Very little close to home, but Virginia and Liberty both managed to win in a limited Tuesday slate ...
FORTUNES RISING
Virginia
The Cavaliers temporarily assumed sole control of second place in the ACC with a 58-55 victory over N.C. State, improving to 15-5 overall, 5-2 in the ACC and 5-0 against teams ranked in the top 100 in the RPI.
It was another reminder Virginia is going to be a miserably difficuly team to upend in its own arena. The Cavaliers are 13-1 in Charlottesville, something Maryland fans might want to keep in mind considering the Terrapins pay a visit to John Paul Jones Arena for the regular season finale.
On this particular night, Virginia benefitted from an injury to N.C. State point guard Lorenzo Brown. Nonetheless, the Cavaliers held an eighth consecutive opponent to less than 60 points. Virginia's blueprint for success isn't necessarily fun to watch, but it is allowing the Cavaliers to harbor NCAA tournament hopes in what easily could have been a rebuilding season.
And on that point: If the tournament started today, Virginia wouldn't be in the 68-team field thanks to too many dubious losses and a limited resume away from home. But there's still time, and the Cavaliers shouldn't be ignored.
NUMBER OF NOTE
13
Victories for Virginia while scoring less than 60 points in coach Tony Bennett's four seasons in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers won a total of 12 games while scoring less than 60 points in the 15 years before Bennett's hire in 2009.
FURTHER AFIELD
Three players scored in double figures for Liberty, which knocked off Campbell 89-72. The Flames improved to 7-15 overall and 3-5 in the Big South.
ON TAP WEDNESDAY
Georgetown (14-4) looks for its fifth win in six games when it meets Seton Hall on the night's D1scourse game of choice. ... Maryland (15-5) pays a visit to Florida State and looks to salvage a split of the season series with the Seminoles. ...
In a couple of Patriot League games, Navy (7-14) plays host to Lehigh while American (7-13) welcomes Bucknell to Bender Arena. ... Towson (10-12) visits Old Dominion. ... UMBC (4-16) makes its way to central New York to face struggling Binghamton. ...
Further afield, VCU (16-5) looks to snap a two-game skid when it travels to Rhode Island. ... Richmond (13-8) heads up to Temple. ... Virginia Tech (11-8) faces ACC leader Miami at Cassell Coliseum.
--- Patrick Stevens
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