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Even though the Syracuse Orange are undefeated and are the No. 1 team in the nation, the Virginia Cavaliers may be the hottest team in the ACC.
On Wednesday night, the Cavaliers stayed hot with a blowout win over the Boston College Eagles, and at this point in the season, Virginia may be the only team that can catch Syracuse for the ACC regular season championship.
The Cavaliers entered Wednesday’s game fresh off their biggest win of the season, a road win against the Pittsburgh Panthers that came on a last second three-point shot by Malcolm Brogdon. But Virginia showed no hangover effect following their win at the Petersen Events Center, a place few road teams have won at throughout the years. They took control of their game against Boston College early and stayed in control for a full 40 minutes.
Virginia dominated Boston College in the same manner that they’ve won their last six games, with defense. The Cavaliers showcased their great on-ball defense, which prevented the Eagles from getting any dribble penetration and forced them to take contested perimeter shots. Virginia also dominated on the boards, holding Boston College to one shot per possession. That great defense allowed the Cavs to build a lead early in the game, which was impossible to overcome for a team as limited as Boston College.
Virginia has played exceptional defense for the past month, which has allowed them to shake off an uneven month of December in non-conference play and come shooting out of the gate when ACC play began. Except for their win against Pittsburgh, all of Virginia’s conference wins have been lopsided games, due in large part because they’ve allowed 55 points per game in conference play.
The Cavaliers are now 9-1 in ACC play, and because both Pittsburgh and Duke have three conference losses, Virginia may be the only team with a chance to beat out Syracuse for the league championship, especially if they can knock off the Orange at home when the two teams meet in early March. The way Virginia is playing right now, they may be a hotter team than Syracuse, and if they keep it up, they have a real chance to knock off the undefeated Orange.
Bryan Zarpentine is a New York Mets writer at www.RantSports.com. He also writes frequently about the NFL, College Football, College Basketball, and International Soccer. Like him on Facebook, follow him on twitter @BZarp and add him on Google.
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