U.Va. downs Pitt
Sam Hauser scores a season-high 23 in the No. 14 Cavs’ 73-66 victory.
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Watching Sam Hauser and Tomas Woldetensae lead Virginia’s 12-of24 effort from 3-point range Saturday, while holding Pittsburgh to 43% shooting from the floor, Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett had to be pleased from his courtside vantage point.
Right?
Think again.
In his world, there’s a fine line between an exemplary defensive effort and barely getting by on that end of the floor. While it was tough to find fault with the shooting performance, No. 14 U.Va.’s 73-66 win left a lot to be desired defensively in Bennett’s eyes.
“We didn’t play very well defensively,” Bennett said. “That was a poor performance. ... (Pitt) was the aggressor. We looked unready at times and not sharp. Again, our offense carried us. It’s disappointing. We use our term, ‘You fail better the next time,’ but I thought we battled hard (Wednesday night) against N.C. State, but defensively (against Pitt), we did not have the right mindset nor the right execution, and it showed defensively and offensively.”
Pitt came into the weekend sixth-best in the ACC in scoring offense (73.1 points per game), and just 74th-best in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency, according to statistician Ken Pomeroy’s research. A trip looms Wednesday to Georgia Tech, which was third-best in the ACC in scoring offense (76.3 points per game) entering Saturday and 50th-best in adjusted offensive efficiency.
After U.Va. barely slipped past Georgia Tech 64-62 on Jan. 23, Bennett’s harsh assessment of his team’s defensive effort against Pitt could be considered timely criticism.
While Hauser scored 23 points — his most in a U.Va. uniform — and made 3 of 5 shots from 3-point range, and Woldetensae added 14 points off the bench on 4-of-5 shooting beyond the 3-point line, U.Va. (13-3, 9-1 ACC) struggled to put Pitt away.
Pitt’s Au’diese Toney scored on a layup with 16:21 left to tie the game at 36, but U.Va., which shot 53% from the floor, responded by going on a 16-0 run over the next four minutes, fueled by eight points from Hauser and six points from Jay Huff, to build what seemed like a comfortable cushion.
Pitt (9-6, 5-5), which was led by Justin Champagnie’s 18 points and 10 rebounds (his ninth double-double of the season), still had some fight left. A 12-2 Pitt run trimmed U.Va.’s advantage to 64-57 with 2:43 left, but the Panthers couldn’t get any closer.
What we saw
*For a second straight game, Bennett called out Huff for substandard low-post defense. Pitt outrebounded U.Va. 33-27, including 14-4 in offensive rebounds, which led to a 42-18 advantage against the Cavaliers on scoring in the paint.
*Hauser, Woldetensae and Huff combined to make 10 of 13 of their 3s, and they made them in clusters. All three players had stretches where they made 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions.
*Though they were just 5-of-16 shooting from the floor combined, Kihei Clark (11 points) and Reece Beekman (four points) teamed up to have 10 assists (eight from Clark) and four turnovers.
‘Wall on wheels’
In addition to his big scoring game, Hauser had the responsibility of guarding Champagnie for most of the game.
Though Champagnie, who has emerged as a lead candidate for ACC Player of the Year, finished with a double-double, Hauser was effective guarding him for long stretches and drew praise from Bennett.
“Sam was the difference in the game with his offense and his defense,” Bennett said.
“I thought he was really good being a ‘wall on wheels.’ ”
Norm Wood, 757-247-4644, nwood@dailypress.com