[ad_1]
The Cavaliers bounced back from a tough stretch and won an encouraging 24 points.
After an alarming loss at Notre Dame, the Virginia Cavaliers responded with a 77-53 victory over ACC-ranked Louisville at John Paul Jones Arena. Reece Beekman orchestrated the attack with 11 points and eight assists, Isaac McKneely efficiently scored 18 points in just 19 minutes, and Thayne Murray scored 12 points off the bench.
Take some promising yet encouraging wins and reduce your stock:
stock up
Tyne Murray
In his limited playing time, Murray made some impressive passes off the dribble, hit open threes, and made two really nice dribble drives while the game was still in the balance. He also sank two 3-pointers and scored 12 points on 5-6 shooting from the field in a near-perfect offensive performance. However, they were only hurt by an air ball in garbage time in the second half. He played great and could have gotten a few more minutes playing in the ACC.
Ryan Dunn
Ryan Dunn attacked the basket with refreshing aggressiveness in the first half, hitting the rim on all five of his attempts. Dunn’s shots are usually set up by other players, but tonight he showed some uncharacteristic self-creation. Dunn certainly benefited from two lob passes from Reece Beekman, but he adjusted well and misplaced his fast-break alley-oop for a dunk, but he also set it off the dribble several times. Dan beat his opponent off the dribble. He attempted a goaltending layup, was posted up after an and-one timeout, and knocked down a nice fadeaway as the shot clock expired. Some smart cuts also produced a few other buckets, including a late slam after drifting to Blake Buchanan for help.
We all know about the impact of defense — including Louisville, who were generally content with a highly contested three with Dunn rather than risking a reversal or being blocked at the rim (Dunn still had three blocks). and one steal). However, signs of improvement on the offensive end will be even more important going forward. There’s still a lot of room for growth (1-3 from the line is a good starting point), but Dunn showed some flashes tonight.
Virginia’s attack on the zone
Smashing zone defenses has never been an issue for Virginia — even this year with the No. 156 ranked KenPom offense. Kenny Payne won 2-3 against Virginia’s poor shooting lineup (Gertrude, Beekman, Bonds, Murray, Buchanan), and UVA’s strong lineup (McNealy, Groves, Rohde) returned to the game. , remained inexplicably on set. As expected, Beekman and Rohde sliced through the zone from the free-throw line, lobbed Dunn up top, and made some nice kickouts for easy 3-pointers.
In the second half, Louisville went into a zone and Isaac McKneely immediately hit a three from the wing. You can’t do that against this Virginia team. Facing the zone minimizes the Foos’ weaknesses and highlights their strengths.
andrew rhode
Rode’s box score numbers (8 points on 9 shots) don’t jump off the page, but they underestimate his impact. In his second year, he held up very well against Louisville’s guards, who tended to take him off the dribble, forcing him to take tough shots off the dribble on nearly every possession. Rode also worked effectively as a connective passer against the zone, keeping the ball moving with some impressive passing sequences in the first half. His off-ball offensive impact and impressive defensive performance rank Rohde in the stock-up section. His handle isn’t visually appealing yet, but his ability to counter man presses early in the second half bodes well for the future.
Isaac McKneely
This wasn’t really a “stock up” game. We already knew that McNeely could absolutely shine against soft defenses. However, with this season’s overwhelming victory, it will be difficult to remain the top scorer. Foul trouble limited IMac to just 19 minutes, but the sharpshooter finished with 18 points on 7-11 shooting (4-7 from three).
out of stock
blake buchanan
Since his early breakout against Florida, Buchanan’s performance has been mostly downhill. Tonight, he entered the game early in the first half and gave himself a chance to succeed against an undersized and undermanned Louisville team. Broadly speaking, the move worked. Virginia’s guards effectively fed the ball to Buchanan down low, with some mismatches with Skye Clark and Mike James. But Buchanan couldn’t take advantage of his good looks and had trouble scoring against smaller players and recognizing when he was open near the basket. At one point late in the first half, the crowd watched Buchanan pass for an open dunk on a kickout pass, then missed a wide-open Jake Groves in the corner on a similar play for a tough hook attempt.
The second half didn’t get much better. He overhedged on a screen and allowed a one-one to the roll man, had an open dunk blocked by a 6-foot-0 player and committed two stupid fouls before the first media timeout. Buchanan would be a very good player for Virginia, but he’s not there yet.
Virginia’s offense against man-to-man defense
The two schemes the Cavaliers have for their true man defense, side and triangle, are both stuck in a quagmire. They keep the ball handlers away from the basket and don’t put them in positions to go downhill. The sides encourage jump shots with movement and the triangles allow for mid-range creation off the dribble, but neither scheme produces really good shots or puts players in advantageous situations with the current lineup. I can not do it.
When someone (typically McKneely) attacks confidently and aggressively, the system can work, but too often it becomes a stalemate and the Cavaliers are stuck on the offensive end. It looks like it is. Not every team plays defense as soft as Louisville, and even the 200th-ranked team held out man-to-man against the Cavaliers for much of the first half before the gears went out of whack late in the game. Hot shooting late in the game and good zone play helped the Cavaliers score a decent 77 points, but there are still reasons to be concerned about the offense.
read more
[ad_2]
Source link
