Three takeaways from Virginia’s comfortable win over Maryland-Eastern Shore

Virginia, on the day after Thanksgiving, devoured Maryland-Eastern Shore like a ravenous uncle confronted with a loaded plate. 

The Hoos wasted no time digging in, racing out to a 20-4 lead, then spared a few minutes to digest, conceding an 8-0 run. They eventually regained their appetite, widening the gulf to 40-22 at halftime before easing their way through dessert on the way to a 72-45 win.

At the end, the fans at John Paul Jones Arena departed to heat up Thanksgiving leftovers. Tony Bennett likely did the same, but he’ll eat his turkey while poring over Michigan game film. Virginia’s next opponent is Michigan, on Tuesday, on ESPN, in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Sandwiched between Michigan on one side and Baylor and Illinois on the other, Friday’s matchup with Maryland-Eastern Shore had trap-game potential. But Virginia’s strong performance showed a team brimming with confidence, ready to validate its No. 5 ranking. 

Here are three takeaways.

Jayden Gardner? He’s back

Jayden Gardner meandered through the first four games of the season. He shot 0-4 against NC Central, 3-7 against Monmouth, 1-4 against Baylor, 3-5 against Illinois. Had last year’s titan disappeared? Worry mounted.

Gardner swiftly banished that worry on Friday, dropping 26 points on 12-15 shooting. He did it from the midrange. He did it at the rim. He did it while wide open. He did it through contact. 

He did it all in just 25 minutes.

Virginia’s success, last season, hinged on Gardner’s play. If Gardner’s engine encountered an error, the whole UVA plane plummeted. 

This season, Virginia has contingencies. The Hoos still expect Gardner to carry the biggest weight, but if he stumbles, others can shoulder his burden. 

Problem was, through the first few games, he relinquished that burden entirely. Finally, against Maryland-Eastern Shore, vintage Gardner returned.

Taine Murray digs a hole

The story of Taine Murray’s time in Charlottesville stings of sadness. 

Murray seemed nailed to the bench as a first-year. Logic suggested he would emerge during his second year at Virginia. Then the entire starting lineup returned, a heralded transfer arrived from Ohio and two first-years leapfrogged him in the rotation.

Friday’s game against UMES provided Murray an opportunity. Here was a weak opponent; here were some minutes. In Murray’s 12 minutes, he had more fouls than points (2 fouls, 1 point). All three of his shots were threes; all three missed.

His shot looks flat, and his overall play is simply uninspiring. It’s tough to envisage a reality in which Murray earns significant minutes.

Which is sad. There’s plenty to like about the kid. He just isn’t performing.

How high is Virginia’s ceiling?

Any middling commentator worthy of his microphone will harp about Virginia’s returning depth and veteran leadership. Three weeks into the season, it’s already a tired theme. 

Virginia’s impressive start to the season formed partially because the Hoos returned a complete team. While Duke and Kentucky and their petty imitators spend non-conference play piecing together disparate parts, Virginia arrived with an intact core. 

Carnage is unfolding around college basketball, but Virginia’s robes remain unstained. The Hoos have risen above, spared from the early-season messiness. Virginia started a rung above everyone else on the proverbial ladder.

But how much higher can the Hoos climb? Virginia, for now, sits comfortably on a ledge out of reach of its competition, but soon coaches will glue together their teams’ raw talent and narrow the gap. 

Virginia’s new players—Ben Vander Plas, Isaac McKneely, Ryan Dunn—can propel Virginia, and the returning talent can further improve. 

It is a small but distinct possibility, though, that this team is near its ceiling. Watch some college hoops this “Feast Week,” and you’ll see unharnessed basketball. Virginia, conversely, already looks solid. In part, Virginia’s early success has derived from the fact that the Hoos are ahead of other teams in the development process. 

But opponents might catch up, and that’s when the danger could appear. 

That’s a negative perspective, of course. It’s not intended as criticism, or pessimism, or doubt. It’s simply an acknowledgment that Virginia will need to continue to improve, to raise its ceiling rather than bump into it.

Virginia will travel to Michigan on Tuesday for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The game will tip at 9:30 p.m. ET and air on ESPN.

Image – Virginia Athletics