Basketball

Virginia drew Iowa in the ACC/B1G Challenge, and will host the undefeated Hawkeyes in what promises to be a tough game. Here are four things the Hoos must do to emerge victorious

A 24-8 run over the first ten minutes of the second half helped Virginia take down Lehigh, 61-43. The Hoos emerged hot from the halftime locker room, burying Lehigh under a barrage of furious offense and stout defense. The win marked Virginia’s fourth in a row, and improved its record to 5-2. The win was also the 300th of Tony Bennett’s 13-year tenure in Charlottesville. But victory didn’t always look like a sure thing. The Hoos initially appeared to be suffering the effects of a late night spent devouring Thanksgiving turkey, starting off slowly and lazily. Fortunately, they shook off the lethargy and won handily. Here are three takeaways from the victory.

An extremely encouraging two games at the Legends Classic yielded a trophy, as well as a string of positives for this team going forward. Here are three takeaways (hint: defense)

The UVA fanbase is still considering whether to push the big red button labeled “panic.” The collective finger’s movement toward it sped up after a disheartening loss to Houston earlier this week, but has now been slightly slowed because of a comfortable 68-52 win over Coppin State. The Hoos controlled the game from the jump, getting off to an auspicious start with a quick 8-0 lead. That eight-point cushion was never punctured in the remainder of the 40 minutes, and Virginia cruised to victory. It was a fairly unremarkable game—the inferiority of the opponent was, in truth, the biggest cause of victory—but here are three takeaways.

Following the successful dismantling of in-state opponent Radford on Friday, Virginia basketball will travel to Houston for a big early-season matchup. The Hoos righted the ship after opening with a loss to Navy, but now stare down the maw of the stiffest opposition on their non-conference slate. There were some good signs present in the win over Radford. Virginia rebounded better, shot the ball better and played tighter defense. A couple players also had quality outings, notably Armaan Franklin, Jayden Gardner and Reece Beekman. The Hoos are going to need to exploit every ounce of potential they showed in the Radford game to add a second tally to the win column. It will be a difficult game in a hostile road environment, something Virginia players haven’t experienced in a couple years.

The pressure was on for Virginia’s second game of the season after an opening loss to Navy. But the Hoos responded nicely, defeating Radford 73-52 after jumping out to a 20-point halftime lead. It was a comfortable ride throughout, Virginia grabbing the lead after six minutes and never relinquishing it. With a visit to No. 15 Houston looming next week, the win was an important one and will give Tony Bennett’s group confidence. Here are three takeaways from a solid victory.

Virginia will host Radford Friday night at JPJ in their second game of the season. The Hoos will look to put Tuesday’s disappointing loss to Navy in the rearview mirror and stem the stream of criticism flowing in after the surprise defeat. Radford is lower-quality opposition, and the Hoos appear primed to grab their first victory.

Fans were back in JPJ for the first time in 612 days to witness Virginia’s season opener against Navy, but for 40 minutes of drab basketball, they had very little to cheer about. The Hoos fell to the Midshipmen 66-58 in an uninspiring performance that marked an inauspicious start to the season. Sweeping conclusions should not, however, be drawn from one game. Wahoo fans would do well to recall the beginning of last season. After a stunning 89-54 drubbing of Towson, a lifeless Virginia squad dropped their game against San Francisco only two days later. The first game last season provided fool’s gold; maybe the gold of this season has not yet been unearthed. So while the pessimism proliferating among the UVA fanbase is understandable, it may very well be proven wrong over the course of the season. Here are four takeaways from the season opener.

Virginia will open the season Tuesday night against Navy. The Hoos should win, but more important is what the game says about how Tony Bennett’s group will fare the rest of the season. With that, here are three things to pay attention to as the season gets underway.