It took an overtime, but Wake beat Virginia 64-61 in front of a frozen but lively crowd at the John Paul Jones Arena. Wake’s Ish Smith didn’t score all that many points (15), but was unstoppable down the stretch as he befuddled Jontel Evans and Sammy Zeglinski. The Hoos played stifling defense on Smith, but he was able to score at will in the final two minutes of OT. I was snowed in at my house in Milton with no power for the last 18 hours, but magically the power returned with 10 minutes to go in the second-half!
Virginia looked like the Hoos of old in the overtime period while rushing shots and losing their focus. Sylven Landesberg missed a contested three with about 10 seconds to go in the overtime period, and Sherrill grabbed the rebound but he misjudged how much time was left and threw up a panicked brick. Landesberg added 28 for Virginia and the only other player in double figures in the game for the Hoos was Mike Scott who all but disappeared in the last twenty minutes.
If Virginia still wants to make a run and get into the NCAA Tournament, there is still a remote possibility, but they must win at home. The Hoos schedule gets brutal as they next travel to College Park Wednesday, then to Blacksburg Saturday. Virginia has now lost two straight overtime games at home. Yuck… If the Hokies make the NCAA’s I’m going to throw-up. Go Hoos.