If you still have any doubt that Mike Scott is really, really, really good at basketball, you didn't see the UVA-Wake Forest game (or the rest of the year...but especially this one). In a home game that the team had to win, the Hoos destroyed the Demon Decans in all facets of the game en route to a 68-44 blowout victory.

Mike Scott's performance was one for the ages. His stat line, 19 points and 5 rebounds, looks strong, though it doesn't stand out when compared against some of the best players in college basketball. However, if any of the "experts" realized that he played just 26 minutes on one of the slowest teams in college basketball, their heads may turn. Then, they may see that his 19 points came on ultra-efficient 9-9 shooting from the field. What won't show up in the box score is how Scott arrived at 100% shooting. Because most NCAA 4s and 5s rely heavily on layups, dunks, and putbacks to get their points from the field, they will typically put up strong FG percentage numbers. Of Scott's nine shots from the field, one was a layup and eight were mid-range jumpers, most of them a step from the three-point arc, and many of them contested.

Scott's shooting makes him the first player since Steve Francis in 1999 to attempt 9 or more FGs without missing. Will his performance be recognized? Pacism is a dangerous thing, and its already been demonstrated by some of college basketball's talking heads. Seth Davis tweeted the following after our game: "Tyler Zeller has 17 pts with 5 mins left in first half. I love Mike Scott but Tyler is the best player in the ACC." I'm going to completely ignore Zeller's late game "heroics" (if you are a Duke fan) and just look at that statement. Zeller is a great player who was having a great night, but his 19 first-half points came on 7-14 shooting, 5-12 shooting on jumpers, in the midst of about as many possessions as Scott experienced in his minutes. There is no doubt that Scott is the ACC's Player of the Year, but it will be interesting to see who takes heed of that. For good measure, below is Scott's shot chart compared to Zeller's, courtesy of SCACChoops.com. Rant over.

_____Scott's 9-9 shooting (19 pts)_________________________Zeller's 8-15 shooting (23 pts)______

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The Virginia Cavaliers take on the struggling Wake Forest Demon Deacons in a mid-week ACC showdown this week. Generally speaking, the Wake Forest games have been too painfully ugly for me to watch this season, so we invited Martin Rickman from Blogger So Dear to take on a few of our questions this week. When you're done here, head over there and read our responses to their questions.

(Note: Normally I say that we've invited "our friends over at Blogger So Dear," but I saw in a survey comment that no one likes when I call them our friends. Relatedly, have you filled out the survey yet? You could win $50 to the Cavalier Team Shop!)

Spoiler alert: Wake Forest fans are a bit disenchanted with what they've got going on down there. Good news is that bitter fans make for the best commentary.

Streaking the Lawn: At 2-7 in the conference, Wake Forest seems to be battling with the Hokies, Georgia Tech and Boston College for the bottom of the conference. Is there any reason to believe that Wake does not belong down there? (I happen to think it's a gauntlet fight between BC and GT.)

Blogger So Dear: No. They absolutely belong down in the 9-12 range. It's just a question of which teams can duke it out to avoid the #QuestForThe12. Wake Forest lacks talent and depth and has a coach that is not getting the most out of his players. Virginia Tech is the most talented of those teams and I feel that they will come out on top of that bottom group, with Georgia Tech next, WFU, then Boston College at the bottom.

The Deacs do have a shot at being better than Georgia Tech. They'll need to win in the head to head though.

STL: I'm extremely jealous that you have not one, but two guys at 7-0 tall, both of whom put in real minutes. Ty Walker averages 2.9 blocks a game, and Carson Desrosiers averages 2.2. Virginia doesn't have a guy over 6-8. Is this size advantage big enough to give the Deacs the edge in this matchup? How effective are Wake's big men, and what's the best way to stop them?

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Rumors are swirling from the media outlets that Virginia Offensive Coordinator Bill Lazor is a leading candidate for the same position with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. Former Rutgers University head football coach Greg Schiano has taken over the helm of the Bucs and is looking for an offensive mind to complement his defensive prowess.

Given how well the Virginia offense has turned around in two years under Lazor, it should come as no surprise that his name is popping up for these types of job openings. Here's a few of the articles talking about it:

Bucs Nation (also of SBNation)

Daily Press

Tampa Bay Times

So where there's smoke, there's probably fire, right? Well... yes and no.

Bill Lazor iswas a candidate for the Tampa Bay job. So we should be concerned, right? I mean, he's clearly a talented offensive coach based on just two years worth of work here in Charlottesville alone.

When I started writing this article a couple of hours ago (sorry, my day job got in the way of getting it out earlier), I was going to tell people not to be too concerned. There was a lot that would have to happen before Lazor would leave for the Bucs. I really didn't think we needed to worry.

Now, it looks like I don't even have to tell you all not to be concerned. Mike London has reportedly told the Daily Progress's Jerry Ratcliffe that Bill Lazor is no longer a candidate for the job with Tampa Bay. So rest easy Cavalier fans. At least for this year.

It's no secret that, since ACC play opened up, Sammy Zeglinski has reached a certifiable scoring drought in his game. While he's found some success every now and then, or even during an entire game here or there, you can't, as Florida State football fans will tell you, simply declare that he's "baaack" just by virtue of some glimmers of success.

