The Virginia basketball team overwhelmed an overmatched North Carolina A&T club on Tuesday night at the John Paul Jones Arena. The Hoos led by double figures just 7:46 into the game, by 20 a few minutes later, and by 30 at halftime. The margin never dipped below 24 points in the second half as UVA eventually closed with a convincing 80-51 victory.
The Cavaliers reached 3-0 with the win. Both home games have featured dominant performances with winning margins of at least 29 points. They toppled Tarleton State in the season opener, 80-50.
"I thought we came out and played for the most part [well in the] first half, flew around and did some good things, and got different looks," UVA coach Tony Bennett said. "A lot of guys obviously got some minutes and balanced it out so you got a look at guys. It's still important, reps, the way we like to look at it. Obviously, we got off to a big lead and just challenged them to stay true to who they were and play with the kind of passion and the identity that shouldn't change regardless of the opponent."
As likely expected with a lopsided matchup, Virginia filled the stat sheet in a lot of different spots. The hosts had 40 points in the paint that included 6 dunks, 15 second chance points, and 42 bench points. They also dished out 22 assists on 31 made field goals while committing only 8 turnovers. The Hoos made 54.4% of their overall shots (31-57), 46.2% of their 3's (6-13), and 75.0% of their free throws (12-16). Defensively, they snared 7 steals and blocked 10 shots. They allowed just 32.1% shooting overall (17-53) and 25.8% from 3-point range (8-31).
In other words, this game allowed UVA to work on its concepts, defensive rotations, player combinations, and general rhythm as the season starts to roll into full gear. The Aggies (0-3) utilized multiple defenses, for example, that included man-to-man, 2-3 zone, and a soft time-eating zone press. The Cavaliers, in turn, got to roll out sides motion, 3-man motion, spread ball screens, the interchangeable high post flasher zone offense, and pressbreak schemes for real game-time testing. The Pack-Line Defense got some challenges too, namely getting back in transition to prevent early attempts and containing multiple dribble drive attempts, handoffs, and more within some possessions.
Some of the Hoos' regular rotation players comfortably produced in this type of setting. Reece Beekman recorded 5 points with 7 assists and 0 turnovers. He's up to 19 assists with 1 turnover through the season's first three games. Isaac McKneely chipped in 8 points on 2-2 3-point shooting, but he left the game with an ankle injury and did not return. Bennett said after the game that x-rays showed no break. Graduate student Jake Groves continued his hot 3-point shooting as he knocked down both of his attempts, which moved him to a scorching 9-11 shooting (81.8%) from downtown this season. He tallied 11 points with 9 rebounds (matched career high), 2 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal.
Virginia also got a breakout performance of sorts from Ryan Dunn. He led the way with 13 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocked shots, and 2 steals in only 21 minutes. That represented his first career double-double and just the third time he's reached double figures in the scoring column. The 13 points matched his high from last season when he had that many in his debut against Monmouth. He got a run-out dunk in the second straight game too.
"I think the word you used is right - active," Bennett said. "I think his activity is so important. Again, that's why last year I said he brought such energy and activity and that's why he went from potentially being a redshirt to hey he brings a lot of energy. Just try to be as sound as he can defensively, but use his length and mobility and activity to bring that. Obviously, he got some different kinds of plays on the glass. I was glad to see him get on the offensive glass. That was good."
Beyond the usual suspects and the technical types of things, though, this contest really boiled down to an opportunity for varying player combinations and individuals to log more court time for Virginia Entering the season, Beekman was the only player with at least 800 minutes in a Cavalier uniform while eight players joined the program for the first time. That doesn't include Dante Harris (2 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots), who enrolled mid-year last season. On Tuesday night, the starters alongside Beekman included three sophomores in McKneely, Dunn, and Andrew Rohde (6 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists) plus true freshman Blake Buchanan (6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 steal).
In particular, three Wahoos took advantage of the extra playing time. Leon Bond III, Taine Murray, and Jordan Minor recorded 53 minutes and combined for 29 points and 5 rebounds on 12-17 shooting (70.6%). That came on the heels of Friday's win against Florida in Charlotte where Bond played just 4 minutes, while neither Murray nor Minor saw any action.
Bond put up the biggest stat line with 16 points on 8-10 shooting 3 rebounds and 1 blocked shot. The scoring output included a post move where he spun back to score off the glass, a tough fade-away jumper from the mid-post, and another loud tip-dunk that pleased the Virginia faithful. Bond has scored in double figures in both home games this season with 12 points and 9 rebounds in his debut. In two games at home, Bond has knocked down 12 of 15 shot attempts.
Murray added 7 points on 2-4 shooting, which included his first 3-pointer of the young season. He also had 1 assist and 1 blocked shot. While Murray has bee in the UVA system longer than many of his teammates, he's just now approaching the 300 minutes threshold for his career (291).
Finally, Minor checked in for 12 minutes of action and posted 6 points with 2 rebounds. He caught a nice pocket pass from Beekman in the first half and finished with ease, while also picking up reps with hedges and man defense that should be valuable for someone coming over from a zone-heavy system at Merrimack. At 6'8", Minor was expected to have a frontcourt role of some sort for the Hoos as a transfer so continuing to get him opportunities in these early games could be important for the season's long haul.
"I just wanted to see them play really hard," Bennett said. "Again, those reps are important regardless of the score. Let's put some stuff on tape. It's an inexperienced team. ... Guys like Taine, Jordan, and Leon who didn't play or a little bit in the Florida game, I thought it was valuable to just see them. Are they in position? Are they alert? I think they all have opportunities to get out there. Those are valuable minutes. I was glad they got that chance and did something with it."
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