Virginia concluded a two-game away stretch with a loss to Duke, falling in the closing seconds as Kihei Clark came up short on a desperation three. The lead seesawed throughout the game, neither team leading by more than six points.
It was another close UVA-Duke game in what has become a fascinating annual battle between two of the ACC’s powers. Here are four takeaways from Virginia’s second consecutive loss.
Trey Murphy needs to see more of the ball
There exists a handy statistic called usage percentage (USG) that calculates what percentage of plays a player is used while he is on the floor.
For example, Jay Huff and Kihei Clark led Virginia in USG in the loss at just over 30 percent each. Casey Morsell came next at 23.6, followed by Sam Hauser at 21.2.
Clark and Morsell may have been used a bit too much, but the number that stands out is Trey Murphy’s percentage. Murphy, who shoots field goals at a 54% clip and threes at 48%, had a usage percentage of three percent.
That is — to put it mildly — unacceptable. In 36 minutes, Murphy took all of two shots. His presence may have been felt on the defensive end, but an offensive talent like Murphy must play a more prominent role on the other side of the court.
And this was no isolated incident. On the season, Murphy has a USG of 17.5 percent. Nine players on this roster that have played more than 20 minutes this season have a higher USG than Murphy.
Obviously one statistic doesn’t tell the whole story, but that paints a pretty clear picture of a player not getting the usage his play warrants.
Part of this is Murphy’s fault; he seems content to sit outside the three-point line and wait for the ball to come to him. The other issue is that Virginia’s guards have not done a great job of finding the forwards that account for most of the scoring.
Regardless of the cause, the effect is that Trey Murphy is not getting enough opportunities to contribute.
Bennett to blame?
Tony Bennett is a phenomenal basketball coach, but at least a portion of the blame rests on his shoulders. A timeout with seven seconds left to set up a shot sounds immeasurably better than forcing Kihei Clark to make a play with time winding down and none of his teammates in position.
Bennett also passed on opportunities for timeouts on the previous two offensive possessions. Casey Morsell took an ill-advised fadeaway jumper on one, and Sam Hauser was forced to throw up a prayer on the other.
A timeout in any of the three situations would have given Virginia a chance to regroup and get a better look.
In the past, Bennett had true floor generals and scoring guards that he could rely on. In those circumstances, the debate of whether to let the defense set up is a closer one. But this year his guards are not the top threats on the floor. And in the Duke game, the team was in the midst of an extended scoring drought that made a chance to regroup all the more critical.
To be fair, Bennett did call a timeout after the possession arrow gave Duke the ball with 12 seconds left. But that was to set up the fouls that would put Duke at the line. He left his players to their own devices when it came to actually scoring the points Virginia needed to win the game.
While the Virginia head coach didn’t address this particular issue after the game, he did say that “shots were hard to come by late.” He’s not wrong, and his players were clearly lost in the closing stages. A timeout could have been the difference.
Bennett is a great coach, and certainly some other great coaches also believe that a timeout only lets the defense set up. But adherence to this philosophy as a hard and fast rule is not wise. This would have been the game to call another timeout to reset and draw up a game-winning play.
The Kihei question
An interesting stat surfaced on Twitter in the aftermath of the loss:
This seems to imply that leaving the brunt of the scoring to Kihei is a recipe for disaster. And it’s true that Kihei is not a consistent enough scorer to carry the load when it is left to him.
But is this really Kihei’s fault? The 5-9 junior has proven himself time and time again throughout his career in Charlottesville. A few seconds to reflect on his accomplishments should suffice to dispel the doubts that some are developing.
It’s not as if Virginia has a better option either. None of the three guards can shoot, and teams have found success in backing off and making the guards beat them.
Calls for Reece Beekman to take over the primary point guard duties are unfounded. Beekman cannot score in a halfcourt setting and does not possess Kihei’s craftiness.
If anything, it’s time for Casey Morsell to start getting more minutes. There is work required when it comes to his shot selection, but he can at least get to the rim with consistency and make open shots.
The ill effects of some poor recruiting classes are also coming out. The lack of skill in the backcourt can be attributed to misfires on the recruiting trail.
Kihei is a very good point guard, but without sufficient support in the backcourt he is being left out to dry.
Duke played lights out
Virginia may have faltered in the late stages, but their play was significantly improved from the loss at Florida State five days earlier. They got in the paint and shot the ball well, and on defense did their best to contest shots.
Unfortunately, Duke played their best game of the season. The Blue Devils were no doubt brimming with confidence after two successive victories, and it showed as they knocked down tough shots to pull off the upset.
Matthew Hurt in particular was on fire, scoring 22 points as he hit five threes over hapless Virginia defenders. Duke also got unexpected performances from Jeremy Roach and Jaemyn Brakefield to propel them to victory.
By this year’s standards, Virginia didn’t play that poorly of a defensive game. They contested shots, moved pretty well, and slaughtered their hosts on the glass.
But Duke’s second-ranked recruiting class finally lived up to their ranking, and the Hoos fell in a tough one.
Image – Virginia Athletics