Tony Bennett’s team is in the home stretch; only three games remain on the regular season schedule, and the next two are the final home contests of the year. This weekend, Boston College makes the trip to Charlottesville, and the Hoos will try to pick up a coveted ‘W’ after dropping a heartbreaker in Chestnut Hill last month. The last time these two teams met, Virginia was coming off a tough loss to No. 1 Duke after leading the Blue Devils at the end of the first half. This time around, the Hoos are have a pair of conference victories under their belts, and the team is hoping to pick up a few more wins before the postseason.

Eagles On Offense: Like Bennett, BC head coach Steve Donohue runs a variant of the Princeton Offense, which utilizes perpetual motion and outside passing to draw the defense away from the basket.  BC’s offensive success hinges on spreading the scoring around; during the last meeting with Virginia, the Eagles had four players in double figures. Senior forward Joe Trapani and guard Reggie Jackson are the linchpins of the offense so limiting their input is crucial. Boston College wants to get to the basket, so forcing the Eagles to shoot outside and take shots they don’t exactly want will keep the game under control. (more…)

Do the Techs of the Atlantic Coast Conference bring out the best in the Virginia men’s basketball team? Fans get a chance to find out when the Cavaliers travel to Georgia Tech on Wednesday night. Fresh off a season sweep of in-state rival Virginia tech, the Hoos will try to add the other Tech to their sweep list in his league match-up.

Neither team in this contest is on a hot streak. Virginia has just three wins since Jan. 8, while the Yellow Jackets have dropped six straight ACC games. Ultimately, that makes this outcome a hard one to predict.

Here are three key areas I’m keeping an eye on when the UVa and GT get together Wednesday in Atlanta:

Who can make shots? Neither Virginia nor Georgia Tech shoot the ball particularly well. In fact, the duo ranks dead last in the ACC in field goal percentage. UVa has made just 41.9% of its shots in games this season, while GT has converted just 40.4% of its attempts. The biggest difference may come from beyond the 3-point arc and that’s an area that heavily favors the visitors. The Hoos rank second in the league by making 38.8% of their 3-pointers (the number jumps to 40.0%, No. 1 in the ACC, for conference games only) while the Yellow Jackets have drained just 28.8% of their long-ball attempts. The most concerning part for Tech fans may be the flipside of that equation, though; GT has allowed opponents to make a league-worst 38.1% of 3-point attempts.

All of that leads to simple conclusion: whichever team shoots the ball better probably wins this one.

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There was a lot of serious lax talk at Thursday’s men’s lacrosse media day/practice, but you can never walk away without a few choice quotes that just don’t quite fit into a story. Here are some of the fun notes and quotes that I picked up at Klockner.

“We’re always excited to face Duke. They’ve kind of had our number recently. There are a lot of guys on the team, a lot of alums, a lot of people in Charlottesville that are ready to see us beat Duke.” – Matt Lovejoy

“It’s always fun getting recognized in those type of things. It’s funny, I think I’ve been honored a few years now. I guess I’ve got to thank my parents for that one.” – Steele Stanwick on being honored by Inside Lacrosse for their 2011 All-Name Team.

“I didn’t make it. I got a haircut too quick.” – Stanwick on being left off of the 2011 All-Flow Team. Luckily, Virginia is already well represented.

“[His hair] is coming in, he’s got the nice gold locks.” – Rhamel Bratton on first year defenseman Scotty McWIlliams living up to Ken Clausen’s number and legacy.

“As seniors we do a ‘Last Word.’ Mine’s today, so I’m the first one. That’s just pretty much your experience here and any advice you have for the younger guys, things to come and stuff like that. It’s called the ‘Last Word’ you have at the end of Thursday practice. I have it written down; it’s right here.” – Bratton showing the press his pre-written team speech, which was safely tucked into his shorts. Let’s hope he still had it at the end of practice!

“Adam Ghitelman and I would go out and get sushi the night before every game. We had this weird tradition where they would give us this huge ball of wasabi, and I don’t know how it got started, but I would always have to eat the whole ball of wasabi. The rule was you couldn’t drink water until after the meal was over. We mix it up now, and I’m kind of relieved.” – Bray Malphrus on pregame rituals.

“My club team, the Baltimore Crabs played the Long Island Empire team and I got to meet Adam, Rhamel and Shamel. It was all the kids from the D.C./Baltimore area vs. all the L.I. kids going to Virginia. Baltimore walked away with the win. I don’t know if the L.I. kids will admit that. We remind them every now and then. They claim that the refs kind of skewed it a little bit and as soon as we started winning they pulled their starters, so there are some questions as to whether or not they had their best foot forward.” – Malphrus on meeting his teammates for the first time, and the friendly North-South rivalry on the team.

The men’s basketball team heads to Tallahassee on Saturday to go to work against a talented, albeit frustrated, Florida State squad. The Noles did score a win last night against Georgia Tech, but it came despite some sloppy play. FSU was also embarrassed in two previous contests against Clemson and North Carolina, and needs to prove something if the team wants a spot in the Big Dance. Virginia has had a week off after the team’s debacle in South Beach, one in which coach Tony Bennett promised to “look at the tape.” Here’s hoping he spent a lot of time in the film room watching not only the Hoos, but also checking out just how Clemson and UNC broke FSU’s defense.

Keys to the Game

Contain Chris Singleton. The junior forward is the Noles’ on-court leader, as well as the team leader in scoring and rebounds. Singleton has carried the team in many games this season, and neutralizing him will go a long way toward slowing down FSU’s offense. The Tigers managed to get him in foul trouble, and he sat for most of the first half against Clemson. There’s one caveat, however: the Hoos need to remember that there are other players on the court, too, a la the Maryland game. Shutting down Jordan Williams was all well and good, but there are four other guys on the court at any given time. Senior guard Derwin Kitchen is the Adrian Bowie to Singleton’s Jordan Williams.

Put the Noles to work on defense. The Tar Heels were aided by some hot shooters last week, but the main factor in their victory was that they drew FSU out of its comfort zone on defense. Normally, the Noles play in a smothering man-to-man scheme, but against UNC they lapsed into zone coverage, which opened the door for the Heels to shoot 55.7% from the field. Clemson came out swinging and got off to a 22-6 lead early, which the Tigers never gave up. Gaining separation (both on the court and on the scoreboard) will be key, along with pulling down offensive rebounds. UNC’s Kendall Marshall finished the game with 16 assists. Paging Jontel Evans!

Make FSU shoot from outside. One thing the Seminoles don’t have is a go-to 3-point man. Preventing penetration and forcing Florida State to take outside shots is crucial. FSU’s defense is by far its strong suit and the offense has been streaky this season. Making the Seminoles make mistakes and take long jumpers worked for Clemson; the Noles were 4-17 from beyond the 3-point arc and had 22 turnovers. FSU was also just 4-19 in triples against UNC.

The Hoos should be well rested and ready to execute on the court this weekend. Since Virginia plays Florida State, Duke, and Virginia Tech over the next eight days, the time for silly mistakes is over – those three teams can make you pay in a hurry for sloppy, inconsistent play. A solid road win and good offensive execution would do a lot for this young team’s morale.