Tale of the Tape: NC State at Virginia

Photo by Jon Golden

Another longtime ACC rival is on deck for Virginia Monday night, as the Cavaliers host NC State at 7 p.m. (ESPN) in a pivotal conference showdown. Three of UVA’s next four games are at John Paul Jones Arena, and the Wahoos (12-5, 4-3 ACC) will now try to string together a couple of wins after dropping three in a row.

Jay Huff scored a career-high 17 points, grabbed a team-high 8 rebounds and denied a career-best six shots on defense to help lift Virginia to a five-point victory at Georgia Tech Saturday night, with help from Mamadi Diakite (17 pts, 6 reb, 2 blk), Braxton Key (10 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl), Kihei Clark (7 pts, 7 ast, 3 stl) and Tomas Woldetensae (9 pts, 3 3PM, 3 stl).

Although the numbers aren’t necessarily eye-popping, Woldetensae has picked up his play as of late, averaging 8 points and 3 rebounds over his last three games with all of his scoring output coming from downtown (8 for 20 from 3-point range).

The ‘Hoos, a 5½-point favorite tonight, won by one in overtime in Raleigh during the regular season last year and then sent State home from the ACC Tournament quarterfinals with a 20-point win last March. UVA has taken the last dozen straight regular-season meetings in the rivalry, which NC State leads, 82-67. The Cavaliers have claimed 13 of the last 15 overall against the ‘Pack.

UVA is currently ranked 44th overall according to KenPom (2nd AdjD, 232nd AdjO), with the Wolfpack checking in at 46th (16th AdjO, 111th AdjD).

NCSU (13-5, 4-3) has won five of its last seven games on the season after holding off a hot Clemson squad, 60-54, on Saturday. Three of State’s four losses have come on the road, and the Wolfpack has dropped each of the last three away from home (at Auburn, 79-73; at Clemson, 81-70; at Virginia Tech, 72-58).

State is the ACC’s second-highest scoring team at just over 77 points a game. C.J. Bryce is the team’s leading scorer (15.0 ppg) and rebounder (6.6 a game), while another senior guard, Markell Johnson (13.1 ppg) runs the point. Bryce ranks third in the conference in field-goal percentage (81 for 153 FG; 53 percent), while Johnson is second in the ACC with 6.7 assists per contest.

Devon Daniels (11.2 ppg) provides experience on the wing, and he, Johnson and Bryce have combined for 86 steals on the season. All three rank in the top 10 in the conference in that category.

Another redshirt junior, 6-foot-10, 225-pound forward D.J. Funderburk (13.1 ppg, 6.0 rpg), is a force to be reckoned with in the paint along with redshirt freshman forward Manny Bates who doesn’t pack much of a scoring punch, but at 6-foot-11, he has registered an ACC-best 53 blocks (2.9 a game, tops in the league).

Reserves Braxton Beverly (7.6 ppg), Jericole Hellems (9.9 ppg) and Pat Andree (6.5 ppg) should each see significant minutes as well.

Virginia will get a few days of rest before hitting the road again, playing at Wake Forest Sunday at noon before returning to JPJ to host fifth-ranked Florida State and Clemson.