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Analysis Features
The Virginia men's basketball team wrapped up non-conference play with a 74-39 win against Wofford, marking the third time in five games that the opponent failed to reach 40 points. Entering ACC play, UVa ranks in the top 25 nationally in scoring defense and field goal percentage defense while placing in the top 50 in 3-point field goal percentage defense. Can that effort hold up against the rigorous 18-game league schedule?
Virginia's defense has struggled quite a bit at times this season, particularly in the last five weeks. And if one thing proved to be poison for the Pack-Line defense much of the time, it has been the flex offense. Against Boston College on Thursday, however, UVa seemed to find a magic antidote for the flex, which keyed a strong team defensive effort and propelled the Hoos to victory.
While the final result of the Duke and Boston College games were similar to others in the past month, both games showcased some positives that hadn't been seen much as well as many of the same problems. In both games we saw adjustments by Tony Bennett and players scrambling to turn the season around. I'll take a look at some of the positives and negatives of each contest and briefly cover what these two games should show us going forward.
Hitting the road to try to end a seven-game losing streak is not an enviable situation - doing it with an injured leading scorer and against one of the toughest offensive systems to defend in college basketball makes it that much more difficult. With what might be Virginia's best chance to get another win in the 2010 season, the Boston College Eagles will provide a stiff challenge while also giving us a preview of what we might see in the following game against the Maryland Terrapins.
The Cavaliers headed to College Park with a 5-4 league record to take on Maryland but the team that took the court in the Comcast Center didn't resemble the crew that had shown so much promise during the first nine games of conference play. Including the debacle in College Park, the losing streak has grown to six with four double-digit defeats in recent contests. I'm going to do my best to explore what happened in those games, what has changed for this team in that period, what problems were factors in all four contests, and take a look at what is going on each side of the ball and what, if anything, can be done about it.
The first meeting between Virginia and Virginia Tech was a battle and matching the emotional tenor from that game seemed like a difficult task for both teams heading into their second contest in Blacksburg. Not only did the two teams match the intensity, they exceeded it in a game that was in doubt until the final 30 seconds. Neither team took a big lead and neither seemed to be able to pull away and take control. I'll do my best to explore what made this game so tight and the factors that swung the second game toward the Hokies.
Following four straight losses things don't get any easier for the Cavaliers on Saturday as they face another strong, athletic, defensive-minded team away from home. The Clemson Tigers present some rare match-ups and challenges and while they don't run the type of scheme that has given UVa difficulties lately, the Tigers do present a look and style that the Cavaliers haven't seen all season.
In these scouting reports there hasn't been much discussion of the flex offense. Virginia has faced teams that run a flex (N.C. State) and has seen teams that have worked in flex sets (Virginia Tech and Wake Forest) but the Hoos haven't faced an attack like they will see against the Terrapins. Let's take a look at that and more in this ACC scouting report.
Following a run of two straight wins over North Carolina schools, Virginia took the court with a chance to get revenge on a third. Wake Forest had dealt UVa its first ACC loss earlier in the season in Winston-Salem where the Demon Deacons got the Cavaliers in early foul trouble and coasted to victory. The second contest mirrored the first in terms of strategy but not result. Virginia played an excellent game and adapted well to the issues from the first meeting. Let's take a look back at the contest.
Following a performance for the ages in Chapel Hill, UVa returned to the John Paul Jones Arena for a rematch with N.C. State. While the UNC game was an exhibition for the offense, the second half of the State game was a defensive showcase by the Cavaliers. The game could have been dangerous - State had kept the first contest close and had the inside presence to cause UVa some trouble but Virginia was up to the challenge and dominated the last 20 minutes to come away with a comfortable 59-47 victory.
After back-to-back ACC losses, Virginia bounced back in a big way on the road at North Carolina to close out the January schedule. How did the Hoos dominate - yes, dominate - in the Dean Smith Center? Let's take a look at the Cavaliers' game plan and execution in the breakdown of that 75-60 win.
For the majority of the second half on Thursday night, the Virginia men's basketball team appeared ready to take home its third ACC home win of the season. For the final five minutes of regulation and then overtime, however, the Cavaliers struggled to score and struggled to get stops, leading to a disappointing 76-71 loss against rival Virginia Tech. UVa stands at 12-6 and 3-2 in the ACC.
Virginia lost its first ACC game of the season over the weekend at Wake Forest, falling 69-57 on Saturday in Winston-Salem. The Cavaliers found themselves in foul trouble, struggling to make shots and out-matched on the boards. In a conference road game, that's a lot to overcome. So now that we've had a few days to digest the defeat, let's take a closer look at what happened to the Hoos against the Demon Deacons.
On Saturday the Cavaliers take on their toughest test of the season in Winston-Salem. After winning their last three contests against ranked teams, it is an unranked opponent that provides the stiffest challenge of the season so far. Led by lightning quick point guard Ishmael Smith and future NBA lottery pick Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest plays at a pace and a philosophy that this Virginia team hasn't faced this year. Lets take a look at how the Deacons and Hoos match up.
With Monday night's game tied at 67-67 and 14.1 seconds on the clock, the Virginia men's basketball team turned to Sylven Landesberg for the final shot of the game. He didn't disappoint, knocking down a 14-footer to ignite the John Paul Jones Arena crowd and give the Cavaliers the win. How'd they do that? Let's take a look.
After a game of up-and-down play and an evaporated double-digit lead, the Virginia basketball team was staring a two-point deficit in the face with 2:32 remaining Monday night against UNC-Wilmington. And to make matters worse, Coach Tony Bennett's trademark defense was struggling to stop the Seahawks. That's when a subtle shift essentially saved the day for the Hoos.
At Media Day for basketball this fall, reporters asked UVa coach Tony Bennett about his new team's shooting and, in particular, about the team's 3-point shooting ability. The question included a reference to the Cavaliers' poor outside shooting last season when they shot a paltry 31.6% from beyond the line. Bennett joked that the reporter meant Virginia had shooters and not makers. Things sure have changed in a few short months.
Coming off of the UTPA game there were plenty of concerns heading into ACC play. If that game was a sign of things to come then UVa was almost certainly going to be off to an 0-2 start in the league. Now at 2-0 Tony Bennett has his guys playing inspired basketball - in back-to-back games the Cavs have played their best basketball of the season. In this breakdown of the Georgia Tech game, I'll revisit the scouting report, go through some coaching adjustments, and add a few thoughts on the intangibles that made such a great game for UVa.
The Virginia men's basketball team faces its second straight ACC opponent on Wednesday night and it hopes to pick up its second straight conference win. Defeating Georgia Tech is no easy task, however, thanks to the Yellow Jackets' size in the frontcourt. Let's take a look at the scouting report.
A strong opening performance by UVa in Raleigh has gotten the Tony Bennett ACC era off to a great start. In what was the beginning of a new season for the Hoos, they responded with one of their best performances of the year. In this breakdown I'll attempt to revisit the scouting report, go through the coaching adjustments made by both coaches and recap intangibles that ultimately were the difference in the game.
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