With just under four minutes left to play in the first half of Virginia’s matchup with Iowa, the Hoos trailed by 21 points. At halftime, Iowa had 44 points—the most a Tony Bennett team has allowed at JPJ in a single half. Ever.
A 6-0 run to close the half cut the deficit to 14, but even an optimist would have conceded that a comeback appeared highly unlikely. The Hawkeyes shot the lights out the whole first half, Virginia looked lost on offense, and the Hoos were getting killed on the boards.
The pivotal moment came a few minutes into the second half. The ball found Jayden Gardner’s hands, parked in the corner with nobody near him. Gardner looked at the hoop, and in one fluid motion, did something he hadn’t done all season: shoot a three. The ball arced through the air, on a collision course with the net.
The sound of it swishing through the nylon triggered not only an eruption within JPJ, but the start of a furious comeback.
About a minute later, Gardner would repeat the feat, and just like that, the Hoos were in the game. Taine Murray was the next unlikely contributor from beyond the arc. Murray was a known three-point shooter coming into the season, but had played only sparingly.
Out of nowhere, Murray canned four of his six three-point attempts. Kihei Clark also chipped in with a hat-trick of threes. Kadin Shedrick, too, was fantastic down the stretch.
But for all his heroics in the second half, Murray squandered his chance to reel in a victory. He missed the front end of a one-and-one with the Hoos leading by a point, allowing Iowa to retake the lead with eight seconds left. Kihei Clark’s shot just before the buzzer bounced off the iron, and the Hoos fell in heartbreaking fashion.
After the grisly first half, Virginia’s second half was overwhelmingly positive. Here are three takeaways.
Lineups coming into focus
Virginia’s rotation this season has been blurred, to say the least. For the most part, it has featured six guys, with a couple others lending support every game. But the future course of action with regard to lineups began to clear up with the 44-point second-half explosion.
Fans of all teams and sports like to complain about things their coaches do, and Virginia fans are no exception. But one thing that has been a constant argument from the UVA fanbase is that Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman should not feature alongside each other, and in this game that argument was unequivocally validated.
At all times, Virginia has to have a shooter on the floor. Whether that be Taine Murray, who went 4-6 from deep for 14 points, or somebody else, every lineup must include somebody who can make outside shots.
A pecking order is also being established at the center position. Kadin Shedrick has held a slight advantage over Francisco Caffaro all season, but at this point it’s unmistakable that Shedrick is a far superior player. He’s a better defender (though prone to foul trouble), and gets himself in the right place offensively.
Bennett will continue to tinker with lineups, but the events of the Iowa game made clear a couple rules about lineups that should be adhered to whenever possible.
Jayden Gardner’s potential is scary
Two open threes from the corner are not enough to claim Gardner as a knockdown three-point shooter, but they are a glimpse of his potential upside. Gardner went 3-6 from deep last season at East Carolina, and his hesitancy to shoot the ball early this season seemed to solidify him as an exclusively inside player.
But he reportedly talked preseason about his desire to add the three-ball as an extra dimension to his game. And in the biggest of moments, he showed that was not just a hopeful dream.
Gardner is already Virginia’s best player, and that evaluation only takes into account his prodigious skill in the paint, midrange, and on the boards. If opposing players have to worry about a three-point shot as well, Gardner will become almost unstoppable.
Time will tell, but it’s okay to get excited about what Gardner’s pair of treys mean for his and Virginia’s offensive production.
Defense can be better, but Iowa’s shooting was unstoppable
Jordan Bohannon is 24 years old. He is older than every player on the Virginia roster, and his play against it looked superior as well. The 1,000th-year Iowa senior went 6-9 from deep, scoring 20 points and dashing Virginia’s hopes at every turn. Whatever the Hoos did, Bohannon answered.
In the first half, Virginia’s defense left a lot to be desired. A defense cannot allow 44 points and reasonably be called “good.” Iowa made a slew of ridiculous shots, but were also simply left open a lot of the time.
The second half performance was more akin to what we expected coming in. Iowa scored 31 points, again only reaching that number because of superlative shot-making. Bohannon’s triple with 1:19 remaining was truly Carsen Edwards-esque.
In the end, Virginia was one play away from seizing an incredible victory. But their improbable comeback after a dismal first half should raise the spirits of the Virginia fanbase. It was the best half of basketball Virginia has played this season, but in due time, maybe it will become commonplace.
Virginia is back in action Friday, with its ACC opener. The Hoos will host Pittsburgh at 8 pm at JPJ.
Image – Virginia Athletics
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