The Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team put up a disappointing performance in a 75-41 loss to Virginia Tech. The Hoos won 56-27 in the final 30 minutes of the game. Virginia Tech, as always, was energetic heading into this game, dominating Virginia from both ends of the floor to almost the tip. The University of Virginia has lost two of their last three games and appears to be in a bit of a slump heading into the most important period of the season.
All things considered, the Cavaliers still have 20 wins left and are in sole possession of third place in the ACC. Despite the tough loss, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about UVA's upcoming matchups. For now, here are five takeaways from tonight's loss to Virginia Tech.
The bastards sleepwalk into Kassel
Virginia played its worst game ever in the first half of the season. After keeping the game close for 10 minutes, Virginia failed to score for an almost unbelievable nine straight minutes, during which Virginia Tech went on a 20-0 run. Isaac McKneely said it best.[Virginia] They are not necessarily a team that is good at playing from the back. ” He was right, the Hoos dug themselves an insurmountable hole in the first half and had no chance of coming back in the second half.
Even though Tech isn't particularly strong defensively — ranked 100th overall by KenPom — the Cavaliers couldn't get anything going in the first half. They played 10 different players and ran several different offenses, but nothing worked. The frontcourt players looked scared in the paint, and the guards fell into a familiar rhythm of hitting midrange jumpers after the shot clock expired. Reese Beekman looked tired and hadn't finished running around the rim as well as he has in the last 10 games.
Simply put, this Virginia team isn't strong enough offensively to give up a double-digit lead before halftime. If they want to hang in there against top offenses UNC and Duke, they will need to perform better in the first half. That could include Tony Bennett calling a timeout earlier than usual, and it could involve being willing to scrap certain elements of the game plan that don't get executed in the first half.
The vaunted puck line defense has collapsed.
Mike Young knows how to make life difficult for defenders with constant screens and quick passes. The Hokies got pretty much everything they wanted offensively tonight, so credit to Young. Lynn Kidd dominated in the paint, with Cattore, Beran and Nickel pouring in goals from deep. The Tech team always seemed to make the right extra pass, leading to wide-open 3-pointers and undisputed dunks.
The Hokies had 17 assists and turned the ball over just seven times (including several in garbage time) against a Virginia team that forced the highest turnover rate of any team Bennett has coached. . Tech, on the other hand, scored 24 points off turnovers. By winning the turnover battle, Virginia has kept it close when the offense was struggling or losing rebounding battles. The Hokies guard looked comfortable all night, even facing DPOY Reece Beekman and perhaps the best defender in the country, Ryan Dunn.
This defense is still one of the best in the country, but the team could definitely have an off night. Reese Beekman and Ryan Dunn can't cover every weakness, and it will be important to see which defensive group shows up against the two best offenses in the conference, UNC and Duke. This could be a true litmus test of where we stand heading into the tournament.
Virginia has not been able to generate quality three-point looks.
When the mover-blocker offense is strong, Virginia consistently produces open catch-and-shoot threes. Tonight, “The Foos didn't do that.” They made just five three-pointers and zero in the first half, ending the game with a 2-12 loss from deep. Halfway through the first half, Tony Bennett tried to turn things around by switching to an outside triangle attack, but Jake Groves, Isaac McKneely and others were still unable to get a clean shot.
Missed 3-point shots are a common trend in Virginia's losses. Virginia made four threes on 14 attempts in a recent game against Pittsburgh. It's not just about reaching the magical number of 20 3-pointers per game. Because to reach that standard, he actually needs to set up open three-point shots. Maneely struggled for much of the season against defenders running over face guards and screens, but he can't be the team's only hope from the outside.
The Hoos have a few talented players from downtown. Instead of relying solely on the ebb and flow of a motion offense, it may be time for Bennett to mix in some new actions and sets designed to get his great shooter into a three-point shot. With Isaac McNeely and Jake Groves, there's an opportunity to get creative with actions that might get the ball rolling (like Zoom).
I'm not claiming to have a solution here, but it's clear that the mover blocker and triangle combination does not support consistent offensive production.
Cavaliers floor is still very low
For the first half of this year, the buzz surrounding this Virginia team was that each of their losses were significantly worse compared to their wins. They lost five times, four of them on the road. Many Virginia fans chalked it up to being growing pains for a team that hadn't played together for too long, but the perspective has changed since Bennett really turned things around in January and early February. seems to be correct. Until tonight.
Tonight's game served as a reminder of what can happen when Virginia plays a high-scoring team and gets a little hot and stinks on offense. This has happened multiple times this year and is a legitimate concern for any game, any night of the game. At this point, there is only so much time you have to “burn the tape” and get ready for the next game. This team clearly has flaws, which can be exposed even when playing against mid-table teams.
The floor is low, but the ceiling is quite high. The University of Virginia has defeated several strong teams, winning several games in the ACC by over 20 points. No one should be shocked if the Cavaliers look like a completely different team Saturday against UNC. Hopefully, Bennett can keep the team's morale high and point to their recent eight-game winning streak as proof of their ability when playing good basketball in Virginia.
Virginia needs four more Quad 1 wins.
The Cavaliers have only won twice this season in Quad 1, against Florida earlier this year and recently against Clemson. This could have been their third game, but they were unable to take advantage of the difficult road conditions against a Tech team desperate for a win. Virginia only has two guaranteed Quad 1 games left (home vs. UNC, road vs. Duke), but he could get one or two more in the ACC tournament. .
Most bracket experts are currently projecting Virginia to be an 8th or 9th seed, and fortunately, this loss shouldn't change that much. But if they finish the season 2-6 in the first quad, Virginia fans will likely sweat more than expected on Selection Sunday. The good news is that UVA has his four days to prepare for UNC, and by Saturday's 4:00 he should have a heated atmosphere at JPJ.
If Virginia can beat either Duke or UNC and handle matchups against Boston College and Georgia Tech, it should comfortably be on the field for March Madness. If not, they may need a few wins in the ACC Tournament to secure a spot in the Big Dance.
