The win came behind outstanding freshman guard Sylven Landesberg’s 23 points which included the game-tying bucket with 13.4 seconds remaining. He then added six points in the overtime.
Landesberg has been playing well all year in spite of his team’s poor record. He has averaged almost 18 points a game and has emerged as one of the country’s best freshmen.
“He’s proven this early in his career that he’s not only a really good player but he’s a big money player,” UVA head coach Dave Leitao told the Associated Press (AP) of his young star’s play.
The Tigers (20–4, 6–4) were led by sophomore guard Terrence Oglesby who hit five threes en route to 17 points.
The win was only Virginia’s second conference victory of the year improving their record to 8–13 overall and 2–8 in the ACC.
Even in his youth, Landesberg understands how important this win was for his team telling the AP, “This win, it’s going to help us a lot. We needed just one win to push us ahead and this was it.”
Hoyas Continue to Falter
In front of a packed house at the Carrier Dome on Saturday, No. 22 Syracuse Orange edged out conference rival Georgetown 98–94 in an overtime game that featured two teams desperate for a win.
The Orange (19–7, 7–6) were led by sophomore point guard Jonny Flynn and junior guard Eric Devendorf as they combined for 48 of the teams 98 points, scoring 25 and 23 points respectively.Devendorf, who hit five threes, said following the game, “We talked about grinding it out, especially against a team like Georgetown. This gets a chip off our back.”
As much as the Orange needed the victory, losing five of seven before the win, the Hoyas needed it even more as they had lost six of seven and are out of the national rankings.
Georgetown head coach John Thomson III said following the loss, “We weren’t tentative, we didn’t win, but our guys played in a way to put us in a position to win.”
Just putting themselves in a position to win without producing a victory will not be enough for the Hoyas as they see their tournament hopes slipping away as they fall to 13–10 overall and 4–8 in the Big East following the loss.
Despite the loss, Georgetown freshman Greg Monroe continued his stellar play, getting a double-double on 16 points and a team high 11 rebounds.
Matt Sugam is a writer based in New Jersey.
