The No.16-seeded Hampton Pirates square off against the No.1-seeded Virginia Cavaliers in the first round of the NCAA tournament at PNC Arena. The game starts at 3:10 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 17 and can be seen on TRU.
The Cavaliers fell to North Carolina 61-57 in the 5 of the Atlantic Coast tournament. Anthony Gill had a good game for Virginia, finishing with 13 points, six rebounds, and one steal. The Pirates, meanwhile, are coming off an 81-69 win over South Carolina State in the 4 of the Mid-Eastern tournament. Brian Darden was the team’s top scorer, accumulating 22 points on 5-for-10 shooting.
It’s a matchup of two different tempos, as the up-tempo Pirates (ranked 30th in the nation in possessions per game) square off against the grind-it-out Cavaliers (351st).
The Cavaliers look to build on their records of 26-7 Straight Up (SU) and 17-14 Against The Spread (ATS). The Cavaliers are an exceptional shooting team from the line with a .754 free throw percentage, one of the highest marks in Division I. Few teams in the nation have a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than Virginia, which ranks ninth at 1.53. Turning to the defensive side, the Cavaliers have limited opponents’ efforts from beyond the arc, allowing 6.0 three-pointers made per game.
In the other locker room, the Pirates have 21-10 SU and 3-2 ATS records. Hampton performed well ATS during its last 10 games, earning an 8-2 record. The Pirates have controlled the glass with an average of 41.6 rebounds per game, seventh in the country. The Hampton defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only 6.0 field goals from three-point range per game.
With the Cavaliers’ last win against the Pirates, their SU record is now 5-0 over Hampton.
Predictions: SU Winner – Hamp, ATS Winner – Hamp
Notes
“Virginia is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games “.
“Virginia is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Hampton”.
The Virginia Cavaliers have a defensive rating of 98.2 (ranked 28th), while the Hampton Pirates have an offensive rating of 102.6 (ranked 241st).
Virginia has an average field goal percentage of 48.7% (ranked 13th). Hampton is an abysmal 1-5 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Virginia Cavaliers and the Hampton Pirates both rank higher in average field goal percentage when compared to their effective field goal percentages. Virginia is 26th and 13th in the nation for eFG% and FG% respectively, while Hampton ranks 302nd and 291st in these categories.
The Virginia Cavaliers rank ninth with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.53, while the Hampton Pirates rank outside the top 100 (294th) with an A/TO of .87.
Virginia ranks 304th in offensive rebounds, while Hampton ranks 36th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Virginia makes 5.5 steals per game. Hampton has a winning 14-7 record when it gives up at least 5 steals.
