CAVALIERS ‘LOCKED IN’ FOR 40 MINUTES
U.Va. showcases its elite status against ACC’s lowly Panthers
CHARLOTTESVILLE — Congratulations, I think, if you devoted two hours Saturday afternoon to watching Virginia’s 73-49 basketball flattening of Pittsburgh. The Cavaliers own first place in the ACC, the Panthers last, and the game was predictably void of drama.
So the temptation to flip the channel — CBS was showing Tennessee-Kentucky, and Chopped was on the Food Network — or clean the gutters must have been considerable. Unless, wink, you were, uh, invested in the outcome — second-ranked Virginia closed as an 18-point favorite.
But while boredom/distraction might have set in for viewers, and even some spectators at John Paul Jones Arena, the Cavaliers remained, to use two of U.Va. coach Tony Bennett’s favorite words, “locked in.”
Indeed, the phrase describes Virginia (26-2, 14-2 ACC) throughout the regular season’s penultimate week. Encountering two of the conference’s worst teams, at home, the Cavaliers did precisely what they should have: Dominate.
The final Wednesday was 81-51 over Georgia Tech, and Virginia could have prevailed by far more than 24 Saturday. The Cavaliers shot better than 55 percent, 58.5 to be exact, for the second straight game and limited a sixth consecutive opponent to worse than 40 percent (38.6).
To maintain a competitive edge no matter the opponent, no matter how large the lead, no matter the season’s stage, speaks to an uncommon and admirable maturity, especially for a college team.
“This is what elite looks like,” Pitt coach Jeff Capel said he told his squad after the game, “and it’s what we aspire to get to. And it’s not just their defense, or just their offense, or their good players.
They don’t take a play off. Every possession — they understand that every possession is important. There’s accountability enforced by the players, not just the coaching staff.
“The screening, the movement, the connection defensively. That’s what makes a good defense. You talk, you’re connected, everyone’s on the same (page). Playing against them is very difficult. Watching them — it’s beautiful to watch them defensively. To watch the movement, it’s like an elite level — if you had someone choreograph something.”
Virginia’s bell cows — Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter — combined for 42 points on 14-of-20 shooting. Freshman point guard Kihei Clark played his fourth consecutive game without a turnover — he has 15 assists during that stretch — and ignited the Cavaliers’ defense of rookie Xavier Johnson.
The Panthers’ top scorer at 16.5 points per game entering Saturday, Johnson scored a seasonlow three, all from the free-throw line. He missed his seven shots from the field, and without his offense, Pitt (12-17, 2-14) was doomed.
Saturday’s rout also allowed Bennett to spare his players heavy minutes at an ideal juncture.
For the third time this ACC season, Virginia confronts two games in three days. That’s not unique — Virginia Tech has already faced three such stretches. Rather, it’s the product of expectations and performance.
ESPN’s 7 p.m. Big Monday game has long showcased the nation’s best teams, first from the Big East and now the ACC. The calendar dictated eight Big Monday dates this season, and the Cavaliers and Hokies drew three each, Duke and North Carolina two apiece.
Big Mondays test players and coaches because they almost always occur after Saturday games. Compounding U.Va.’s chore this season: Unlike the other teams with multiple appearances, none of its Big Monday games was at home.
The Cavaliers won at North Carolina on Feb. 11 and at Virginia Tech a week later. This Monday they’re at Syracuse. The Tar Heels, Hokies and Orange on the road? That’s the high-rent district, kids. On short rest?
“You have to be smart with your preparation,” Bennett said, “the day in between. … It’s a healthy challenge.”
I asked Jerome if the short rest is a big deal, of if young players accustomed to playing multiple games per day on the AAU circuit are unaffected.
“In AAU,” he said, “you don’t have to play defense. … Once you step on the court, you’re so excited and so ready to go, everything else is kind of out the window.”