Jay Huff and Sam Hauser combined for 35 points, North Carolina was held to just 48, and Virginia notched their seventh straight win over the Tar Heels to improve to 11-1 in ACC play.
The Hoos controlled the game from start to finish, going on a 13-0 run after falling behind 2-0. The confident play they had exhibited weeks ago was back, Virginia looking the part of their top-10 ranking for the first time in a while.
It was a reassuring performance, putting fans slightly at ease after a series of close games against weaker opposition. The win also boosts Virginia’s resume, tacking on another Quad 2 win and giving the Hoos a better chance to move up the seed list.
NCAA Tournament implications aside, here are three takeaways from the latest Wahoo victory.
Trey Murphy continues to prove how crucial he is to success
Anybody who’s watched Virginia basketball this season will tell you how good Trey Murphy is. But over the last few weeks Murphy has morphed from a solid starter into one of the most important pieces of this team.
Perhaps the first half of this game is the best way to illustrate that fact. Murphy played the first 10 minutes, scoring five points and helping Virginia to a 21-4 lead.
He then picked up his second personal, exiting the game per Tony Bennett’s usual strict coaching style. Carolina proceeded to outscore Virginia 14-6 over the last 10 minutes of the half, a period in which Murphy did not see the floor because of those two fouls.
He ended the game with a +/- of 23, the best such number of the night by any player. Normally I’m not one to set much store by the +/- figures, but the contrast in Virginia’s play with him on the floor and without him was stark.
Over those first 10 minutes they moved the ball well, managed to take it inside a couple times, and locked down Carolina’s guards. For the closing 10 minutes of the half, they struggled to move the ball on offense, forcing bad looks and allowing Carolina’s guards to maneuver their way into the lane.
The difference is almost entirely down to the absence of Murphy.
The Rice transfer takes Virginia’s play up a notch on both sides of the court. His shooting prowess gives Virginia a valuable weapon on offense while also spacing the floor for his teammates. Murphy has also matured into one of the better defenders on the team, and he clamped hard on Caleb Love when the two faced off.
Murphy may not have stuffed the stat sheet, scoring 12 points on 4-5 shooting, but he was incredibly efficient. He put up those numbers in just 25 minutes, 25 minutes in which Virginia outscored UNC by 23.
Murphy is a major difference-maker, and he will only grow as we get further into the season.
Inability to get inside continues to plague Virginia
I basically wrote a whole article on this after Virginia’s win over Pitt, but struggles persist for the Hoos when it comes to getting the ball inside. Not to get into all the stats here like I did in that piece, but only 12 (20 percent) of Wahoo points were scored in the paint against the Tar Heels.
On the other hand, Carolina scored 28 (58 percent) of their points in the same area. That’s a striking difference, and it’s one that has been present for far too long.
And if Virginia can only muster 12 paint points against Carolina, what are they going to do against the trees that make up Florida State’s roster?
For the sake of maintaining the joy that this game brought to the UVA fanbase, we’ll table that answer for another day. But some reassurance can be found in the 46% that Virginia shot from beyond the arc.
If they carry that shooting over to Tallahassee paint points become less of a priority. Still, it’s frustrating to see a team with two skilled post players in Sam Hauser and Jay Huff failing to utilize those weapons.
Opponents are doing a good job denying entry passes, but it would be nice to at least see an attempt to throw it down low to Huff or Hauser. Inside points are coming mainly off the dribble or on cuts to the hoop.
Hopefully Tony Bennett can work some magic in a short period of time, because a tall FSU team is going to come up with a lot of blocks if that’s the only way Virginia tries to score inside.
Defense is back in Charlottesville
As you may have heard from Dick Vitale, North Carolina came into this game having failed to break the 50-point barrier in their last three trips to JPJ.
Virginia’s spotty defensive performances this season made it seem unlikely that this game would be the fourth. But solid all-around defense, coupled with abysmal UNC three-point shooting, resulted in just 48 points for a disgruntled Roy Williams and his Tar Heels.
North Carolina scored just 0.81 points per possession on their way to the loss, shooting 12% from three. It could have been a closer game if they had knocked down some deep balls, but open looks were very hard to come by for the Heels.
They were stymied by a Virginia defense coming off of another good performance, holding Georgia Tech to just 49 Wednesday. The Hoos are playing as a cohesive unit now after looking disjointed earlier in the season. The chemistry that they lacked has manifested itself, players able to move around knowing where they should be and what they should be doing.
To be frank, these last couple games have been the first ones that have truly felt like Virginia basketball. There have been good halves scattered throughout the season, but it’s been a while since the Hoos drained the life out of a team the way they did to Carolina.
With that positive thought in mind, Virginia will look to keep the ball rolling with a visit to Florida State on Monday night.
Image – Virginia Athletics