Mastering close games has prepared U.Va. for tourneys
GREENSBORO, N.C. — As far as Virginia senior forward Mamadi Diakite is concerned, the concept of dealing with postseason pressure has become an afterthought. He’s done with it.
Overcoming the stigma associated with being the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA tournament in 2018 by winning the championship last season was enough to show Diakite and teammates Kihei Clark, Braxton Key and Jay Huff — all key contributors in last season’s title run who returned this season — could handle the p-word just fine.
Yet, there’s been more evidence in the lead-up to this year’s ACC tournament that U.Va. (23-7, 15-5 ACC) processes what most consider to be pressure situations differently than others.
In addition to winning the last three games in last season’s NCAA tournament after trailing in the final 15 seconds of regulation in each of them (two of the games were decided in overtime), U.Va. has displayed this year arguably an even more extreme version of last season’s dramatics. Winning seven games in the last month that were decided by three or fewer points requires next-level pluck.
“You say, ‘pressure?’ ” said Diakite, who will lead No. 2 seed U.Va. into today’s quarterfinals in the ACC tournament in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“I mean, pressure was there last year, the year before. I think we got over that. If you don’t expect that there’s pressure after winning a championship, then you’re fooling yourself. There’s even more responsibilities and hard work after winning a championship, because people are trying to step on you.”
Virginia, which will play in the quarterfinals against the winner of Wednesday night’s second-round game between No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 10 Boston College, has played a season unlike any ACC team before it. U.Va. has posted more conference wins (10) in games decided by five or fewer points than any other ACC program in history.
“Even in high-pressure games, like two-point (differences) with 20 seconds left, I don’t think we’re particularly surprised by that,” Huff said. “It’s just a little bit bigger stage (in the postseason), a little bit bigger consequences. … I don’t think we’re super-nervous.”
It’s no secret U.Va.’s style and its shortcomings this season have combined to create a live lab class for how to negotiate close affairs.
A typically slow-tempo, defense-first approach that limits possessions for both U.Va. and opponents, coupled with the Cavaliers’ inefficiency on the offensive end, has generated a lot of tight games.
“I think once you get a certain number of close games under your belt, … you just know how to go along in the game and try to stay poised as much as possible,” Clark said. “I think the guys have been doing a really great job in those situations.”
Those factors may help explain why the games have been close against both toplevel opponents in the ACC and teams that struggled in the conference, but they don’t clarify how U.Va. has won so many of them.
That’s where a we’vebeen-here-before demeanor down the stretch plays a role.
Despite its overall success in hard-fought games, it hasn’t been smooth sailing in such contests throughout the season. U.Va . lost two close games in the span of five days in January, 54-50 at Florida State and 53-51 at home against North Carolina State.
Even battle-tested Virginia has taken some time to figure out how to get it done in the tensest moments. It just figured it out better than anybody else.
“I think we bottled the exciting close finishes from last year,” U.Va. coach Tony Bennett said.
“I think we have improved (this season) and played better. Maybe not a ton better, but we have improved a little bit. We were close then and, and we’re close now. …
“I think going through that (in January) — not pleasant at the time, but it has certainly served the value of ‘you don’t know and you better battle each possession and work,’ but I do think comfort level with roles, how we need to play to be successful and just slight improvements in individual players, and maybe collectively, has been enough to put us on the other side, even though that’s not been by much.”