Wake Forest vs Virginia Basketball Recap

Wake Forest 64, Virginia 61 (OT)

It's hard to win a game in college basketball's most celebrated conference with only one player. The Virginia Cavaliers found out the hard way on Saturday afternoon.

It's already been a highly successful season of hoops in Charlottesville, Va. Coach Tony Bennett has taken a UVA outfit from the bottom of the ACC into NCAA Tournament contention, producing more results than the Wahoos ever had a right to expect. But now that February's first week is just about over, the chase for a place in the field of 65 is consuming the attention of the Virginia campus. Therefore - in this more precise context, removed from the larger reality of UVA's overachieving ways - a great deal of disappointment has to be wafting through the Cavs' locker room after a wrenching three-point overtime loss to Wake Forest. This setback at John Paul Jones Arena just made Virginia's postseason destination a lot more uncertain.

It's all because the Cavs could count on only one performer to deliver buckets down the stretch.

Sylven Landesberg has been Virginia's go-to guy throughout the 2010 season, but there's something to be said for balance and team-wide distribution in a game that's played with five on a side. Ultimately, Wake and Coach Dino Gaudio owned more options than UVA did, and that made the difference in this ACC encounter.

After Virginia scored 14 points in the game's first four minutes, the Cavs became very guardable when they had the ball. Landesberg tossed in 28 points, but his teammates could muster only 33 in a 45-minute contest. After UVA's early surge, the Cavs scored just 47 points in the final 41 minutes of play.

> Check out our great selection of Demon Deacon Apparel & Merchandise!

In the midst of the conference grind, and especially in the month of February - when games become even more urgent but younger players on collegiate rosters find it harder to maintain stamina - it is absolutely essential for teams to have solid secondary and tertiary scorers who can take pressure off the main man. Virginia never found this, and that's why Wake was slowly and steadily able to assert itself on the road. Virginia, down 53-48 with 3:27 left in regulation time, rallied to force overtime, but in the extra period, Wake's balance and depth won out against Landesberg's best effort.

In overtime, four Wake players - Ari Stewart, C.J. Harris, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Ishmael Smith - dented the scoring column, while Landesberg (with four points in the extra stanza) received a lonely two-point bucket from UVA teammate Will Sherrill. The Demon Deacons were able to take a four-point lead with two minutes remaining and then maneuver this tilt into its endgame phase. The Deacs held onto a three-point lead in the final half-minute, as the well stayed dry for a Virginia club that shot just 34 percent (22 of 65) from the field.

A balanced team generally beats one star. That lesson was learned once again on Saturday, and as a result, the overachieving kids from Virginia have a tougher road to the NCAA Tournament.

By: Matt Zemek
ACC-Fans Staff Writer