Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech’s long-time head football coach, sat behind his former school’s bench. What he watched unfold in front of him was a team, labeled as overrated time and time again, put together their best performance of the season. A team that had been on a noticeable downhill slide stopped that slide in emphatic fashion, tying their largest score of the season while holding the Hokies to their lowest score of the season by 23 points. It was Virginia’s largest margin of victory since November, against Columbia.
Nearly everything went right for the Hoos in this game. Defense? Check. Offense? Check. Braxton Key returning to his prior form? Check. Kihei Clark going for a career high… The list goes on. The point is, the game was proof that this team can be a sucessful one. For that to happen though, a few key things that happened against VPI must be repeated.
1) Scoring from Key and Clark
In Braxton Key’s fourth game back from injury, he finally got back–and really started playing for the first time–to the way he was expected to play. His 18 points were a season high and his 10 boards weren’t shabby either. For a team lacking in offensive threats, Key needs to be a constant contributor. Maybe he doesn’t need to go for 18 and 10 every game, but 14 and 7 is a reasonable goal and one that should be met almost every game.
Kihei Clark is another player that Tony Bennett needs to be a contributor on the offensive end. He already averages 6 assists per game, yet only scores 9 points. Most of his 18 points in this game (also a career high) came on quick drives to the hoop for layups. He was successful doing that against weaker non-conference foes, and he finally revealed that he could do it against tougher opposition. Kihei also hit a three and dished out 6 assists. Like Key, Clark needs to be around the 14 point range in most games.
2) High shooting percentage
On the season, the Hoos are hovering around 40% from the field, in danger of dropping into the 30s. The 46.3% against Virginia Tech and the better numbers in recent games serve as reminders that the Hoos can make shots when called upon to do so. In addition, 33.3% from deep is 6% up from the season average. The three-point shot, in particular, has been a welcome surprise. The percentages were far better in the previous 4 or 5 games, a trend that continued against Virginia Tech. Without a doubt, shooting must stay a positive.
3) Defense
The last thing on the blueprint for success that we took from the VPI game is the ever-present defense. Some take it for granted, but Virginia’s normally stout defense was slipping a bit in recent games. Obviously the 70 point disaster against South Carolina is evidence of this, and going back further the 69 points allowed to Purdue. But aside from the obvious candidates, a couple of other games jump out as bad defensive performances.
Chief among these is Navy who, even whilst scoring only 56 points, had great success going inside against Diakite and Huff. Well, today Virginia Tech had no success going inside, for the most part having to take either low percentage shots or turning the ball over. It seems obvious, but this improved defensive outing should be the new norm going forward.
So there you have it. The three steps to success for the 2019-20 Virginia Cavaliers, as seen in today’s game.
Did we get it right? Let us know in the comments if you agree and what else we should have added.