Virginia
Virginia Basketball vs. Coppin State Game Preview, Score Prediction
Virginia basketball will look to improve to 2-0 on the season when the Cavaliers host Coppin State on Monday night at John Paul Jones Arena.
Read on for a full preview of Virginia vs. Coppin State, including game details and notes, an opponent scouting report, what to watch for, and a prediction for Monday night’s matchup.
Who: Virginia Cavaliers (1-0) vs. Coppin State Eagles (0-3)
When: Monday, November 11th at 7pm ET
Where: John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA
How to watch: ACC Network Extra/ESPN+
How to listen: Sirius XM 381, SXM App 971 | Virginia Sports Radio
All-time series: Virginia leads 3-0
Last meeting: Virginia defeated Coppin State 68-52 on November 19th, 2021 in Charlottesville.
2023-2024 record: 2-27 (1-13 MEAC)
2024-2025 record: 0-3
Coppin State is in its second year under head coach Larry Stewart, who also happens to be the program’s all-time greatest player (arguably), as he won back-to-back MEAC Player of the Year Awards and played a few seasons in the NBA before spending the rest of his playing career overseas. This is Stewart’s first head coaching job and it’s not going very well so far, as the Eagles went 2-27 last season and were picked to finish dead last in the eight-team MEAC this year.
Coppin State is off to an 0-3 start to this season. The campaign opened with a 64-49 loss to Wake Forest and that defeat doesn’t look bad at all as the Demon Deacons are 3-0 and just knocked off Michigan on Sunday. Then came a couple of losses that weren’t nearly as encouraging, as the Eagles were crushed at High Point 93-51 and then fell to Rider 64-53 in their home opener on Friday. This will be the fourth game in eight days for Coppin State, so stamina may be an issue.
Coppin State’s best player is 6’6″ guard Derrius Ward, a redshirt senior from Philadelphia. Ward is the team’s sole double-digit scorer at 15.3 points per game and he scored 19 points in the loss at Wake Forest. 6’3″ guard Toby Nnadozie is the team’s best three-point shooter at 41.7% from three and 5’11” guard Cam’Ron Brown facilitates the offense. Rounding out the starting five are 6’7″ forward Jonathan Dunn (3.3 ppg and 5.3 rpg) and 6’8″ forward Peter Oduro (5.3 ppg and 4.0 rpg).
Virginia’s developing point guard situation
We had this as a key to watch for in the season opener and it’ll continue to be a key until the Cavaliers achieve some stability at the point guard position. With Jalen Warley entering the transfer portal and Christian Bliss out with a foot injury, it was Andrew Rohde getting the start at point guard in the opener over Kansas State transfer Dai Dai Ames. Rohde played 32 minutes while Ames played only 10. Even if Rohde exceeds expectations this season, Virginia’s ceiling is low if he’s the team’s lead guard. He must play better than the one-point, five-assist-, four-turnover performance he had against Campbell, but the Cavaliers need to play Dai Dai Ames more and get more out of him.
Tracking Elijah Saunders and TJ Power
Saunders had a decent Cavalier debut with 11 points on 5/8 shooting and five rebounds despite playing just 18 minutes as he was in foul trouble. TJ Power didn’t play much more, as he logged 19 minutes and scored three points and was the only Cavalier with a negative +/- at -7. Jacob Cofie stole the show in the opener and that’s good news for UVA, but the Hoos are going to need Saunders to be on the floor more and they’ll need Power to start to show glimpses of his former five-star recruit potential.
More Blake Buchanan and Jacob Cofie action
Continuing with the front court, Jacob Cofie had an excellent collegiate debut with 16 points on 7/8 shooting to go along with six rebounds, one block and one steal. Blake Buchanan played well in a new role, dishing out five assists while facilitating the UVA offense from the free throw line in addition to scoring 10 points, collecting seven rebounds, and blocking three shots. Three of those assists went to Cofie as the two big men showed some nice chemistry. That could be a solid new feature for this Virginia offense and Cofie and Buchanan should try to continue to build their rapport on Monday night.
Bonus: More three-point shooting
Virginia went 6/10 from beyond the arc in the first half against Campbell, but then attempted only three triples in the second half. This has the potential to be a really good perimeter shooting team with as many as five or even six quality three-point shooters, but they have to take those long shots at a higher volume.
Whereas Campbell was a scrappy and well-coached team that usually plays well against high-majors, Coppin State could be the worst team Virginia plays this season. We also gave Ron Sanchez and company a pass for how close the Campbell game was because it was the first one without Tony Bennett. This time, however, just winning won’t be good enough. UVA needs to win this game convincingly in order to build momentum moving into the tougher non-conference matchups.
Score prediction: Coppin State 43, Virginia 72
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CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) — West Virginia has plenty of state symbols, be it the black bear as the state animal, the cardinal as the state bird or the rhododendron as the state flower, but did you know that the Mountain State also has its own official gun?
The Hall Flintlock Model 1819 was first manufactured in Harpers Ferry by John H. Hall in 1811 and was adopted by the United States Army in 1819, making it the first breech-loading rifle ever adopted by a country’s military.
