Virginia overcame three missing players to notch their third ACC win, defeating Boston College in Conte Forum 61-49. While far from a perfect game, it was perhaps Virginia’s best defensive outing of the season. The Hoos managed to hold their opponent under 50 points, a feat they have now managed only twice on the season.
They also forced bad shooting percentages, limiting the Eagles to 31% from the field and 29% from three. Jay Huff and Sam Hauser locked down the paint, while the guards did well to close down shooters and not surrender open looks. The defense was so good, in fact, that the Hoos jumped from 16 to 10 in KenPom’s defensive ratings.
The defensive display was made even more impressive by the absence of Casey Morsell, who may struggle shooting at times but has always been an elite defender. That Virginia played such good defense without him is worth noting, and also a nod to Reece Beekman’s improvement on that end.
Yet Virginia should have allowed even less points. They gave up 13 offensive boards to Boston College, losing the rebounding battle for only the second time this season.
The visiting Hoos also had a significant amount of first half turnovers, part of the problem behind an eight-minute scoring drought. Droughts like that have traditionally been the death warrant for Tony Bennett teams, and this one is definitely cause for concern. Regardless of the recovery that followed, it’s worrying that Virginia is at all susceptible to going eight minutes without scoring.
In spite of that, the Hoos still managed to reach 61 points, largely on the back of exceptional play from Sam Hauser, Jay Huff, and Kihei Clark. The trio combined for 47 points, 21 rebounds, five blocks, and four assists, showing why many have dubbed them this year’s ‘big three.’
Hauser went for his third straight double-double in the win, continuing his excellent rebounding and scoring runs. The senior forward is truly an elite rebounder, and he excels in the midrange and post games. Hauser has shouldered the brunt of the shooting duties as of late, his 16 shots against Boston College coming after 13 apiece versus Wake Forest and Notre Dame.
Perhaps even more exciting is the vast defensive steps he’s made. In two consecutive games now Sam has turned in one of the better defensive performances of the team, silencing the many critics who scrutinized his defense earlier in the season. Ideally he’ll become a more prolific three-point shooter, but that’s the only complaint for a player who has morphed into a rock-solid part of this team.
His style of play works well alongside Jay Huff’s, who had the best game of his career in the win. Huff was ruthlessly efficient with his 7-11 shooting, going for eight rebounds and a career-high 18 points. He also raked in five blocks and ended with a stunning +30 plus/minus. Value of that stat aside, having a plus/minus of 30 when your team only wins by 12 is impressive.
Huff has struggled to find consistency in his four years in Charlottesville, but it appears that he’s finally turning the corner. His 18 points marked his third consecutive game scoring in double-digits, and he’s recorded nine or more points in eight of nine games. The big man was unstoppable in the post, perhaps as a result of the off-season wood chopping workouts that the ACC Network insists on showing every other game.
Similarly, Kihei Clark was seemingly able to score at will as he slowly built to 12 points on 6-8 shooting. Vintage Kihei tore apart the BC defense, making intelligent drives to the rim and feeding his teammates for easy buckets.
It’s important to remember that despite the talent that Virginia possesses, the offense always runs better through Kihei. The rule of thumb last year was that the ball had to be in his hands at least half of every possession. While that extreme is not necessary this year, the little dude still needs to be the one facilitating the offense. This was clear during the eight-minute drought, guys continually forcing tough shots and committing turnovers that wouldn’t have happened with Kihei in charge.
But that’s a little thing, and Boston College’s zone can be blamed for unsettling Virginia and causing bad decisions. Those scoreless eight minutes aside, Virginia played a great game on their way to a third ACC victory.
The Hoos remain locked in a tie atop the conference standings with Duke and Louisville, the next test a rematch against Notre Dame. That game will round out the easy portion of the schedule, so it’s important that Virginia takes care of business before being plunged into a much tougher period.
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