Daily CBB Smorgasbord: UVA, Cade, and More!

 Your Daily College Hoops Smorgasbord: 4 Big Things from Monday’s Action:

(Might Keep Doing This, We’ll See)

VIRGINIA TAKES CARE OF BUSINESS

Virginia shouldn’t be rewarded for defeating a Miami team in 167th on the NET rankings, only 13 spots ahead of their Miami of Ohio counterparts. The Hurricanes are 7-16 for the season. 

Yet, with Tony Bennett’s crew’s inconsistency this season, it feels like giving a toddler a gold star for not doing something stupid. Congrats Lil’ Jimmy, you didn’t draw on the walls! Congrats Virginia, you didn’t blow it against Miami!

The Cavaliers’ 16-6 record and 12-4 mark in ACC play speaks for itself. They have many capable weapons. They deserve their #21 ranking in the AP Poll.

Many teams can beat ANYBODY, even if they’re inconsistent. Others don’t quite have the talent to beat Top 10 teams, but make up for it by crushing the weaker (Cardinal Direction) + (US State) + (State/Tech/A&M/U) schools. 

Virginia managed to put together a decent resume in a down year for the ACC, but I’m still unsure which of those boxes they check. Their best win? Probably a drubbing of a Clemson team that is the personification of the accountants from The Good Place, or a 2 point win over Georgia Tech, a Yellowjackets where Josh Pastner’s face shield is keeping them on the bubble. Games against their three strongest opponents, Virginia Tech, Gonzaga, and Florida State, all ended with the Hoos down by at least 14 points. However, you can’t trust them to win the easy ones, with losses to programs like North Carolina State and San Francisco.

As a cohesive basketball unit, I’m also not very confident in their abilities. The roster is filled to the brim with players I would LOVE in different situations. The current scenario just doesn’t work: they have 3 lights out shooters in Sam Hauser, Trey Murphy III, and Jay Huff, with the final of those three names also an excellent rim protector, but none can create the necessary shots for themselves. Kihei Clark passes it well, with 4.6 assists a game to only 2.2 turnovers, but his lack of scoring threat and any size allows defenses to play off him and recover on the pick and roll. (Also possible I’m just holding a grudge against Clark after he decommitted from UC Davis)

For Miami, it’s a lost year, barring a legendary run at Greensboro Coliseum for the ACC Tournament. Only one piece of advice for Jim Larranaga for next year: stop wearing the stork emblem on your shirt. It’s one of the most hideous logos in sports. On the other hand, you have the U, the most exciting symbol in all of college sports. Put that on your jacket, probably nothing will happen, but I will be 7% happier watching Miami basketball games.

CADE. CUNNINGHAM

Cade put it all on display for Oklahoma State on Saturday. 40-11 is the stat line passed around, but he showed his might on defense as well with 3 steals and 2 blocks. I am afraid of the complete lack of flaws in his game - the fact that when I attempt to nitpick his abilities, I am left without any critiques, makes me feel like this is too good to be true, that a player who seems so perfect must be a bust. Perhaps my favorite Cunningham feature? He plays point guard, and has all the speed to do so. Yet, in the biggest possession of the game yesterday, coach Mike Boynton put him on Brady Manek, the biggest player on the floor for the Cowboys’ cross-state rivals.

Compared to Saturday’s outburst, 15-7-4 in the Bedlam rematch seems rather quiet. That’s reason #801 why Lon Kreuger of Oklahoma is quietly one of the best coaches in the Big 12, if not the entire United States. We’ll throw in Canada and Mexico too, although the Halifax Caribou and the Tijuana Piranhas are making some noise. He saw Cunningham crush his Sooners’ hopes. As a result, he put more pressure on Cunningham, forcing him to exhibit his unbelievable passing. Fortunately for the Cowboys, Kalib Boone came through for an 8-9 day with 17 points. Kreuger has to be at peace with that decision; forcing the basketball out of the hands of the #1 pick (Saturday upgraded Cade from “presumptive #1 to just “1”) and forcing someone else to make plays.

A few weeks ago, Oklahoma State was a team that top teams feared facing in the second round, possibly at that 6-10 seed cluster. Now, the tables have turned. Mike Boynton and Co. will be one of those top seeds, receiving a #17 ranking before defeating a Top 20 Oklahoma team once again.

NORTH CAROLINA INCONSISTENCY

Testing a theory here: North Carolina’s win probability has a positive relationship with opponent’s win percentage. The better the team, the better the Tar Heels show. Of course, that goes the other way too. When Carolina faces teams closer to giving their coach a pink slip than an extension, danger is always present. 

Last Wednesday, a lukewarm Marquette team went into the Dean Dome and DEMOLISHED the Tar Heels. They had their fair share of decent wins, but they merely squeaked out victories against Wisconsin and Creighton. This was not one or two fortunate bounces off the rim, but 40  minutes of domination. 

Yesterday’s Syracuse loss was a different breed of frustrating, a close one determined in the final few minutes. I wouldn’t make too much of UNC losing this, especially because the Orange are a solid bubble team. Perhaps the biggest element of variance and randomness in basketball comes via shooting, where every shot is like flipping a coin that’s slightly likelier to land on whichever side you failed to pick. 

Kerwin Walton, the best shooter for UNC, employed “Tails Never Fails,” yet the magic coin ripped off a string of heads results, with his 0-7 day from deep looking very different from his 41.2% clip for the season. On the other hand, Buddy Boeheim, the product of love between Jim Boeheim and this booger, proved that his role on the team was not one of nepotism with a 6-13 day from deep. Just change a few of those outcomes with Walton and Boeheim, and the Tar Heels may be exiting the Carrier Dome with a victory.

Unlike Virginia, Carolina clearly sees which bin they fit in: one of a marriage of inconsistency and talent. With that talent, of strong freshmen like Caleb Love, UNC has the opportunity to go to the Sweet Sixteen. On the other hand, they might not even attend the NCAA Tournament bubble in Indianapolis if they fail to succeed down the stretch. Tar Heel Blue Bleeder and cohost of Titus & Tate, Tate Frazier perfectly summarizes the season in this never ending triangle. We’ll see if UNC can get on the right track ahead of Saturday’s Tobacco Road rivalry match.

BILL WALTON WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS

I sat down on the couch, exhausted from a long day of virtual school and cross-country practice. I clicked the power button on the TV. On ESPN2, I recognized the words “Arizona Vs Oregon.” I gleefully selected the channel, ready to listen attentively to Bill Walton’s ramblings on a Monday night Conference of Champions duel. I heard his play-by-play partner Dave Pasch call out the action for a possession. About 15 seconds in, I realized: something was HORRIBLY wrong. There were no interjections. There were no tangents about the Willamette River/Valley. There were no digs about how Pasch doesn’t believe in science, math, or evolution. There were no roasts of Joe Lunardi. There were no F-Bombs. Then, Jimmy Dykes, fantastic SEC color commentator, added a comment, and I knew. There would be no Walton tonight. 

(Also, nice game for Chris Duarte. Between, Figueroa, Duarte, and Eugene from Eugene, Dana Altman is figuring out how to use his top tier weapons)

See y'all later, gonna have some golf stuff up soon