With anticipation running high for the start of the season, the No. 24 Virginia men’s basketball team delivered in its season opener. The Cavaliers kept James Madison out of sorts all night and grabbed a comfortable 61-41 win as a result. UVa is 9-0 in the all-time series with JMU.
The workman-like victory, however, reminded the Hoos that they still have plenty of work to do as the campaign opens.
“I think that can be said about the beginning of every season. I think it would be a problem if we were perfect at the beginning of the year and we had nothing to build off of for the rest of the season,” said senior Joe Harris, who had 5 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 assist. “So the fact that we might have been a little sloppy in some areas or weren’t working hard enough defensively or picking up on schemes, any of that stuff, it isn’t a bad thing. That’s the way the beginning of the season usually starts. And it’s good for us to go back to the drawing board, have something to learn from, and try to be more productive from here on out.”
As is often the case with early season games, Virginia struggled with consistency and some sloppy play on the offensive end. The team finished 25-of-60 shooting (41.7%) and posted just 9 assists on those made baskets. The Cavs struggled from 3-point range where they went 4 of 18 (22.2%) and at the free throw line where they made just 7 of 14 attempts (50.0%). The team finished with only 9 turnovers, but had several close calls and out-of-rhythm looks from off-kilter passing.
Simply put, it was an inefficient night that had some stretches with bright spots. The biggest problem may have been UVa’s players trying to be the one to make the play and trying to squeeze too difficult of passes into tight spots. Most of those were simply bad choices where a simpler pass or a ball reversal first would have sufficed. For example, Malcolm Brogdon, who looked comfortable at point guard in the first half, had 2 turnovers in the second half trying to thread the needle on a pass after jumping in the air.
“I felt like all of us were doing it. I had two silly turnovers. I feel like that is rust for all of us and I’m glad we got it out of our system in the first game rather than VCU,” said Brogdon, who posted 9 points (3-4 3-pointers), 6 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 assist in his first game back after redshirting last season to rehab after surgery to correct a foot injury. “I think we’ll fix it and be ready for next week.”
A lot of credit can go to JMU for mixing it up on defense. The Dukes used varying zones, man to man, and even box-and-one briefly. That seemed to throw the Hoos out of rhythm, particularly when the ball got stuck outside the paint for too many possessions. When the Cavs turned their attention down low, it was effective. Sophomores Anthony Gill and Mike Tobey combined for 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Gill went 5 of 5 for 13 points in his Hoo debut, while Tobey added 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
By midway into the second half, Madison began to double team Tobey (successfully) and others. Darion Atkins, who added 8 points and 11 rebounds (tied his career high), made that strategy fail with several good passes out of the post area that got easy buckets for Akil Mitchell or got the ball moving for good opportunities as the defense recovered. The senior chipped in 7 points.
“They were unconventional in the way they guarded us, by switching from man-to-man to a zone. They kept changing things up and we coudn’t quite get comfortable and I thought that was smart on their part. We finally got a beat on it,” Cavalier coach Tony Bennett said. “Our shot selection early, everyone took the first chance they got. There were some open looks and they just let it fly. … We said let’s rotate the ball and get on the paint. We had a size advantage. I didn’t do a good job early on thinking ‘Are they running a zone or a man?’ We called too many things and our guys weren’t too steady. Then we decided we just be simple and just run what we have been doing and look to touch the paint.”
“It was discussed in the huddle. We knew that we have bigs that are going to be better than other teams. We do have some skilled bigs with Darion, AG, Mike Tobey, and Akil, so we know that is a mismatch against other teams,” said UVa freshman London Perrantes, who played 25 minutes in his debut and recorded 2 steals and 1 assist. “So we found out if we get it inside, we’re going to get easy buckets.”
It didn’t take as long for the Hoos to get going on defense. The Pack-Line knocked JMU off stride early and the Dukes never got it going save for a few open shots here and there. UVa held the visitors to 31.3% shooting (15 of 48) overall and 24.0% shooting from 3-point range (6 of 25). Forward Andrey Semenov never found a comfort zone as he posted 8 points on 3-of-12 shooting. Only Tom Vodanovich hit double figures with 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Still, the Cavaliers indicated even that area needs to be better tuned moving forward.
“I thought our defense was OK. They didn’t get a lot of clean looks, but we didn’t contest well enough. We weren’t there on every shot, we weren’t there on most shots like we needed to be,” Brogdon said. “We had a few letdowns. They didn’t touch the paint much, but they had too many open threes and I think that’s what kept them in the game for a little bit.”
The only remaining story line of the night became the absence of true freshman Devon Hall. He was the only Cavalier that did not play. A redshirt year is a possibility for him according to Bennett. Hall originally planned to be a 2014 recruit before reclassifying back into the 2013 class and signing with the Hoos.
“The plan is to consider redshirting Devon. We talked about that. Right now, I am comfortable with a nine-man rotation. That doesn’t mean we wouldn’t go ten and it doesn’t mean that foul trouble, injuries, [and] things couldn’t make that change,” Bennett said. “With Devon, he’s going to be OK. He’s young. … I just think his future is bright. I do. … I think you have to think long term. I told Devon, it’s your decision and I always give that and I’m not saying you can’t work yourself into the rotation but right now here’s where I see it and I want you to make your decision based on that. That’s where it came from. It wasn’t 100% I want to do this because you could make a case either way, but that’s the direction we’re going to go for now.”
