Georgia Tech led Virginia by 11 with just over 15 minutes to go in Saturday night’s matchup. The Yellow Jackets had been pouring in shots from all over the court, and they showed no sign of letting up as Virginia’s deficit grew and their fans’ uncertainty with it.
But the Hoos fought their way back, coming up with the 64-62 win after Michael Devoe’s buzzer-beating three-point attempt rimmed out. The Cardiac Cavs were at their finest in the win, doing their best to make it as much of an emotional rollercoaster for Wahoo fans as they could.
Nevertheless, they notched the win to improve to 6-0 in the ACC, so I guess we can forgive them for the last-second antics. Here are five notes from the win.
1) Hauser and Huff continue their surge
Sam Hauser ended an extended spell on the bench by canning a corner three in his first possession back in the game. 30 seconds later, he came off a screen to drill a three in Jose Alvarado’s face to cut the lead to three with nine minutes to go. Then with three minutes remaining, the Marquette transfer hit yet another triple, this time to stretch Virginia’s lead to four.
The Hoos would never relinquish that lead, Hauser finishing with 22 points and his second consecutive 4-5 three-point shooting night. The midrange game has been there since his first outing in a Virginia uniform, but now the 6-foot-8 forward has found his outside shooting stroke, and that should terrify the rest of the ACC.
His partnership with Jay Huff has become one of the best things about this offense. The pair is combining to rip apart ACC defenses, averaging a combined 31.5 points and 14.5 rebounds in conference play.
With that knowledge, Josh Pastner’s decision to foul Virginia at the end of the first half may not have been the wisest of moves. The foul gave Huff a chance to check back into the game, whereupon he promptly knocked down a three from the top of the key to end the half.
Huff totaled 18 points and five boards, but the most important thing he did was stay out of foul trouble. Fouls have plagued Huff since his first year, and they’ve been limiting his minutes in this one. He only committed a single foul against Georgia Tech, allowing him to play 30 minutes, his second-most in 12 games this season.
Huff and Hauser both provide inside threats, both can hit the deep shot, and both continue to wreak havoc on opposing defenses.
2) More good defense
Georgia Tech shot 60% from three, 45% from the field, and scored 36 first half points. They did enough to drop Virginia’s KenPom defensive efficiency rating six spots, making it a bad defensive game for the Hoos on paper.
And yet, watching the game it was clear that that was simply not the case. The Jackets made tough shot after tough shot, doing their best to bury Virginia under a barrage of threes. At some point, it seemed as if they might never cool down.
Luckily, Virginia’s solid defense finally got to Georgia Tech, the visiting Yellow Jackets scoring only eight points in the final 10 minutes of the game. Aside from minute details such as Huff not hedging on a screen, it’s tough to find anything to criticize about this defensive performance.
3) Virginia played some poor offense
Contrary to how it may have seemed, Georgia Tech is not a good blocking team. They came into the game averaging the 216th best blocks per game in the NCAA; they exited it at 150.
This was not a result of Georgia Tech players suddenly growing a couple inches or putting springs in the bottom of their shoes. No, this happened because Virginia insisted on driving straight into the arms of the Georgia Tech defense.
The Yellow Jackets converged on those who tried their luck in the lane, swatting shots that really should have been passes. Moses Wright had five blocks all by himself as the Hoos put shot after shot on a platter for him to eat up.
Virginia normally does well in adapting to in-game circumstances, so this unwillingness to move away from what clearly wasn’t working was part of the reason why the Hoos trailed for so long and nearly lost.
4) Beekman and Morsell keep plugging away
It’s been truly fascinating to watch Tony Bennett tinker with this pair of guards. Each brings something totally different to the team, and the way in which Bennett utilizes those different skill sets is interesting to observe.
Morsell, in his second year, has become one of the best on the team at getting to the hoop. He’s surprisingly quick, and possesses more physicality than any other guard on the Virginia roster. Even better, his finishing has taken large strides, and his penchant for scoring timely buckets is astonishing. Casey has also become a pretty reliable three-point shooter after a rough first season from beyond the arc.
Beekman, on the other hand, shares almost none of the same skills as Morsell. His three-point shot is a work in progress, and he’s not strong enough to regularly take it to the rack in a half-court setting.
But Beekman’s value can be found in the transition game. Nobody else on the team can hold a candle to his ability to sniff out steals and grab errant passes. Even when somebody else forces the turnover, Beekman’s speed means that he’s often first to the other end of the court, maneuvering around defenders and finishing for easy points. It’s Beekman that has made Virginia a legitimate threat in transition.
5) This was the best win of the season
Virginia is only one week removed from the furious 85-50 thrashing of Clemson, so this may seem like an odd statement. But that win lost much of its value when Florida State and Georgia Tech defeated Clemson this week by a combined 37 points.
That was also one of those games where the Hoos could do no wrong, doing things such as hitting nine threes in a row and holding Clemson to 11 and a half minutes without a field goal. It’s still exciting that Virginia is capable of such an explosion, but winning when you’re shooting so well is to be expected.
What’s not to be expected is coming back from 11 down to win a game in which your opponent shot 60% from deep.
And yes, I am aware of the sentiment that if Devoe’s shot carries another inch, this is a very different conversation. But the fact of the matter is that it didn’t, and Virginia got an invaluable opportunity to gain experience in a close game.
The resilience and mental toughness to overcome some unfavorable circumstances are what made this the best win of the season.
Image – Virginia Athletics
1 comment
Good stuff!
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