Virginia led by as many as 22 points before ultimately dropping 80 and cruising to a second victory over Notre Dame. The Hoos turned in a solid performance in the win, rising to the top of the ACC standings and building momentum for Saturday’s showdown with #12 Clemson. Here are five observations from the win.
1) Casey Morsell turns the corner
Morsell was nothing short of incredible, going for 15 points on 6-7 shooting in just 24 minutes, including 3-3 from beyond the arc. The performance has been a long time coming, Morsell looking like the highly-rated recruit that he was for the first time since the 19-point explosion against Arizona State last year.
For a player whose reputation has been one of inconsistency, the unbelievable shooting display he put on was a shock, albeit a very pleasant one. Morsell checked in a few minutes late, having missed the Boston College game due to COVID-19 exposure. He proceeded to hit a corner three, and the rest, as they say, is history. He went on to hit two more threes and a few of his trademark fadeaway jumpers on the way to a phenomenal outing.
Confident Casey and average Casey are two very different players. The former came to play against Notre Dame, and boy did the results show it.
2) Huff gaining consistency
Virginia is undefeated this season with Jay Huff in double figures. He’s a major part of this Virginia offense, and when Huff is on, so is the team. He matched his career high for the second straight game, going for 18 points, five blocks and two boards in 24 minutes. That’s some incredibly efficient basketball, but there’s an ongoing problem mixed in with the otherwise excellent play.
Huff continues to commit unnecessary fouls, draining his playing time by increasingly greater amounts. The 7-foot-1 forward was called for four fouls in a second consecutive game, relegating him to the bench for long stretches of play.
It’s a continually frustrating attachment to Huff’s otherwise high-quality game. Take out the one variable of foul trouble, and Huff could be averaging 20 points in 35 minutes. Insert it back in and he’s sitting on the bench for nearly half the game while Tony Bennett does his best to scheme up ways of scoring without one of his best players on the floor.
In spite of the long spells on the bench, he’s gaining a lot of momentum, and he’ll need to bring it against an undersized Clemson team.
3) The rotation has tightened
For a long time, it seemed as if this Wahoo team was immeasurably deep. Bennett played 10 guys in significant roles for much of nonconference play, before gradually scaling the rotation back. Today it hit its low point, only seven guys checking into the game for the victorious Hoos. Neither Tomas Woldetensae nor Justin McKoy saw the court, surprising given that they have both occupied starting roles in the recent past.
The tightening of the rotation is not necessarily a bad thing though, and Bennett will no doubt try to work the two above players back into it in the future. Kadin Shedrick’s return will also introduce another player into the fold, though his time will likely come at the expense of Francisco Caffaro’s, who played 12 minutes—a direct result of Huff’s tendency for fouling.
But it should be noted that a clear top six has emerged in Kihei Clark, Sam Hauser, Jay Huff, Casey Morsell, Trey Murphy, and Reece Beekman. This group has been solidified as the core of the roster, regardless of the other players that may or may not be worked into the lineup down the stretch.
4) It’s time to accept this defense
This year’s defense was never expected to be as good as last year’s, but 10 games have showed us that it isn’t even in the same region. The Hoos keep pinballing around KenPom’s defensive efficiency rankings, starting off at sixth nationally before falling to 22nd and now up to 13th. It’s been a while since a Virginia team has been that low, Bennett squads traditionally sitting comfortably in the top five.
They allowed Notre Dame far too many open looks, ultimately fortunate that the Irish could not buy a bucket in the first half. But Notre Dame ratcheted it up in the second, dropping 43 points on a scrambling Virginia defense.
Bennett will progressively improve the defense over time, but it’s become clear that it’s never going to get to the high level that was previously expected.
5) Saturday’s game will be tough
As I sat and watched Virginia close out yet another conference win, I couldn’t help but think forward to Saturday’s matchup with Clemson. It will pit the ACC’s two best teams against each other in a battle for conference supremacy, and the way the teams match up will make for a fascinating 40 minutes of hoops.
On the surface, Clemson essentially plays UVA basketball. They’re the best defensive team in the nation, struggle at times on offense, and play at the 300th fastest pace. But this year’s Virginia team, as discussed above, does not really fit the model that Tony Bennett has molded throughout his tenure. The Hoos are less proficient on defense, but have a much improved offense.
Virginia’s interior game offensively is also it’s biggest strength, whereas Clemson tends to get by mainly on the three-point shot. The similar yet different styles present an intriguing front for Saturday’s game, one that should result in a tightly-contested affair.
Image – Virginia Athletics