On Saturday afternoon in Fort Worth, Texas, the #16 Virginia Cavaliers and the #1 Gonzaga Bulldogs will come together for a 16 v 1 matchup like no other.
To many Virginia fans, the odds of coming out on top may seem similar to those of a 16 seed pulling off that first round upset. Gonzaga has been playing some pretty unbelievable basketball as of late, and coupled with Virginia’s shaky tendencies, the odds are clearly not in their favor.
But this is college basketball, and the Hoos are just a month removed from being heralded as frontrunners for the Final Four. There’s no question that Virginia enters with a fighting chance.
To stay in the fight, however, there are some things that Virginia simply has to do. All four things that are about to be outlined must be achieved, or the chances of a Wahoo victory become very slim.
1) Slow Gonzaga down
The game on Saturday doesn’t just represent a top-20 matchup, it also pits the two ends of the tempo spectrum against each other. On the one end is Gonzaga, who sit at sixth in Kenpom’s tempo ratings, and all the way on the other lies Virginia, dead last (357th) in the very same list.
This contrast in styles is always fascinating to observe when Virginia faces an up-tempo opponent. The talk in these games often centers around who will win the tempo battle, and that will be no different this time around.
Rarely does Virginia allow itself to get sped up in any way, shape, or form, and that needs to hold true on Saturday. If Gonzaga starts to get out in transition or is allowed to shoot early in the clock, it could spell disaster for the Hoos.
2) Hauser has to step up
The name most discussed prior to the start of the season was Sam Hauser’s, and by and large he’s lived up to the praise. He leads the team in points and minutes, is second in rebounds, and third in assists. He’s been the go-to man thus far, capable of knocking down shots from nearly everywhere on the court and stretching the defense like nobody else can.
But worry ran rampant when Sam went more than 17 minutes without taking a shot on Tuesday against William & Mary. He lacked the assertiveness that has been on display at times, and while finishing with 9 points on 3-7 shooting from three, it was a poor outing after his 18 points on 14 shots against Kent State.
Hauser needs to bring the same level of focus and confidence to Fort Worth that he had when he willed Virginia to that overtime victory. As the best player on this team, the responsibility falls primarily to him when the going gets tough. With #1 walking into the same gym on Saturday, it’ll be plenty difficult, which means that Hauser’s going to have to step up to meet it.
3) Team defense has to improve
You wouldn’t think that there’d be much room to go for Kenpom’s number four team in defensive efficiency. But improvement is relative, and Tony Bennett is well aware that his defense is not up to scratch.
Virginia has played some stellar defense over the course of their first five games, but with it has come spells of rough defending. It looked much better overall on Tuesday, with movement and communication the most impressive aspects of the defense. There were still lapses though, and the visiting Tribe missed some shots that Gonzaga is bound to make.
The Hoos have to play their best defensive game of the season on Saturday or it could turn ugly real quick.
4) Do the little things right
Rarely do underdogs win games in which they don’t outplay their opponents in all of the smaller aspects of the sport. Virginia has struggled mightily with those things all season, something that they’re going to have to clean up.
Rebounding immediately comes to mind, the Hoos barely managing to outrebound teams such as Kent State and the aforementioned William & Mary. Gonzaga presents a much tougher challenge on that front, and the Zags must be kept off the offensive glass if a UVA win is in the cards.
That’s the main thing that Virginia hasn’t done so well, but other things also have to be executed. Free throw shooting, turnovers, and fouls have all been positives so far, and they have to remain that way. No doubt the game will be difficult to win, but if these four things are done well the playing field suddenly becomes a lot more level.
Image – Virginia Athletics
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