It would be a slight exaggeration to call Virginia’s thunderous 71-58 victory over Miami cathartic. But only a slight exaggeration.
The Hoos spent their nine previous games trapped in the throes of a frustrating win-loss-win-loss pattern. With the win over Miami, the pattern was ended, the pervasive feeling that Virginia was on a flat trajectory dismissed.
Virginia controlled the game almost from the jump, steadily chugging past Miami. An Armaan Franklin three from way downtown ended the half in triumphant fashion and extended the lead to 9 points.
The second half was more of the same. Virginia dominated Miami, the lead ballooning to 21 with three minutes left. Some garbage-time buckets meant Virginia only won by 13, but the result was the same: a beautiful win, a dazzling performance, a shot in the arm for Virginia’s hopes of meaningful postseason play.
Here are three takeaways.
Franklin’s play has reached the promised land
Heralded as a knockdown three-point shooter coming out of Indiana, Franklin has been anything but for most of this season. He’s excelled at getting to the rim, pouring in shots from the midrange and making tough floaters. But on the season, he shoots a horrendous 26% from three.
You wouldn’t have known it from watching the Miami game. Franklin went 3-8 from three, 8-16 from the field, made 4 assists and accounted for as many steals. He scored 22 points in total. It was the first time this season that all the facets of Franklin’s game have clicked at the same time.
This is simply a different team when Franklin is making shots.
This was a little deceiving
Going by the numbers, this was an extraordinary defensive effort from Virginia. Miami scored a mere 26 first-half points, scored only 58 on the game and shot 24% from three.
It’s that last number that warrants the most attention. In conference play, Miami shoots 40% from three. It was astounding, then, that they missed their first 10 threes. Normally, that could be attributed to good defense, but that simply wasn’t the case. Miami got open looks aplenty, they just couldn’t hit them. It looked like there was a lid on the rim.
Miami’s 4-17 tally from three was a result of poor shooting, not great defense.
On the other end of the floor, Virginia did play a great game. It was one of the best offensive performances of the season. But it was aided by three-point shooting the likes of which the Hoos have not mustered all season. Virginia is not going to come out and go 8-15 (53%) every game.
Is it possible?
Understandably, the convincing win has triggered a wave of hope among Virginia fans. The question: can this team make a run at the NCAA Tournament?
The answer: um, maybe?
The good news for Virginia is that four of its last seven games are Quad 1 games. That means the Hoos still have resume-building opportunities. It also means that a winning record over those last seven games will be an impressive achievement.
The toughest game is the next one, a visit to ninth-ranked Duke. Then there are games against bottom-feeders Georgia Tech (home) and Virginia Tech (away). Next it’s at Miami, home against Duke and Florida State, and at Louisville.
Anything short of 5-2, a win over Duke and a deep ACC Tournament run will probably leave Virginia out of the bracket.
If the Hoos can build on this performance, they have a chance.
Image – Virginia Athletics