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Model 1819 Hall Breechloading Rifle presented by Congress to Gustavous A. Bird for his participation in the Battle of Plattsburgh 9/11/1814 by John C. Bird via the Smithsonian Institution -
Model 1819 Hall Breechloading Rifle presented by Congress to Gustavous A. Bird for his participation in the Battle of Plattsburgh 9/11/1814 by John C. Bird via the Smithsonian Institution
All of this information is listed in Senate Concurrent Resolution 7, which was introduced and passed during the 2013 West Virginia Legislative session, and officially recognizes the Model 1819 as the official firearm of the State of West Virginia.
On top of being created in West Virginia, the resolution also points out that the rifle saw use during the Civil War, an event that directly led to West Virginia’s statehood.
While having an officially recognized state firearm may seem far-fetched, West Virginia is not the only state that has one. As a matter of fact, a fifth of the states in the country have officially designated a state firearm, including West Virginia’s neighbors in Kentucky and Pennsylvania.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In this world of college football, with the transfer portal and recruiting battles, bad blood is present more than ever before between head coaches.
That’s not the case between the Virginia Tech head coach and Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, however. In fact, Franklin revealed at ACC Kickoff on Thursday that the two are actually close friends, dating back to their time at the Nike trip that various coaches take over the summer.
“Dabo’s my guy,” Franklin said on Thursday. “We go way back. We’ve been on the Nike trip for a long time. His wife and my wife are friends.”
The long-time Penn State head coach is making the move to the ACC after being fired from the Nittany Lions in October. 12 seasons of being with the program had Franklin hold a 44-21 record against top 10 opponents, an impressive record for a new conference foe of Swinney’s.
But when that trip comes around, there’s a camaraderie between Swinney and Franklin and both of their wives. In fact, the two hang out with each other instead of the other coaches at times. It simply comes to an “edgy” time in college athletics that raises tempers.
“I’m going to be honest, I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily like the type of people that love a lot of other coaches and a lot of other programs,” Franklin said. “It’s hard when you just compete year-round.”
On Swinney’s end, there are a few who could immediately come to mind among Clemson fans. Perhaps the most recent would be Ole Miss coach Pete Golding, who played the most significant role in the tampering of former linebacker Luke Ferrelli.
It’s a select list of coaches who make the good side of the Tigers’ head coach, and Franklin is certainly on that list. On the other hand, Hokies’ head coach has Swinney on his own shortlist.
“Obviously, tremendous respect for what he has built at Clemson and what he’s done at Clemson, and what he’s done for the ACC,” he said.
The two will see that close relationship face off at Memorial Stadium this upcoming season. Clemson will host the Hokies on Oct. 24 in what could be a potential title-eliminator for the ACC Championship.
Of course, the last game that we’ve seen the Tigers play in was against Franklin’s former team in Penn State at the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl. That game ended in a 22-10 contest that saw a foundation of Franklin players end Clemson’s season in disappointment.
Swinney will see many of those players once again in October, including starting quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer, in that contest. The anticipated Hokie starter recorded 260 yards and two passing touchdowns on the Tigers in the Bronx that day.
Although friends become foes, another ACC coach has given Swinney his flowers for what he’s been able to do for the conference. In the upcoming moments, Franklin will look to prepare his team to prove itself on one of the biggest stages in the ACC, while Swinney looks to put his team back at the top of a conference he’s dominated for over 15 years.
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MARTINSVILLE, Va. (WSET) — Extreme drought conditions in parts of Virginia have prompted an emergency drought warning for a wide swath of the region, including Bedford, Campbell, Charlotte, Franklin, Halifax, Henry, Mecklenburg, Patrick, Pittsylvania and Roanoke counties, along with the cities of Danville, Roanoke, Salem and Martinsville.
The governor has warned that if conditions worsen, she will activate mandatory nonessential water-use restrictions.
In Martinsville, city leaders have issued a voluntary water conservation notice and are urging residents and businesses to cut back where they can. The request comes as local businesses that rely heavily on water say the drought is already affecting day-to-day operations.
SEE ALSO: Botetourt County residents adjust daily routines as voluntary water restriction continues
John Hughes, owner of John’s Car Wash, said the dry conditions have hit his business hard in recent weeks. “For the last 3 weeks, it’s been hitting pretty hard. We done three yesterday and haven’t done anything today with the drought and hot weather. Yeah, I’m really concerned about it,” Hughes said.
Restaurants are also feeling the strain. David Kitzmiller, an owner of Be Wiched, said water is essential for routine tasks such as washing dishes and preparing some menu items.
“We use a lot of water for washing dishes and some of our recipes if they limit us in anyway defiently can’t produce and its a scary aspect,” Kitzmiller said.
Kitzmiller added that cutting back is not always realistic for businesses that must meet sanitation needs. “Not really feasible for a business that depends solely relies on water to wash their dishes, so that can’t definitely be an impact there,” he said.
City leaders emphasized that the conservation request is voluntary for now, but they are encouraging everyone to do their part by taking shorter showers, turning off the faucet when it is not in use, washing only full loads of laundry, and limiting outdoor watering whenever possible.
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