Virginia turned the ball over 19 times, and allowed its opponent to shoot 35.3% from three and 55.1% from the field en route to scoring 70 points. Yet beneath it all was the underlying question that reverberated around John Paul Jones Arena: How did we lose that game?
The Hoos actually played fairly well on the offensive end. Despite turning the ball over 19 times, Virginia nearly reached 60 points, and shot 33.3% from three. Without the turnovers they were, actually, pretty efficient. And the defense—while falling apart at times—forced Jair Bolden to take some incredibly tough shots (which he made). The South Carolina guard had 22 points and made some ridiculous shots in the process. Virginia actually played great defense against him. Bolden was simply impossible to stop.
All of this feeds into the feeling of disbelief that the Hoos came out of the fray with a loss. But give credit to South Carolina. They forced Virginia into at least some of those 19 turnovers, and came to play on the offensive end, making a ton of tough shots.
That still doesn’t take the blame off Virginia. They had opportunities to win the game, and couldn’t do it. Heck, the game was tied at one point. But the turnovers were just too much. For a team that is 353rd in Adjusted Tempo, throwing away 19 possessions in a game is far too much. That starts with Kihei Clark. The sophomore guard committed 7 turnovers, just four days after committing 6 against Stony Brook. This is turning into more of a constant worry than a slight concern. He needs to clean it up. Ultimately, the Hoos lost a game that they had every chance of winning due to these turnovers.