The 23rd-ranked Virginia Cavaliers will conclude their home non-conference series Monday night when the American Eagles take to John Paul Jones Arena.
The Hoos came up short against a feisty Maryland team last time out, a team ranked well above the fourth quadrant in the NET rankings. The Terrapins’ tight defense kept Virginia flustered early on, but behind Darin Hall’s season-high 20 points, the Terrapins exploded for 56 points in the second half to earn their 10th win of the season.
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Ryan Odom and Hoos will win 11 points on holiday Mondayth Win the season before the ACC schedule begins on December 31Yingshi at Virginia Tech. The game against the Eagles is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET and will be covered by the ACC Network.
What you need to know about the United States
UVA’s all-time record against the United States is 6-1, with its only loss coming in 1951. The Hoos last faced off against the Eagles a year ago today, narrowly defeating Team USA 63-58, with Elijah Saunders scoring 21 points.
American Airlines is coached by Duane Simpkins, a DMV basketball great who is in his third season coaching the Eagles. Simpkins, a former player at DeMatha Catholic High School, led the Eagles to the Patriot League championship last season and their first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2014.
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The Eagles have had some trouble finding their rhythm again this season and head into Charlottesville with a 7-5 overall record (0-4 on the road). Sitting 234th About KenPom and 247th In the NET, Team USA represents the ‘Hoos in their final Final Four game of the season (as it stands now).
The Eagle to watch on Monday night is freshman guard Madden Collins. Collins, a true freshman from Columbia, South Carolina, leads the Eagles with 13.0 points per game despite coming off the bench in all 12 of Team USA’s games and accounting for only 52% of the team’s total minutes so far.
At 6-foot-5, Collins isn’t much of a threat from beyond the arc (24.5 percent), but he uses his length to attack the rim and excels at getting to the free throw line. Even though Collins doesn’t play a lot of minutes, his shooting percentage improves when he’s on the court — Team USA shot 34.2% (10%) when he’s on the court.th– the highest in the country).
Another guy the Eagles know well is Greg Jones, a junior forward from Alexandria, Virginia. Jones will play more minutes than any other player on the Hawks on Monday night (76 percent) and has scored in double figures in each of Team USA’s two games against power conference opponents. Despite being ineffective at times on the field, Jones got to the free throw line more than any other Eagles player and converted at an elite 84.1 percent rate from the charity stripe.
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Outlook
Virginia heads into this game as a 27-point favorite, which means the Hoos have no reason to struggle to improve to 11-1 heading into ACC play. Ryan Odom has done a good job so far of not letting UVA overlook any mid-major games, so the ‘Hoos will be looking to set the tone early and avoid giving the Hawks any hope of a late upset.
Hoos’ biggest advantage once again comes on the backboard. There is no player on the Team USA roster taller than 6 feet 9 inches (227th No. 1 nationally in average height), while UVA ranks 33rd nationally in rebounding percentage (8.6) and outrebounds its opponents 8-0.
If the Eagles are going to keep the score close, it will likely be because of the three-point shooting. The Americans love to let the ball fly from beyond the arc — a scary trait for a weak team — shooting 35.6 percent from beyond the arc as a team and accounting for 38.6 percent of their points (34 games).th– the highest ratio in DI).
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prophecy:
Virginia 88, United States 64