Virginia Basketball: Top Storylines to Follow in Final Weeks of Regular Season

The No. 2 Virginia Cavaliers improved to 24-1 on the season with Monday's 61-49 win over Pittsburgh. The win was also UVa's third in a row without star guard Justin Anderson.

Anderson, who suffered a finger injury on his shooting hand in the win over Louisville February 7, should be out at least three more weeks. That timeline should allow him to return in time for the ACC tournament, which begins March 11.

The Hoos have five regular-season games left on their schedule, including a March 7 trip to Louisville. Can Virginia hold on to the league's top seed for a second year in a row?

Here are four storylines to watch for the second-ranked Cavaliers as the 2014-15 regular seasons winds down. 

Can the Cavaliers Continue to Win Without Anderson?

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Justin Anderson

Virginia continues to win without arguably its best player. Defense is the biggest reason for UVa's success as it usually is. However, the Hoos are generally one of the more efficient offensive teams in the country.

Not since Anderson went down. 

UVa has struggled from three-point range, going just 4-of-23 from beyond the arc in the wins over NC State and Wake Forest. The Cavs were better against Pitt, hitting five of 13 from downtown, but overall in their last four games—including the half Anderson played versus Louisville—UVa has hit just 11 of 50 three-point attempts.

The Cavaliers have also had some difficulty defending the perimeter. Wake Forest hit 10 threes against the Hoos, scoring half of its points from behind the three-point line. 

Fortunately for the Wahoos, Anderson will be back at some point in the postseason. Virginia just has to hold off some upset-minded teams in the next three weeks. 

Will London Perrantes Assume More of a Scoring Role?

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London Perrantes

Sophomore point guard London Perrantes is one of the better point guards in all of college basketball. He's the catalyst for Virginia's offense, doesn't turn the ball over and is a strong defender, too.

Perrantes is also a pretty decent shooter when he wants to be. Last year, and at times this year, he has hit some big shots for the Cavaliers. His performances against Miami and North Carolina helped carry UVa to victory. 

In three games since Anderson went down, Perrantes has scored seven, 11 and 10 points in UVa's victories. 

That's a positive sign for head coach Tony Bennett. He wants and needs Perrantes to be more aggressive in looking for his own shot. So far, he has done just that. If he continues to do so, it will help the Hoos survive the final weeks of the regular season. 

Will Virginia Avoid the Upset?

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Virginia coach Tony Bennett

Wake Forest was 12-13 (4-8 in the ACC) before its loss to Virginia last Saturday in Charlottesville. The struggling Demon Deacons took the Cavaliers to the buzzer and were just a turnover away from potentially pulling the biggest upset of the season in college basketball.

The bad news for the Cavaliers: They head to Winston-Salem next week for a rematch against Wake. 

Most of the country will be expecting an upset when UVa heads down Tobacco Road. And that could happen. The Demon Deacons, under first-year head coach Danny Manning, are playing much better basketball of late, and remember, anything can happen in the ACC.

Expect Virginia to be ready to thwart this Wake challenge, though. The Deacs gave it everything they had and still came up short against the Hoos. Bennett will certainly have Virginia better prepared to defend against Wake's barrage of three-point shots next week. 

Can UVa Win a Second Straight Regular-Season ACC Title?

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

The Cavaliers are currently 12-1 in ACC play with five games remaining. Notre Dame is second in the ACC at 10-3, but the Hoos defeated the Fighting Irish in the only regular-season matchup between the two schools this season. 

Duke is right behind the Irish at 9-3, and the Blue Devils were the only team to defeat UVa this year. Of the three schools, Duke has the toughest remaining schedule with two games against archrival North Carolina. 

If Virginia can get to the season finale at Louisville unscathed over the next few weeks, the Cavaliers will be sitting pretty for the ACC's top seed. But if the Cavaliers slip and lose to one of several upset-minded teams—like Virginia Tech, Wake or Florida State—Virginia's road to another ACC tournament title will be a bit more difficult.