We’re about 15 minutes before tipoff of Minnesota’s matchup against Virginia at Williams Arena, part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, which the Big Ten might actually win this season.

Here’s what you should know:

1. Virginia has a stud freshman in Sylven Landesberg. The reigning Mr. Basketball from New York is averaging 20.8 points per game. And he’s already earned two ACC Rookie of the Week honors.

2. Virginia was picked to finish 12th in the league’s preseason poll. But they nearly knocked off nationally ranked Syracuse in their last game. They have size, strength and athleticism. I expect to see a close game.

3. Minnesota senior center Jonathan Williams warmed up with the team and might make his debut against Virginia. He’s missed the team’s first six games due to a hernia suffered early in the season that required surgery.

Feel free to talk about the game as things progress. No predictions here. But I expect Minnesota to have its toughest test of the season.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008 at 9:22 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.