The Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team had a pitiful performance in a 75-41 loss at Virginia Tech. The 'Hoos were outscored 56-27 in the final 30 minutes of the game. Virginia Tech was energized as always for this game and dominated Virginia from the top on both ends of the floor. Virginia has now lost two of its last three games and appears to be slowing down a bit heading into the most important stretch of the season.
All in all, the Cavaliers still have 20 wins and are in third place in the ACC. Despite the horrific loss, there are plenty of reasons for optimism about UVA's upcoming matchups. For now, here are five takeaways from today's loss to Virginia Tech.
The 'Hoos come to Cassell sleepwalking
Virginia played by far the worst first half of the season. After holding it close for 10 minutes, Virginia went scoreless for an almost incredible 9 minutes in a row, and Virginia Tech went on a 20-0 run in that span. Isaac McKneely said it best: “[Virginia] “Not necessarily a team that plays well from the back.” He was right, the 'Hoos dug themselves into an insurmountable hole in the first half and had no chance to catch up in the second half.
Even though Tech isn't a particularly strong defense – they're ranked 100th overall in KenPom – the Cavaliers couldn't get anything going in the first half. They played against ten different players and carried out different attacks, but nothing worked. The frontcourt players looked intimidated in the paint, and the guards fell into their all-too-familiar rhythm, throwing mid-range jumpers at the end of shooting time. Reece Beekman looked exhausted and didn't perform quite as well as he had in the last ten games.
Simply put, this Virginia team isn't strong enough offensively to blow a double-digit lead before halftime. In the upcoming games against top offenses UNC and Duke, they will need to perform better in the first half if they want to keep up. Tony Bennett may take a timeout earlier than usual and he may have to be prepared to abandon certain elements of the game plan if they are not implemented in the first half.
The Pack Line's vaunted defense was weakened
Mike Young knows how to make life difficult for defenders with constant screening and quick passes. Credit to Young because the Hokies got pretty much everything they wanted on offense tonight. Lynn Kidd dominated the paint, and Cattoor, Beran and Nickel shot in from deep. Tech always seemed to make the right extra pass, resulting in open three-pointers and uncontested dunks.
The Hokies had 17 assists and turned the ball over just seven times – including a few in garbage time – against a Virginia team that forces more turnovers than any team Bennett has coached. On the other hand, Tech scored 24 points off turnovers. Winning the turnover battle ensured Virginia stayed in close games when their offense wasn't working or they lost the rebound battle. The Hokies' guards looked comfortable all evening, even against 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 as a unit they can definitely have off nights. Reece Beekman and Ryan Dunn can't cover up every weakness, and it will be important to see which defensive group lines up against the two best offenses in the conference: UNC and Duke. This could be a real litmus test for us to see where we stand in terms of tournament play.
Virginia fails to generate quality three-point looks
When the mover-blocker offense is humming, Virginia consistently creates open catch-and-shoot threes. Tonight the 'Hoos didn't do that. They made zero three-pointers on just five attempts in the first half and finished the game an abysmal 2-for-12 from deep. A little more than halfway through the first half, Tony Bennett moved to the outside triangle attack to stir things up, but they still couldn't get Jake Groves, Isaac McKneely and Co. to score cleanly.
A common trend in Virginia's losses was the lack of three-point attempts. In the most recent loss to Pittsburgh, Virginia made four three-pointers in 14 attempts. It's not just about hitting the magic number of 20 three-point attempts per game, because in order to reach that threshold they have to actually set up open three-point attempts. McKneely has struggled with face shields and defenders sprinting over screens most of the season, but he can't be the team's only outside hope.
The 'Hoos have a select few people from downtown who are outstanding. Instead of relying solely on the ups and downs of the motion offense, it's probably time for Bennett to incorporate some new moves and sets to give his great shooters a three-point look. With Isaac McKneely and Jake Groves, there is an opportunity for creative moves (like Zoom) that could get the ball rolling.
I'm not claiming to have the solutions here, but it's obvious that the mover-blocker/triangle combination doesn't support consistent offensive production.
The floor is still super low for the Cavaliers
The story of this Virginia team in the first half of the year was the huge deficit in each of their losses compared to their wins. They have been soundly beaten five times, with four of the defeats coming away. Many Virginia fans characterized it as growing pains for a team that hadn't played together in a long time, and the assessment seemed to be correct as Bennett really turned things around in January and early February. Until tonight.
Tonight's game served as a reminder of what can happen when Virginia hits the ground running on offense when playing against a high-scoring team that gets a little hot. It's happened so often this year that it's a legitimate concern in every game, every night. At this point, there are only a limited number of opportunities left to “burn the tape” and prepare for the next game. Obviously, this squad has weaknesses that can be exposed even against mid-tier teams.
While the floor is worryingly low, the ceiling is also quite high. Virginia has beaten several good teams and won several ACC games by more than 20 points. No one should be shocked if the Cavaliers appear a completely different team against UNC on Saturday. Hopefully Bennett can keep the team's spirits high and point to her recent eight-game winning streak as proof of what she's capable of when playing good Virginia basketball.
Virginia needs another Quad 1 win
The Cavaliers have only had two Quad 1 wins this season, earlier in the year against Florida and recently at Clemson. This game could have been their third, but they were unable to capitalize on the difficult road environment against a Tech team desperate for a win. Virginia only has two guaranteed Quad 1 games remaining (home vs. UNC, away vs. Duke), although they could get one or two more in the ACC Tournament.
Most bracket experts have Virginia currently ranked 8th or 9th, and fortunately this loss shouldn't matter too much. However, if they finish the season 2-6 in Quad 1, there's a good chance Virginia fans will be sweating a little more than they'd like on Selection Sunday. The good news is that UVA has four days to prepare for UNC, and the atmosphere in JPJ should be electric come Saturday at 4 p.m.
If Virginia beats either Duke or UNC and prevails over Boston College and Georgia Tech, they should be comfortably in the March Madness field. Otherwise, it might take a few wins in the ACC Tournament to secure a spot in the big dance.