Basketball, at present, is an afterthought. Horrible tragedy has descended on Charlottesville, and amid the grieving, the devastation, the helpless questioning, sports have faded out of the picture. Rightfully so.
This wound will never fully close: The gaping hole left by the three tragic deaths will always ache.
But sport, at its most basic, is entertainment, a diversion from the horror and the rigors of the world. Perhaps, then, this game—a marquee matchup between two highly ranked, undefeated teams in the semifinal round of a mini tournament stacked with big programs—can provide some measure of catharsis.
So, to basketball we go.
The opponent
Baylor has notched three blowout wins against weak opponents. The Bears trounced Mississippi Valley State, 117-53, then beat Norfolk State, 87-70, and Northern Colorado, 95-62.
The fifth-ranked Bears have wizened leaders and sparkling young talent. Senior Adam Flagler and juniors Jalen Bridges and LJ Cryer compose the older portion of the star lineup. Freshman Keyonte George is the freshman standout.
The Bears are shooting a respectable 38% on threes this season, paced by Flagler, who shoots 60% from deep (11-17). KenPom loves Baylor, ranking the Bears fifth overall, second in adjusted offensive efficiency and 18th in adjusted defensive efficiency.
Baylor relies heavily on its guard play and not as much on its forwards. The Bears’ three forwards score infrequently, though the 6-foot-10, 280-pound Flo Thamba emerged last season as a consistent producer and a hulking beast inside. Kadin Shedrick and Francisco Caffaro will have their hands full shutting him down.
What to watch for
If Virginia persists in its remarkable three-point shooting—48% for the season—the Hoos will, of course, find things fairly simple offensively. It’s a constant refrain in college basketball, but it bears repeating: Knocking down threes opens the floor.
That would boost Jayden Gardner, who has yet to return to last year’s form but whose deadly midrange game is bound to materialize soon. Gardner, at his best, strikes from the midrange but also charges to the rim. On the biggest stage Virginia has stepped onto this season, hopefully Gardner can recover his familiar ways.
But the player who will draw the most attention from Virginia fans is Ryan Dunn. Dunn’s performance against Monmouth stunned viewers and set the fanbase trembling with anticipation. Was it a one-off? Or is Dunn really that good? We’ll know more after this game.
Isaac McKneely paralleled Dunn’s meteoric rise, sinking 4-6 threes last Friday and generally looking awesome. He’s another one to watch.
Then there’s Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman, the leaders of the team who’ve flown swiftly under the radar. The pair is moving the ball well, averaging 11.5 combined assists in the first two games, but their presence has seemed secondary to the young talent flowing around them.
We can talk about McKneely and Dunn and Vander Plas all we want, but Virginia is nothing without its guards. Beekman has appeared poised for stardom since his freshman year, and this is the year it’s likely to come. That could start with a big performance against Baylor.
But all the individual offensive performances matter little without Virginia’s trademark smothering defense, the backbone of Tony Bennett’s program. The packline faltered last season, relatively speaking, and Bennett surely spent the offseason restoring it to its unalloyed, rigid form.
There have been flashes of good defense thus far and flashes of bad. But that was against North Carolina Central and Monmouth. This is the litmus test.
Virginia vs Baylor will tip off at 7 p.m. ET from Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena. It will air on ESPN2. The winner will play UCLA or Illinois on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET; the loser will play at 5:30 p.m.
Image – Virginia Athletics