The Virginia basketball team and its fans waited anxiously over the last two days for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday. A heartbreaking overtime loss to eventual ACC Tournament Champion NC State on Friday night left the Hoos in perilous territory on the NCAA bubble and many felt that other results around the country may have popped those hopes.
The Cavaliers dodged that disappointment, though. The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee placed Virginia among its last four at-large teams, but in the field nonetheless. UVA posted wins against Florida, Texas A&M, Clemson, and NC State as other teams that earned a spot in the bracket. The Hoos received a No. 10 seed and drew fellow No. 10 seed Colorado State for a play-in game in Dayton, Ohio on Tuesday.
This is Virginia’s 10th NCAA Tournament appearance under coach Tony Bennett. Here is the team’s reaction to the news.
🧡💙 This is what it means!
🔶⚔️🔷#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/KDiMyngbvD
— Virginia Men’s Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) March 18, 2024
The winner between the Wahoos and Rams will move on to a Midwest Region pod in Charlotte, N.C. That’s where No. 7 seed Texas awaits, including a familiar name to UVA fans. Kadin Shedrick transferred out of Virginia to join the Longhorns and he’s played in 30 games with averages of 7.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 1.2 blocked shots this season.
On the other half of that pod, No. 2 seed Tennessee takes on Saint Peter’s in the 2-15 game. Rick Barnes was considered a candidate for the Virginia head coaching job in the 1990’s, while the Peacocks made a Cinderella run in 2022 as the first No. 15 seed to make the Elite Eight in 2022 with wins against No. 2 seed Kentucky, No. 7 seed Murray Sate, and No. 3 seed Purdue.
The Hoos, of course, are as aware as anyone that anything can happen in March Madness. Slotted into the First Four for the first time, UVA hopes to make its own unexpected run as a low seed this time around.
To start any sort of postseason surge, teams in the First Four must navigate quick turnarounds throughout the first week. For Virginia and Colorado State, that means a late game Tuesday night with the winner then playing on Thursday. Win again and it’s another one-day break before a game on Saturday.
The matchup between the pair offers some interesting statistical quirks. First, UVA shoots 3’s more successfully, but takes them at a lower rate than CSU. Virginia shoots 36.3% on 3’s (47th nationally), while Colorado State shoots 33.2% (212th). Even so, only 32.7% of UVA’s shots are 3’s (293rd), while CSU takes 38.3% of its shots as 3’s (151st). One thing to know is that the Rams allow 34.3% shooting from 3-point range (188th), while the Hoos allow 30.4% (18th).
On the flipside, State shoots 2’s more successfully, but take them at a lower rate than the Virginia. CSU shoots 57.6% on 2′ (9th), while UVA shoots 46.8% on 2’s (309th). With that said, the Rams take 61.7% of their shots as 2’s (212th) vs. the Cavaliers with 67.3% of their shots as 2’s (70th). The Hoos defend 2-point shots by allowing 46.6% shooting (36th), while the Rams allow 48.5% (95th).
Colorado State fouls more frequently, but Virginia does not force opponents to foul as often. CSU logs a 25.0% foul rate (242nd) vs. a 21.3% foul rate for UVA (33rd), while CSU’s opponents have a foul rate of 25.1% (114th) vs. a 20.5% foul rate for UVA opponents (353rd).
There are some similarities too. Neither team crashes the offensive glass well (23.9%/276th for UVA and 22.2%/313th for CSU), but both clean the defensive glass at roughly the same rate (73.7%/147th for UVA and 73.6%/152nd for CSU). The Hoos have a 12.9% turnover rate (5th), while the Rams have a 14.6% turnover rate (50th). The Rams rank 2nd nationally in assists per possession (.261), while the Hoos rank 11th (.241).
So funny, the Hoos and their fans are delirious with joy, while all the Colorado State fans are ticked off and complaining about being unappreciated…
I don’t have a real complaint about the 10th seed. I do think having to play an extra game as a 10 seed is bonehead stupid which is often the case when people do something just to say they did something. I suspect that’s CST’s main complaint. It makes no effing sense that a 10th seed has to win a playin game while the 11th – 15th seeds start along with everyone else.
I am still wondering how Clemson was safely in and a 6 seed. We beat them on their home floor, they finished behind us in the league and lost their first game in the tourney. The NCAA metrics are really screwed up. Also both the Big 10 and Big 12 are highly overrated in my opinion. I’m glad we are in and hopefully we can advance and prove the “experts” wrong.