It’s been 258 days since college basketball, and the revamped Virginia Cavaliers didn’t waste a second in their opening game against Towson. Well, actually, it took Jay Huff 16 seconds to open up the scoring with a three, but that’s beside the point. The Hoos were really impressive in the 35-point win, surpassing last year’s highest points tally by 11 points. While Towson is obviously a lower-caliber opponent, there were still plenty of things to take away from the first game of the season.
1) Hauser is the real deal
Sam Hauser averaged just over 14 points per game in his final season at Marquette. He had 17 at halftime, and didn’t really need to do much else in the second half. Finishing with 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists on 7-9 shooting and 3-3 from three, there’s no other word for his performance but impressive. Hauser can pretty much do it all, and his shooting looks—dare I say it—even better than advertised.
2) This may be Bennett’s deepest team ever
Kihei Clark went for 7 points and 3 assists in this game. That statline a year ago from the point guard would have indicated a huge loss, not a 35-point win. The truth is that there are so many great players surrounding Kihei this year that he doesn’t have to put the team on his back like he did a year ago. While a game that was never going to be remotely close is not a great time to judge what we’re going to see the rest of this year, there are so many pieces on this team, and all we have to do is watch Tony Bennett fit them together.
3) The defense is not quite as good
I don’t think it’s going to take much persuading to prove that this year’s defense won’t be as good as last year’s. While Clark and Morsell are still going to stifle opposing backcourts, much of the rest of the defense will be taking a step down. Not by much, as this will still probably be the best defense in college basketball, but it’ll be a noticeable change all the same. Given the offensive resurgence, most fans probably take no issue with slightly worse defense, but it’s still worth noting.
4) Trey Murphy III can hoop
In what’s already turning into a rollercoaster season, how about Trey Murphy stealing the show less than a day after getting his waiver? His first name proved to be prophetic, with Murphy banging in 6 threes on 8 attempts. We didn’t even know if Trey was going to take the floor 24 hours ago, and now we’re sitting here with him having just outplayed everybody else on the court. This team was going to be very good without him; they’re probably national title favorites with him.
5) Jay Huff is a force to be reckoned with
Huff opened the scoring with a three from the wing 16 seconds in and never looked back. He totaled 14 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks on 6-8 shooting from the field. There were a couple thunderous dunks mixed in with the threes, and while he didn’t play much once the game was firmly in hand, Huff has clearly improved tremendously. He looked very much in control, though it is worth noting that he came out of the game with three fouls early in the second half. Huff has had issues with foul trouble in the past, but on the whole it was a very promising start for the Hoonicorn.
6) Morsell’s on the cusp
Casey’s defense was predictably phenomenal today, but that was to be expected. The area where the questions lie are on offense. While he did try one of those long, ill-advised, fadeaway twos in the first half, that was really the only low point. His shooting motion looks so much better than a year ago, and he canned a three, which is a good sign. 5 points on 2-6 shooting isn’t going to blow anyone away, but Casey looked confident doing it, and he’ll continue to get those opportunities in a starting role.
7) It’s wait-and-see for the freshmen
Reece Beekman got in very early on in the game and played quite a bit. He looked pretty good, and both he and Jabri Abdur-Rahim nailed a three. Carson McCorkle was 0-2, but both of his shots looked good right up until they bounced out. McCorkle has the makings of a very solid shooter, and we should probably see more of the three freshmen as the season progresses. It’s only been one game, but the freshmen look promising despite not really doing that much today.
Image – Matt Riley – UVA Athletics