After an excruciating 18-day break, Virginia men’s basketball is finally set to return to the court. The Hoos will be taking on William & Mary at John Paul Jones Arena on Tuesday at 2:00 PM, the game having been moved from its previously scheduled date nine days before.
UVA fans are surely buzzing with anticipation after hearing the news of the scheduled matchup with top-ranked Gonzaga on the 26th in Fort Worth, Texas. But without a strong showing against the Tribe first, any reasonable hope of pulling off the upset will be unfounded.
So with that in mind, here are five things that we’re hoping to see out of the Hoos in their first game back.
1) Defense
Virginia teams under Tony Bennett have always been at their best with their backs to the hoop. That’s not been the case this season, so some progress in that direction would be a welcome sight.
The Hoos have shown that they have it in them, playing a stellar first half defensively against both Towson and Saint Francis, and holding Kent State to 2 points in overtime.
But then there have been the lapses, allowing halves of 35, 38, 40, and 40 points along the way. While 20 minutes of bad defense here and there is nothing to get twisted up over, the fact remains that with only four games having been played, subpar (at least for Virginia) defense has been more prevalent than the immovable force that we normally expect.
It’s not going to come all at once, but with the nation’s best offense waiting just over the horizon, significant steps must be made.
2) Will Kihei show up again?
After a rough start to the season, the Kihei Clark of days past finally stepped into the gym against Kent State. While the box score may not do justice to his impact, anybody who watched the game knows that Clark was essential to the close win.
The performance will likely earn him back his starting spot, a good sign because good play from Kihei Clark elevates this team tremendously. All Kihei has to do is match his 10 points and 6 assists from a year ago, and the players around him will do the rest. He’s not the indispensable player this year like he was in the last, but it’s important that he plays well regardless.
3) Three-point shooting
Virginia has struggled from deep after an exciting start in the Towson game. In fact, the 15 threes that the Hoos hit in the opener is the same number that they’ve hit in the following three games—combined.
It hasn’t been all bad though, because despite rough outings against San Francisco and Saint Francis, they went 7-18 (39%) from deep against Kent State. While a good sign, the lackluster shooting in the previous two games remains worrying.
Making threes is essential to running an efficient offense, both because throwing the ball through the hoop from beyond that line is an extra point, and because it spreads the floor and allows for easier looks inside. Virginia’s going to need to be locked in from deep against the Zags, so hopefully they look good on that front against William & Mary.
4) Offensive sets
It’s only been four games, but already Tony Bennett has used north of four different offensive sets, the most noteworthy of which are five-out, mover-blocker, and continuity ball screen.
College basketball watchers, regardless of affiliation, have probably heard of the continuity ball screen offense at some point. It’s an offense that a majority of basketball teams, college and NBA alike, have in their arsenal. While not the primary offense for Virginia, continuity ball screen has been used to great effect by Tony Bennett throughout his tenure at UVA. Similarly, mover-blocker has been a staple for the Wahoo offense, and finally five-out is the new look that Bennett installed over the offseason.
Five-out was used in a majority of the first two games, before the other two offenses started to come out in the following two. No doubt the coaching staff will mix in all three (and more) over the course of the season, but at some point one will emerge as the primary offense.
5) Hauser and Huff
Sam Hauser and Jay Huff have been far and away the best players on the team thus far, leading their teammates in both points and rebounds. The pair combined for 36 points and 18 rebounds to spur the team to victory over Kent State, and have overwhelmingly been the two best players in Virginia jerseys.
While other players will of course play big roles going forwards, Huff and Hauser are the pillars upon which this team is built. Solid play out of the two of them has to continue if the Hoos are to reach the level that we all know is within reach.
There’s no real reason to doubt that they will keep it up, but after an off period some degree of rust should be expected. Let’s hope that it’s kept to a minimum.
Image – UVA Athletics