I've had a chance to let the basketball schedule sink in and marinate for a week, and now it's time to tear this bitch apart and predict wins and losses for Tony Bennett's first season as Virginia's head man.
Longwood -- Easy win. 1-0, 0-0
@ USF -- I don't have a good feeling about this one, on the road, early in the season. Close loss. 1-1, 0-0
Rider -- Don't listen to Adam Gottschalk. The Broncs are a quality mid-major team. This game will be a battle, but I think the Hoos pull away late. 2-1, 0-0
Oral Roberts -- O-Rob is tough. Brace yourselves for a home loss. 2-2, 0-0
Stanford (in Cancun) -- Yikes. 2-3, 0-0
Kentucky or Cleveland State (in Cancun) -- Double yikes. Kentucky is loaded, and CSU is a bonafide bracketbuster. Another loss. 2-4, 0-0
Penn State -- The Nits have a good team, but I like our chances homestanding after a few losses pile up. Backs against the wall, we represent the ACC and pull out a win. 3-4, 0-0
@ Auburn -- Another tough road game. Auburn is looking pretty good this year. 3-5, 0-0
UNC Wilmington -- Time to get "healthy" against the soft part of the schedule. Win. 4-5, 0-0
NJIT -- Win. By 40+ points. 5-5, 0-0
Hampton -- Win. 6-5, 0-0
UAB -- This is a quality team, but we're surging a little bit at this point. Tough-fought win. 7-5, 0-0
Texas Pan-American -- Easy win. 8-5, 0-0
@ NC State -- Here's where the rubber meets the road. Raleigh isn't the toughest venue in the ACC, and State isn't one of the ACC's better teams. I like the Landesberg/Spurlock show to win the day. 9-5, 1-0
Georgia Tech -- I'm glad we're getting them earlier in the season, but they are loaded with talent this season, especially up front. It'll be our perimeter game vs. their interior game. I tend to favor the bigs, so I'm predicting a loss here. 9-6, 1-1
Miami -- Just a gut feeling on this one. Win. 10-6, 2-1
@ Wake Forest -- Hrmmm. Tough game. Loss. 10-7, 2-2
Virginia Tech -- Ha ha ha, you think I'll ever pick a loss against the turkeys at home? Hell no. 11-7, 3-2
@ North Carolina -- Ahem. 11-8, 3-3
NC State -- I love this game at home. 12-8, 4-3
Wake Forest -- And this one, too. 13-8, 5-3
@ Maryland -- Too much rivalry here to expect a road win. 13-9, 5-4
@ Virginia Tech -- Malcolm Delaney is good. Really good. He guns Tech to the close win in this win. 13-10, 5-5
Florida State -- On the surface, this looks like a ho-hum game. But I think it's actually the most pivotal game of our season. We'll likely need a win here to see the postseason. I think we'll get it done. 14-10, 6-5
@ Clemson -- Toughie. 14-11, 6-6
@ Miami -- Hard to see a win here. 14-12, 6-7
Duke -- Not this year. Not yet. 14-13, 6-8
@ Boston College -- I really don't ever understand how BC is good. But they almost always are. This is a loss. 14-14, 6-9
Maryland -- Here it is, all on the line. Win, and you go to the NIT. Lose, and you need two wins in the ACC tourney to get to the postseason. I think we'll prevail. 15-14, 7-9
15-14, 7-9 looks very unimpressive, but I think as the season unfolds we'll all be excited about what Coach Bennett is building in the JPJA. I can't wait.
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