Hope is a fickle thing.
There hasn’t been much of it this season for Virginia. But there it was, suffusing the hearts of Wahoo fans, as Virginia built a 27-8 lead over Louisville in the first 14 minutes.
Over the ensuing 26, the Hoos allowed the Cardinals to shoot their way back into the game. The lead was cut to four at one point midway through the second half, causing that hope to prance away like an elusive deer. But Virginia pushed forward, maintaining their lead and then stretching it.
In the end, the Hoos won 64-52. Except for the initial burst of energy—Virginia’s first fast start of the season—it wasn’t exactly a scintillating performance. Yet it was a win, and it carried the Hoos to a 6-4 record that’s good enough for seventh in the ACC standings. Here are three takeaways.
Assists galore
Virginia had 20 assists on 24 made field goals, a whopping percentage by any standard. The ball looked to be moving more fluidly when in Virginia hands, and the numbers are conclusive proof that the Hoos moved the ball well against Louisville.
For a team that often sinks into stagnant offense, this is a good sign.
It was the guards doing most of the ball movement. Kihei Clark dished out 5 assists and Armaan Franklin threw 2 dimes, but Reece Beekman was the standout. Beekman passed his way to 11 assists, strengthening his grip on the top spot of the ACC individual rankings for assist/turnover ratio. He’s also second in total assists among ACC players.
The assists were not the product of a bad opposing defense. Louisville ranked 59th in adjusted defensive efficiency coming into the game. Virginia still managed to break the Cardinals down by moving the ball as well as they have all season.
An important step for Kihei
Kihei Clark is always a topic of hot debate among Virginia fans. There’s the camp that will stick by the little dude regardless of his play, the faction that will always think Beekman is the preferable alternative, and the neutral group whose opinion changes with every performance.
Over the past couple of weeks, Kihei hasn’t made much of an impact. He hasn’t hurt Virginia when on the floor, but he hasn’t helped either; he’s just jogged along placidly without doing much of anything. He even lost minutes because of it.
His lack of assertiveness did not go unnoticed by Tony Bennett, who, as was noted by Dan Shulman and Cory Alexander on the ESPN call, challenged Kihei to be more aggressive.
Kihei answered the call, getting involved in the game’s opening possessions and seeing out the eventual victory. There was the moment when he unleashed a filthy array of moves in the first half to bank in a layup; there was also the time when he popped a deep three to give Virginia breathing room late in the second half.
His final stat line: 15 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds. Most importantly, he shot the ball 12 times, his largest number of attempts from the field since November. The takeaway is obvious. Virginia needs more of this from Kihei.
A good win, but not much more
Virginia has played 20 games this season, but the Hoos are still yet to play a full 40-minute game. No matter how furiously they charge out of the gates or how hot they fire up the accelerators midway through, every game contains some sort of lapse.
It should also be noted that this is a disjointed Louisville team. There’s strife in the Louisville locker room, that much is clear, and the Cardinals’ internal problems have led to what is now a 1-5 stretch.
While it was important for Virginia to take care of business, this should be taken for what it was: a good win over a team whose coach is on the hot seat and whose players know it.
But it was also an important step for a Virginia team that’s doing its best to apply white-out to a soiled resume. With a tough schedule coming up, the improvements will have to continue.
Virginia is back in action on Saturday, with a trip to Notre Dame. The game will tip at 6 pm EST and air on ACCN.
Image – Virginia Athletics