in this game. Perhaps those issues at guard will keep Virginia in this game. I hope Virginia can hit some threes and keep this game competitive. I don’t want to go there to see Virginia get blown out.

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