Consider that, prior to ACC games, Zeglinski shot 29-of-67 from beyond the arc, or 43.3%. However, in only conference games, this number dropped drastically, to 12-of-45, or 26.7%. His season average from last year was 38.7% (compared to 36.6% this season).

Part of this, of course, can be attributed to increased talent levels in the ACC, as compared to the likes of George Mason, Seattle, Towson or LSU, all games in which Zeglinski shot 50% or better from the three. But against Florida State this past weekend, Zeglinski came up short four times -- all four catching nothing but the sound of a ball whizzing through the air, not a net, rim or backboard to be found.

While Bennett blamed a couple of those air balls on tipped balls, he also noted that FSU simply rushes a shooter's delivery more than most teams.

"It wasn't that he was leaving it short," Bennett said on the ACC's teleconference yesterday. "He certainly shot them strong, but I didn't see anything particularly from, I guess, a square up technique or an issue that looked different in his shot."

But in the world of college basketball, it's, "What have you done for me lately?" Following the FSU game, many fans started calling for Malcolm Brogdon to be inserted into the starting lineup in Zeglinki's stead. Brogdon, a freshman, averages 35.9% from the field, including 31.5% from beyond the arc.

When asked about whether he would consider playing Zeglinski off the bench, Bennett said that, while it's not out of the realm, he doesn't think that that's the answer. Bennett noted that, in a six-man rotation, everyone is going to get a lot of minutes. He also complimented Zeglinski's guard play, even if his shot wasn't necessarily going in.

More follows the poll and jump.

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Like any proud father, ask any coach around the country what his or her thoughts are on the team's star player, and you'll hear them get that tingle of excitement in their voice. Virginia Head Coach Tony Bennett was no different when asked about senior forward Mike Scott on yesterday afternoon's ACC teleconference.

When asked whether Bennett is getting out of Scott what he wanted this year, Bennett's answer was quite simple.

"Yeah, how could you say not?" Coach responded. "Mike's had a very good year. A lot of the defenses are gearing up to stop him. But he's played hard. He's hit big shots for us, and he's been terrific."

Scott is averaging 17.0 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. He shoots 58.8% from the field, 81.5% from the line, and 33.3% (just four of 12) from beyond the arc. He currently leads all active ACC players in career double-doubles, at 31.

But Scott's success this season wasn't a given for Bennett. According to Bennett, he was in and out of practice before the season started. Having played on and off over the summer, Scott's ankle would flare up on him. He did not play in Virginia's two scrimmages -- against Vanderbilt and Baylor -- and it was unclear exactly where Scott would go from there. Luckily for Virginia fans, Scott has been good about getting his treatments and doing his rehab, and the ankle is getting used to the consistent pounding.

Bennett also complimented Scott's work ethic and team mentality.

"The thing about Mike, too, I like, is he'll be the first to say, 'I've got to improve in this area' or 'I didn't do well particularly in this situation.' So he's still seeking for ways to help this team and improve. He's not one of those guys that's about trying to showcase him and trying to get numbers. He really wants the team to do well. That's refreshing to see."

As far as what specific improvements Scott has made to his game this season, Bennett touted his offensive versatility, as throughout the injury, he's worked on facing the basket more and stretching his range out. Bennett also complimented his ability to stretch the defense and get the mid-range shot.

"Up to this point, I've been very pleased with ... what he's done and how he's producing."

For the first time in a long time, UVA fans have their eyes set on an NCAA Tournament run. Yes, it is true that, regardless of our past struggles, the eternal optimist in me counts on an ACC Tournament victory and NCAA autobid each year. But finally, this year's ACC run could be just gravy on top of a successful conference season. However, sitting at 5-3 at the schedule's halfway point, this team has some work to do to ensure an NCAA bid.

With so much uncertainty still existing about the remainder of the season, some may argue that any predictions about how UVA will perform the rest of the season and what will be good enough to make the tournament are just glorified guesswork. Those people are right, but I am glad to glorify it. I'll briefly lay out a general path to the NCAA Tournament then let you guys have your say.

First of all, I'll work under the following guidelines:

At 11-5 or better, all could agree that the Hoos are easily in the NCAAs and seeded highly.

At 10-6, UVA would probably be a lock for the tournament. With this record, RPIForecast.com predicts an RPI of 39. We would have our solid out-of-conference victories, as well as some nice ACC ones. Additionally, we would either lose to UNC twice and FSU again and have no more bad losses....or we would have beaten these guys for another couple really impressive wins. With tiebreakers clinched over NC State and Miami, UVA would likely be a 4 seed in the ACC Tournament and receive a first round bye. A second round win (likely over the Wolfpack or Hurricanes) would be a good one, and a loss wouldn't be looked down upon. With a 23-7 record, UVA will not miss the NCAAs.

At 9-7, things could become much more dicey. The team would likely need an ACC tournament win or two (and wouldn't be assured a first-round bye to work with); even then, we would be at the mercy of the Selection Committee. Our tough ACC schedule means 9-7 is not a deal-breaker. However, though our chances would depend on exactly which games we win or lose, finishing with a suddenly middling record, 4-4 finish, weak out of conference schedule, and corresponding unimpressive RPI, would not be comfortable on Selection Sunday.

At 8-8...we wouldn't be completely finished, but may need a run to the ACC finals to get back on the bubble.

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