Virginia star concerns Iowa's McCaffery

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery earlier this week was asked if Virginia's Joe Harris reminds him of any players.

McCaffery went with an NBA comparison.

"He reminds me of Matt Harpring," McCaffery said. "That's who he reminds me of."

Harpring, a Georgia Tech graduate, played 11 years and averaged 11.5 points a game in the NBA . He stands 6-foot-7, one inch taller than Harris. But it's Harris that concerns McCaffery in an NIT quarterfinal tonight (6 p.m. ESPN2), and rightly so.

Harris, a junior, ranks fourth in ACC scoring at 16.4 points per game. He had nine 20-points games, including 36 in a home win against Duke. Harris was a unanimous first-team all-ACC selection and averaged 18.4 points per game in ACC play.

In the Big Ten-ACC Challenge, Harris scored 22 points with five rebounds and five assists in a road win at Wisconsin. He combined for 46 points in a pair of games against North Carolina.

"He's a powerful scorer who can make plays off the dribble for other people," McCaffery said. "He can post up, he's an in-and-out guy, he's great feel, he's got great pace. He doesn't rush anything. He's got great feel for how to play and he makes plays late."

Virginia (23-11) was surprisingly left out of the NCAA tournament despite winning all nine home ACC games and finishing 11-7 in league play. The Cavaliers have won a school record 20 games at home this year (only one inexplicable loss to Delaware) with a 19-game home winning streak.

"I look at Virginia, I look at their conference record and where they finished in that conference and I'm sort of surprised that they weren't in," McCaffery said. "If you come in fifth, you'd think they'd be in. I'm not a guy who looks at numbers as much as trusting my two eyeballs. When I watch Virginia play, that's an NCAA tournament team.

"I've watched NCAA games. Virginia's an NCAA tournament team. That's what they are. They proved that over the course of the year."

Virginia was only 3-8 on the road with losses to Wake Forest, Clemson, Florida State and Boston College. The Cavaliers also dropped an early game to Old Dominion (5-25), which likely caused them to miss the big show. Virginia lost eight of its 11 games by an average of 3.3 points.

Iowa (23-12) had a similar resume, earning a school record number of home wins (18) and overall games played (36 -- set tonight). Iowa was just 2-8 on the road, blowing late leads at Nebraska, Purdue, Wisconsin and Minnesota. But Iowa also posted wins against NCAA teams Illinois, Iowa State, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Five teams Iowa played during the season -- Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wichita State -- are alive in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Seven of Iowa's losses were by four points or less.

"We felt that we had a great case to be in," McCaffery said. "But you can only deal with what hand you're dealt. They're a one seed, we're a three seed. We're thrilled to still be playing. The NIT is a phenomenal opportunity."

Defensively, the teams are comparable. Virginia allows 55.0 points per game, fourth best in the NCAA, and ranks seventh in assists allowed per game (9.0). Iowa's defense ranks No. 1 in the Big Ten in field-goal percentage and 3-point percentage.

There are areas that favor Iowa. The Hawkeyes rank 10th nationally in rebounds per game (39.3) while the Cavaliers (32.4) rank 267th. Iowa is tied for 28th offensively with 15.2 assists per game, while Virginia is 85th.

Virginia was much better from 3-point range, making 38.3 percent (20th). Iowa ranked 307th at 30.4 percent. Virginia was 51st in field-goal percentage (45.9 percent), while Iowa was 229th (42.2 percent).

"There's a lot of pieces that impress me," McCaffery said. "They defend, they execute offensively. Their spacing is good, they move the ball. You look at their assist-to-turnover numbers, they're almost 100 over (480 assists, 375 turnovers). That tells me you've got guys who know how to play and are unselfish and move the ball."