Well going back 24 years Izzo has 8 final 4s which is insane LOL.
It would be nice for Tony to have the basketball career of Izzo but hopefully with more Nattys.
I would argue that because of the success in the regular season Tony has had beating up on the ACC leading to higher seeds, that Furman UMBC and Ohio are much weaker opponents then whatever Michigan State has had to face outside maybe Middle Tennessee State. So Tony a victim of his own success? idk.
It’s kind of crazy that Izzo only has one championship. I wonder how Michigan St fans feel about Izzo. Obviously they have to love his March success but do they complain about the April struggles?
The game has evolved over those 20-some years.
And they haven’t had as much success in March recently as they had in his first 15 years.
But he’s still been successful in March over the past decade. As. Have. We.
That’s a fact.
Caleb Love has never been a dawg in college… dawgs are fearless guys with top tier talent.
Love is a chucker… big difference…
For example last year for them Manek was their Dawg
It is a fact if we look at the last 10 years. But we are looking at the last 4. I guess it depends on what the context you are looking at. I dont think anyone would argue that we are trending as well as we could be post national title and that the ACC has also changed in the last 10 years to the point where I think being successful in the ACC isn’t as rewarding as it once was, despite trophies and nets being cut down all the same.
Still have confidence there is a Jay Wright like upswing for Tony in his 50s as well.
In the Miles Bridges / Jalen Johnson** Jr year, they were accused a lot of running antiquated stuff, not taking advantage of the modern big. But then the next year (or two?) they were back in the final 4.
I dont know any MSU fans, but he definitely has some old school stuff to him (he’s a well known yeller)
** Jaren Jackson, sorry
I agree with this. It doubly sucks because if the ACC doesn’t improve then we almost have to do really well in conference just to make the tournament. Tony already approaches every game like a must win but it would basically have to be that way if we didn’t have a great non conference. Clemson went 14-6 plus one ACCT win and was the 72nd team for the committee. Never thought something like that would happen.
You know. Just keeping getting better players like we have in the last 2 classes. So far a nice mixture of shooters and athleticism. Let’s see what he can do with it.
If the 2020 tourney was played, how would Virginia have fared?
0 voters
I put 2nd round exit. We had the Braxton Mamadi Huff front court to lock down and get us past the first game.
But guard play wins march and we need those dynamics guards.
I do think we could have won the ACC tournament that year. That would have been cool.
I suspect a Sweet 16 finish might have been a reasonable expectation. Virginia did finish the regular season on an eight game winning streak (and twelve of the final 14), and, the team was healthy. Injuries appear to be a significant determining factor in post-season success for UVa.
People look back on that 2019-2020 season fondly but man that was a brutal team to watch (even for a fan). Incredibly awful offense.
The 2020 team was a 7 seed in the last Bracket Matrix of that season, but close to a 6. Sweet 16 would have been a bit of an uphill climb.
We were trending nicely the final few games. Offense still terrible but insane defense.
We really discount the impact of Covid, new transfer rules and NIL in these discussions. Jay Wright left when he had to deal with those. As the fifth and sometimes 6th year players exit, the system will come back into balance so that there aren’t teams with 24 and 25 year olds. Izzy never had to deal with those in his runs. Need a player, find one in the portal. Invest in player development, well we are already seeing teams disinvest in recruiting. Don’t play a recruit enough or be a mid-major taking the time to get the under-the-radar kid and take a chance. Kiss that player good bye. Operate within the rules of NIL - you are at the same disadvantage of when you ran a clean program against the Sean Millers and Bruce Pearls of the world. Miami has bought a team. So have Arkansas and Alabama. UNC did as well.
Again, tell me who can do better in the environment college basketball is in other than the Musselmans or Millers of the world. People are insane talking about firing Matt Painter after he joined the very exclusive 1-16 club.
I see CTB making adjustments, trying to make the transfer portal work for him, tweaking his offense, but it just can’t happen fast enough for many people. Articles like Pat Forde’s click bait may not appeal to some here in LRA, but there is an audience out there that buys that narrative.
I don’t look back that way. The offense was dreadful, worst among P5 teams. No way in the world that team is beating any 10 seed. Just couldn’t score at all.
I remember being at the Maine game that year and feeling miserable watching it and thought “no wonder everyone hates watching us” lol
We don’t talk about the Maine game lol
We might have snuck by 37-34 in the first round, haha.
Izzo is in the sweet 16. Marquette was a 2 seed in Shaka’s 2nd year.
I dont think NIL and transfer rules and COVID are that big of a reason for our struggles. We just neededed an athletic 4 man who has defensive versatility and guards who can shoot 3s without looking like they are in pain doing so. Mid majors themselves are riddled with these types let alone other power 6 schools.