Weekly Virginia College Basketball Wrap-Up & Updated KenPom Rankings (Jan. 4-10)

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Running back the week in Virginia college basketball, from Radford’s four-game sweep to UVA handling business despite missing several players and coaches. Enjoy!

Radford Owned the Week

The Highlanders played four games this week and won them all, improving their Big South record to 7-1. Now, they trail only Winthrop (8-0 in conference). Freshman Fah’Mir Ali averaged 14.8 points and 4.3 assists per game this week across four games. He was the only Radford player to score in double figures in all four wins.

After Carlik Jones, the 2020 Big South Player of the Year, transferred to Louisville, experts weren’t sure what to expect from Radford. What we know after 14 games is that they’re long and give head coach Mike Jones a killer effort on the defensive side of the floor. Out of the 345 D-1 programs who have played this year, the Highlanders rank 24th in two-point shooting percentage allowed (43.3%).

UVA Just Scratching the Surface

Yes, it was only against Boston College, but Virginia’s second half on Saturday was encouraging and a sign of what could be when their best players (and unquestioned leaders) are playing well at the same time. Sam Hauser (12), Kihei Clark (10), and Jay Huff (8) combined for 30 of the team’s 32 second-half points and the Hoos’ defensive effort was stout (as usual). Coming off a game where they held Wake Forest to 22 second-half points, Boston College scored just 23 points in the second half on Saturday.

Things are looking up for UVA. They’re just scratching the surface offensively and in terms of what rotations are most effective. They have benefited from a light conference schedule thus far. By the time the heavy-hitters are on the other side of the floor, I’m confident Tony Bennett will have the team playing with confidence and precision on both ends. Virginia is 3-0 in conference play. Their next game is an early-evening contest on Wednesday against Notre Dame, who they’ve already beaten this year.

JMU Still Waiting For CAA Opener

James Madison’s 2020-21 campaign is a perfect example of the strangeness we’re all going through. The Dukes have been forced to schedule multiple fill-in games recently just to keep the team fresh. They’re yet to play a conference game this year. Meanwhile, some CAA teams already have four under their belts. What’s more, they’re going to continue to wait for a conference game and more fill-ins could be down the line; the Dukes aren’t slated to play their CAA opener until Jan. 23 and there are no other games scheduled in the interim.

Number Dance:

25: Justin Kier, a fan-favorite while at George Mason and current starter at Georgia, went off for 25 (season-high) this past Wednesday in the Dawgs’ 94-92 overtime loss to LSU.

26.7: Speaking of George Mason, the Patriots had a tough week with losses to local and conference rivals Richmond and VCU. In both games, the Patriots were a measly 4-for-15 from beyond the arc…or 26.7 percent.

68: The number of spots Radford has jumped in the KenPom rankings since the beginning of the year. From #309 to their current #241 spot. Updates rankings can be found at the bottom of this page.

687: The number of days between 100-point outings by James Madison. The Dukes hung 100 on D-II Chowan on Sunday, their first 100-point game since beating Hofstra 104-99 in overtime two seasons ago (Feb. 23, 2019).

Virginia College Basketball Results/Highlights (Jan. 4-10)

ACC:
Virginia Cavaliers (7-2, 3-0)

  • Virginia 70, Wake Forest 61 (Wed, 1/6)
  • Virginia 61, Boston College 49 (Sat, 1/9)

Virginia Tech Hokies (9-2, 3-1)

  • Louisville 73, Virginia Tech 71 (Wed, 1/6)
  • Virginia Tech 77, Notre Dame 63 (Sun, 1/10)

CAA:
James Madison Dukes (5-4, 0-0)

  • James Madison 79, FAU 70 (Tue, 1/5)
  • James Madison 100, Chowan 76 (Sun, 1/10)

William & Mary Tribe (3-5, 1-2)

  • William & Mary 67, Delaware 62

A-10:
George Mason Patriots (5-5, 1-3)

  • VCU 66, George Mason 61 (Wed, 1/6)
  • Richmond 77, George Mason 57 (Sat, 1/9)

Richmond Spiders (9-3, 3-1)

  • Richmond 80, Rhode Island 73 (Wed, 1/6)
  • Richmond 77, George Mason 57 (Sat, 1/9)

VCU Rams (9-3, 2-1)

  • VCU 66, George Mason 61 (Wed, 1/6)
  • Rhode Island 83, VCU 68 (Sat, 1/9)

Big South:
Hampton Pirates (5-8, 4-4)

  • Radford 79, Hampton 66 (Mon, 1/4)
  • Radford 76, Hampton 65 (Tue, 1/5)
  • Hampton 73, UNC Asheville 71 (Sat, 1/9)
  • UNC Asheville 85, Hampton 77 (Sun, 1/10)

Longwood Lancers (3-11, 2-6)

  • USC Upstate 71, Longwood 69 (Mon, 1/4)
  • USC Upstate 65, Longwood 59 (Tue, 1/5)
  • Campbell 64, Longwood 58 (Sat, 1/9)
  • Longwood 78, Campbell 69 (Sun, 1/10)

Radford Highlanders (8-6, 7-1)

  • Radford 79, Hampton 66 (Mon, 1/4)
  • Radford 76, Hampton 65 (Tue, 1/5)
  • Radford 79, Charleston So. 64 (Sat, 1/9)
  • Radford 68, Charleston So. 48 (Sun, 1/10)

Other:
Liberty Flames (11-4, 3-1)

  • Liberty 69, Kennesaw St. 63 (Fri, 1/8)
  • Liberty 76, Kennesaw St. 47 (Sat, 1/9)

Norfolk State Spartans (5-4, 1-1)

  • Morgan St. 78, Norfolk St. 74 (Fri, 1/8)
  • Norfolk St. 89, Morgan St. 85 (Sat, 1/9)

Old Dominion Monarchs (7-3, 3-1)

  • Old Dominion 71, Florida Atlantic 67 (Fri, 1/8)
  • Old Dominion 64, Florida Atlantic 55 (Sat, 1/9)

VMI Keydets (6-5, 1-1)

  • No Games

KenPom Rankings (Jan. 4-10)

  • #15 Virginia
  • #33 Virginia Tech
  • #51 Richmond
  • #60 VCU
  • #96 Liberty
  • #134 Old Dominion
  • #151 George Mason
  • #241 Radford
  • #242 Norfolk State
  • #244 VMI
  • #250 James Madison
  • #287 William & Mary
  • #303 Longwood
  • #327 Hampton