In its home opener against Norfolk State, the Virginia men’s basketball team trailed for the first time this season. The deficit lasted all of 18 seconds.
After leading wire to wire in a 79-51 road win at James Madison on Friday, UVa saw NSU edge ahead 6-5 Sunday. The Wahoos uncorked a 21-4 run in response and never looked back on the way to their second lopsided victory of the year. The Hoos led by 20 points or more for the entire second half and dispatched the Spartans 67-39.
“We used the term in the pre-game ‘No prancing and dancing.’ We said it was our home opener, we were coming off a road win, there is no prancing and dancing. Just get straight to work and don’t try to be anything but who you have to be,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “That was the approach tonight and I thought they responded to that pretty well. To get guys to accept that it is a grind, a blue-collar possession approach, is hard.”
While the Wahoos weren’t preening at the John Paul Jones Arena on Sunday – they didn’t have a banner-raising ceremony as last season’s ACC Champions for example – they did show off … their shooting skills that is. The team made 10 of 21 three-pointers on the night, a 47.6% clip that started with an eight-of-11 sharp-shooting display (72.7%) in the first half.
In fact, much of the 21-4 bell-answering surge in the first half came behind the three-point line as the Cavaliers forced the Spartans out of zone looks in the first 10 minutes. Of the eight buckets during that run, five came from downtown as four different players canned a triple. Malcolm Brogdon pushed the Hoos back in front with a three-pointer that made it 8-6 with 14:06 remaining and then added another after a Mike Tobey dunk. London Perrantes (12:02), Marial Shayok (10:51), and Evan Nolte (10:16) followed with a two-minute barrage and Norfolk State never recovered.
“It’s very demoralizing. We didn’t practice that way. We prepared better than what we showed. We knew who the shooters were and what they do. It looks like we never worked on a flat screen in practice. Even some of our defensive game, which is usually effective against teams and against Virginia in previous years, we just didn’t execute well at all,” State coach Robert Jones said. “They got too many wide-open threes. We did a better job in the second half when they only made two of 10, but the first half had already gotten them going. And in a situation like this, 13,000 people in the gym, home opener, we wanted to strike first and we didn’t. They kept striking, and over and over again.”
Brogdon, Perrantes, and Shayok each finished with two three-pointers each. Perrantes added seven points and four assists, while Brogdon chipped in six points and three assists. Shayok ended up with eight points, two assists, and two steals.
Interestingly, however, none of those players topped the three-point charts for the Hoos on Sunday. That spot belonged to Justin Anderson for the second straight game as he made three of five triples on the night to finish with a team-high 11 points. He registered four rebounds, four assists, and one steal too.
The ability of those players to knock down shots opened up the interior as the game progressed. Tobey led the way down low with 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and two blocked shots, but the Cavaliers got a balanced attack there too. Anthony Gill added nine points and eight rebounds, while Darion Atkins made all four of his shots to finish with nine points, two blocks, and two steals.
No one really needed to create their own offense for those points, though. Virginia racked up 19 assists on 23 made field goals (23 of 53, 43.4%).
“I feel like we have a lot of offensive weapons. We said that a lot during the summer and now people can see it,” UVa guard London Perrantes said after his season debut. “We have a lot of freshmen stepping up and playing good minutes. We also have a lot of depth and a lot of experience from all the older guys. It’s good that we are all unselfish and are capable of making that next pass and the open shot.”
With the offense finding its stride like that, it didn’t leave Norfolk State with much of a chance thanks to Virginia’s defense. The Wahoos suffocated the Spartans to the tune of 23.5% shooting (12 of 51). The visitors made just five shots inside the arc as the Pack-Line defense shut down the paint. Only Jeff Short, who gave his team that short-lived lead in the first half, cracked the code as he finished with 19 of his team’s 39 points.
That marks the ninth time in the Bennett era that Virginia has held its opponent to less than 40 points. The Hoos also had 11 blocks, led by Gill’s career-high three blocks and three more from freshman Isaiah Wilkins. That’s the most swatted shots since Feb. 13, 2007 against Longwood (12).
“It’s tough. We ended up getting some decent looks that we just couldn’t make. We shot five for 34 from the two-point range. And it’s not like all of those shots were contested,” Jones said. “I think the moment, for some of our eight new guys, was just too big for what it really was. It’s just a game of basketball.”
Wow, the NSU coach sure had a difficult time giving UVA credit. I know it has to be frustrating to get blown out, but come on, Virginia’s D is possibly the best in the country, so he can hardly act like it’s a “we beat ourselves” kind of situation.
On a brighter note – through two games, it appears the team may be even more balanced than a year ago, which has to be frightening for the rest of the ACC. We’ll know a lot more after tests from GW and Harvard (although the Crimson did just lose to Holy Cross…).
Really impressed by the calmness and control displayed by Brogdon, Perrantes, Gill, Anderson, Tobey, and Atkins. No forcing shots or reckless play at either end of the floor. The vets are setting a strong example for the rookies. Devon Hall and Mariel Shayok are playing really well. Hope TB can keep them moving along in harmony. Big upside.