Virginia will host Radford Friday night at JPJ in their second game of the season. The Hoos will look to put Tuesday’s disappointing loss to Navy in the rearview mirror and stem the stream of criticism flowing in after the surprise defeat.
Issues abounded in Virginia’s opener against Navy. The Hoos came out flat, allowed too many open looks on the perimeter to start the game, and ended with an 8:30 scoring drought. The only sparks came from Jayden Gardner and Reece Beekman, who both submitted respectable performances.
Others, like Armaan Franklin (1-7 from three, 2-11 from the field, 0 rebounds) and Kihei Clark (2-7 from three, 2 turnovers, 0 rebounds), had bad nights but should bloom in the coming games.
Virginia’s lack of depth was also exposed. If the Navy game was any indication, this team really only goes five deep. Francisco Caffaro and Kody Stattman looked nothing like ACC-caliber players, and Tony Bennett’s hesitation to play Taine Murray and Carson McCorkle for more than two minutes each is telling.
While these issues are indeed scary, there is reasonable hope that Virginia will be able to make significant improvements. And there’s no better way to improve than by playing games. The Hoos will get a chance to do just that against a shaky Radford team.
The opponent
Like Virginia, Radford has played one game thus far, an 84-72 victory over D-II opponent Emory & Henry. If the final score is a bit underwhelming, it’s only because Radford went up big early and eased off the reins late. They jumped out to a 45-29 halftime lead, before switching to cruise control and riding out the rest of the game. Nobody on the roster played more than 30 minutes.
Radford returns a few key pieces from last year’s 15-12 team. Yet none were prolific scorers, all averaging under 10 points per game. The Highlanders utilized a balanced scoring attack last season, and it looks like they’ll do the same this year.
Sophomore guard Camron McNeil led the way from the bench against E&H, with 17 points. Junior forwards Rashun Williams and Dravon Magnum chipped in with 13 apiece, and a couple other players went for 10 points.
The most notable fact about Radford is their lack of height; the tallest guy on the team measures only 6-foot-9. It would be expected that Virginia can use its considerable height advantage to dominate the glass, something it failed to do against Navy. But as exciting as it is to realize Virginia’s advantage in that respect, another statistic is highly troubling.
Radford hit 50% of its threes in the season opener, going 11-22. Those numbers came against D-II opposition, yes, but they are troubling all the same. One of the ways Navy was able to sink Virginia was its three-point shooting, and Radford’s apparent ability to potentially do the same is worrying.
The prediction
Virginia is the clear choice to win this game. The Navy game was something of a wake-up call, and Bennett’s squad should be waiting to answer it. They’ll come in hungry after the loss, and will look to impose their will early on an inferior opponent; though beating Radford will provide very little insight into how the Hoos will fare against tougher competition.
The guards need to be more decisive, the shots need to start falling, and the defense needs to continue coalescing, but Virginia looks poised to grab its first victory.
Radford at Virginia will tip at 7:00 pm EST on ACCNX/ESPN+.
Image – Virginia Athletics