VIRGINIA BLOG: Landesberg’s revival

Virginia’s game at Maryland last mark represented a low point for Cavaliers freshman Sylven Landesberg. After scoring two points against North Carolina Jan. 15, Landesberg was held to seven points at Maryland. During the two-game stretch, the 6-foot-6 wing from Flushing, N.Y., shot 3 of 19 from the floor and 0 of 4 from 3-point range. He did contribute 11 rebounds at Maryland, his only double-figure rebounding output this season. It was the only time all year he failed to hit double figures in consecutive games.

Since the Maryland game, though, Landesberg has been back to his customary self. His last six games have been solid, if not spectacular. He scored 24 against Florida State, 20 at Duke, 32 at home against Boston College (26 in the second half), 16 at North Carolina, 14 at Florida State and 23 in a home upset of Clemson Sunday.

The key for Landesberg was to adjust to opponents the way they had adjusted to him. He’s diversified his game a bit, not relying solely on getting to the basket and drawing foul calls.

Starting with the game at UNC, Landesberg began playing the point a little more too, giving the Cavs another option when Sammy Zeglinski is struggling.

Landesberg’s a shoo-in for ACC rookie of the year at this point—he’s won ACC freshman of the week honors six times already and is the only frosh in the top 20 in the league in scoring.

Some other quick pre-game thoughts:

* What’s at stake for Virginia here? Well, for one, it’s a chance to show that the Clemson game wasn’t a fluke. Virginia had been playing better since the draw-the-line-in-the-sand moment at halftime of the B.C. game. But the Cavs put it all together for 45 minutes against the Tigers and proved that it could still be a prickly opponent, and not just an “automatic win” on every team’s ACC schedule.

Plus, I’m guessing UVa would love nothing more than to essentially ruin Tech’s NCAA tournament hopes here tonight at JPJA. The Hokies absolutely have to have this one. Virginia is playing loose and free. Should make for an interesting matchup.

* Zeglinski had been waiting for a game like Sunday’s for a long time. The freshman point guard went 6 for 6 against the Tigers, had six assists and made all three of his 3-point attempts. His 15 points were the most since he scored 14 against Brown, which strangely enough, was Virginia’s last win before the Clemson game. Zeglinski has put strong back-to-back games together in a while, so tonight provides him a chance to do just that.

* Tunji Soroye, who has been hurt much of the year, has finally started to string together minutes, playing 13, 13 and 15 minutes in his last three games. Soroye is important even if he doesn’t score, as he’s a good defender who can give Assane Sene a breather.

That’s all for now. Nathan Warters, our Tech beat writer, will post a blog item at halftime about the Hokies.