By Jerry Ratcliffe
CHARLOTTE — After blowing Miami’s Hurricanes back to the tropics on Friday night, Virginia’s Ryan Odom had already focused on Duke.
The mighty Blue Devils, minus a couple of key contributors, polished off Clemson to set up tonight’s ACC Tournament championship game at the Spectrum Center. Duke, one of the nation’s top teams since the beginning of the season, was expected to be here.
Virginia, not so much.
Odom has surprised the college basketball world, guiding a fully reassembled roster to a No. 2 finish in the ACC and a 29-4 record heading into tonight’s 8:30 clash (ESPN) with the Blue Devils (31-2). While his Cavaliers may be the underdog to Duke, he’s not readily taking a back seat.
“I think we just have to do what we do … the moment can’t be too big for us,” Odom said about stepping into tonight’s spotlight. “There’s no reason to change anything at this point. We’re however-many games into the season and these guys know how we do things, and there’s a process and we’ve just got to stick to that.”
Playing for the title is a big deal for all the Virginia players, who were recruited from all over the country and overseas to put together a team that no one really knew would be this successful. But for one Cavalier in particular, tonight is incredibly special.
First-year guard Chance Mallory grew up in the shadows of Mr. Jefferson’s University, dreamed of being a Cavalier, dreamed of playing for Tony Bennett. The latter didn’t happen, but Mallory has made a splash in his first season and has been a major contributor to UVA’s getting to tonight.
“It means a lot to me, growing up in Charlottesville,” Mallory said. “I’ve only seen very few ACC championships, so to be able to play in one, it’s like a dream come true. Then, obviously, Coach Odom’s history, he’s been to a couple, so it’s just a full-circle moment. I’m just blessed to be part of this.”
If you want even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!
While Duke is the odds-on favorite to win, there is some question about whether the Blue Devils being down a couple of players might have difficulty playing against Virginia’s depth. Odom, who said that has been a big key to the Cavaliers’ season, normally plays nine players because of the physical demands of his system.
“No excuses from us,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said after dispatching Clemson late Friday night. “That’s part of the strength of their team is their depth. I think the way we can sub and with our rotations, we’ll be fresh and ready to go.”
Scheyer said it’s a blessing to be playing in the title game, so fatigue is not something he’s thinking about.
“We’re not going to get much sleep tonight,” he said after Friday’s game. “It’s probably going to be 2 or 3 in the morning by the time these guys actually get to bed. We’ll focus on just letting them get great recovery tonight, knowing these guys will be ready to go Saturday at 8:30.”
If you want even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!
