Someone described Saturday nights’ Virginia at Duke basketball showdown at Cameron Indoor Stadium as a “unification bout.” I prefer to use a term borrowed from UVa coach Tony Bennett’s dad, Dick Bennett, who calls these kinds of battles “slobberknockers.”

Kihei Clark knew he had arrived as a major college basketball player during a pickup game with his Virginia teammates last summer in Charlottesville.

On the eve of the biggest basketball game in modern state history, Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams said that what rival coach Tony Bennett had done at Virginia was “otherworldly.”

Sole possession of first place in the ACC belongs to No. 4 Virginia, as the Cavaliers used a dominant first half to roll over 9th-ranked Virginia Tech, 81-59, in front of a packed house Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena.

Photos from John Markon illustrate Virginia’s 81-59 win over Virginia Tech.

For the first time ever, both host Virginia and visiting Virginia Tech are ranked in the nation’s top 10. The Cavaliers are No. 4 in the writer’s poll, No. 1 in the coaches poll. The Hokies are No. 9, and 7, respectively.

Going into tonight’s Commonwealth Clash matchup between Virginia and Virginia Tech, one could certainly argue that it’ll be the biggest game ever between the longtime rivals. With Syracuse’s Big-Monday upset of No. 1 Duke, it just became even bigger.

Jerry Ratcliffe and Scott Ratcliffe from JerryRatcliffe.com and Chris Graham and Scott German from Augusta Free Press vote in this week’s ACC Basketball Power Poll.

Virginia extended the nation’s longest road winning streak on Saturday and the Cavaliers did it the way their coach appreciates most: deee-fense.

It may not have been the prettiest performance, but No. 4 Virginia was again fueled by a key second-half run to outlast Clemson by 20, 63-43, at Littlejohn Coliseum Saturday.

When Virginia tips off against Clemson tomorrow afternoon at Littlejohn Coliseum, the fourth-ranked Cavaliers will be gunning for a ninth straight win against the Tigers.

Last Saturday night, Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton walked into the press room at John Paul Jones Arena and looked like he had been blindsided by one of those locomotives that appear out of nowhere and flatten Wile E. Coyote in the Road Runner cartoons.

When Boston College forward Nik Popovic got past Jack Salt and cut Virginia’s lead to 48-41 with just over 15 minutes to play, it looked as if the fourth-ranked Cavaliers might be in for another dogfight against the Eagles.

With three of its next four games away from home, the Virginia men’s basketball team looks to extend the nation’s longest road winning streak and keep the momentum rolling at Boston College tonight. Tip time is scheduled for 9 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.

Jerry Ratcliffe and Scott Ratcliffe from JerryRatcliffe.com and Chris Graham and Scott German from Augusta Free Press debut the ACC Basketball Power Poll. Who sits atop the standings after the opening week of ACC play?

Kyle Guy has officially surged beyond Red Hot. Physicists tell us that heat progresses from red, orange, yellow, blue, violet, and then ultraviolet, which will burn our retinas. While it doesn’t exactly fit into the sports lingo in describing how on fire a player might be, Guy is now ultraviolet.

On a night when No. 4 Virginia needed a scoring lift going up against a tough Florida State team in the ACC opener Saturday, Braxton Key delivered his best performance so far wearing a Wahoo uniform.

Photo gallery from Virginia’s 65-52 win over Florida State on Saturday. Photos by John Markon.

Phase One of the Virginia men’s basketball schedule was a complete success. Now the real fun begins — welcome to the 2018 version of the Atlantic Coast Conference gauntlet.