Dick Weiss on NCAA Tournament
BROOKLYN, NY—Virginia has built its reputation in the ACC under coach Tony Bennett as one of the best defensive teams in the country.
Virginia won 23 games last season, but the wheels came off in the NCAA tournament when the Cavs scored just 39 points in a second-round loss to Florida.
That will not happen this March.
This is a Final Four team and could be Bennett’s best team in his nine years at Charlotteville, including the 30-win team in 2016 with Malcom Brogden and John Harris that advanced to the NCAA Midwest Elite Eight before losing to Syracuse after building a seemingly insurmountable 16-point lead.
There is any area where Virginia is improved, it is offensive efficiency. The top-ranked, top seeded Cavs (29-2) put on a clinic here yesterday, defeating eight-seeded Louisville, 75-58, to advance to the semi-finals of the ACC tournament Friday against Clemson.
Sophomore guard Kyle Guy, a first team all ACC selection, is not a great first option like Brogden yet, but he did score 19 points for the Cavaliers, who shot 53 percent and put five players from their balanced offense in double figures. Their Pack Line defense also chewed up Louisville—the only team to shoot over 50 percent on them all season—limiting the Cardinals (20-12) to 37 percent shooting and holding point guard Quinton Snider to just 3 points. This was the 23d time this season the Cavs had held an opponent under 60 points and the 24th time they limited an opponent to under 43 percent shooting.
It was one of their most impressive performances of the season and wiped any memories of the previous two games between these two teams when Louisville played Virginia close during the ACC regular season, losing to the Cavs, 67-66, just last week at the Yum Center when Virginia scored the last five points of the game in the final 0.9 seconds.
“We were hoping the third time was a charm against these guys, but it obviously wasn’t the case,’’ Louisville interim coach David Padgett said. “There’s a reason they’re the No. 1 team in the country and it was evident tonight. I said all year their offense was underrated. As good as their defense is, they shot the ball well tonight. They exploited us in a couple mismatch opportunities.
“It seems like every time we got a little momentum, the ball would just drop out of our hands, they’d get it laid in, or they would just hit a tough shot at the end of the shot clock, those kinds of things.’’
Louisville deserves to make the tournament as an at large but there is a good chance the school will be searching for a new coach to replace the 32-year old Padgett. If that happens, The obvious first choice would be Chris Mack of Xavier, whose team won the Big East regular season title and has a shot at a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The fact Mack’s wife is from Louisville doesn’t hurt.
Guy, the Cavaliers’ leading scorer, sprained his left knee last Saturday in the Cavs’ last regular season game against Notre Dame and went scoreless for 18 minutes. But he started against the Cardinals as expected, wearing a large, black brace on his knee.
“It took a while to get used to wearing the brace, but I felt fine from the tip-off,’’ Guy admitted. “Maybe it took a minute to get in a groove.’’
Coming off Coming off curls and firing from long range, Guy shot 7 for 14—including 4 of 6 from the three—in 36 minutes. He also grabbed a team high seven rebounds, and his three-point play with 2:35 gave Virginia a 64-54 lead after Louisville sliced a 17-point deficit to 56-52 on a dunk by Jordan Nwora with 8:39 to play.
Then, just as quickly, Virginia regained control, going on a 10-0 run that was ignited with a power layup and dunk by 6-9 backup power forward Mamadi Diakite off a pass from guard Ty Jerome. The Cavaliers held the Cardinals to just one field goal in the final nine minutes.
“In tournament basketball, possessions matter,’’ Bennett said. “We’re a possession by possession team. That doesn’t change. I don’t know if that sets itself up for this. But records are out now and it’s just teams that can play at a high level. You saw Pitt play Notre Dame close. You saw the swings in the Virginia Tech-Notre Dame game, so you just try to lock in. Louisville made a run at us. I think our guys understand how we need to play.’’
Virginia, who has been No. 1 in the polls for four straight weeks, knows it has a huge target on its back. “We have to have a mindset of trying to come out and punch first,’’ Virginia guard Devon Hall said. “Like coach said, we’re possession-by-possession team, so there’s not going to be too many home run plays. We’re going to everyone’s best shot, so we’ve go play like that every possession.’’
