Three takeaways from Virginia’s solid road victory over Louisville

Tony Bennett leaned forward from his spot standing on the sideline. Hands on bent knees, Bennett looked like a predator poised to strike. A moment later, Virginia forced a Louisville turnover. Bennett punched the air excitedly with his fist and clapped vigorously.

The Virginia coach was fired up. Rarely does the composed Bennett allow his layer of calm to be punctured, but the facade has slipped at times this season, and it was cast off entirely with this first-half display of emotion. 

The forced turnover that got Bennett so animated came with a few minutes left in the first half and Virginia in the midst of what would eventually be a 36-9 run. The dominant streak closed out the first half in commanding fashion after a sluggish start. It got Virginia into the halftime locker room with a 36-17 advantage.

In the second half, Louisville fought valiantly to bridge that gap, but the Cardinals never got closer than 8. 

Here are three takeaways.

Shedrick and Beekman are future stars

With a minute left in the first half, Kadin Shedrick had as many points as the entire Louisville roster: 16. He finished with a career-high 20 points, most of them coming at the rim off nice dishes from his guards. To make that more impressive, he only played 23 minutes.

Then there was Reece Beekman, who stuffed the stat sheet like a grandmother does a turkey on Thanksgiving. Beekman’s 15 points and 12 boards were his first collegiate double-double, and they came alongside 5 assists, 5 steals and a block. At this point, it would be a travesty for Beekman to not be named ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

More to the point, Beekman and Shedrick look like future stars. They both have two years of eligibility remaining and flashes of great play are becoming more frequent. The final steps in Beekman’s development—which he is already starting to make—are developing a consistent three-point shot and understanding his destructive potential on drives to the rim. Shedrick will become a more complete player when he adds a jumper to his arsenal and becomes disciplined enough to avoid fouling. 

Both Shedrick and Beekman have bright futures.

Good three-point selection

Kihei Clark attempted Virginia’s first three of the game with 4 minutes remaining in the first half. Until Kihei’s shot, which he made, Virginia had not so much as looked at the hoop from beyond the arc. But the Hoos would go on to hit 6 more threes, finishing 7-12 (58%) from three.

At 16.1 threes attempted per game, Virginia is 347th in the nation in that category. Twelve is a lot less than 16.1. Virginia was judicious with its three-point selection, and obviously made a high percentage of those shots. Beekman hit three, Franklin made two and Clark and Stattman each drilled one.

Virginia is going to need that three-point shooting capability to stand a chance at pulling off an improbable ACC Tournament run. 

Huge momentum-builder

Contrary to what the dudes on the ESPN2 call seemed to think, Virginia has almost no chance of stealing an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The season-opening loss to Navy recently shifted to become a Quad 4 loss, a killer under any circumstances. Add to that Virginia’s 2-4 Quad 3 record and high-70s NET ranking, and the tournament resume is not appealing.

There’s a small chance that three ACC Tournament wins and a loss in the championship could get Virginia in the bracket. But that would require a ton of luck, and even then there are other teams with more burnished resumes. 

That’s all a long way of saying Virginia needs to win the ACC Tournament. To do that, Virginia needs to get hot. And this was a good start, bolstering Virginia’s confidence and getting the ball rolling. 

Seeding has not yet been finalized, but Virginia is locked in as the #6 seed. The Hoos will get a first-round bye before playing the winner of the #14-#11 game, and hopefully proceed from there to a matchup against the #3 seed (keep an eye out for a breakdown of the ACCT bracket, coming on Sunday or Monday).

Whoever falls into those slots will have to face a Virginia team that is gaining momentum.

Virginia will open the ACC Tournament on Wednesday at 9:30 pm.

Image – Virginia Athletics