Virginia wrapped up its season at the John Paul Jones Arena with another victory Saturday, this time sending Virginia Tech away with a 69-57 defeat. It marked the third straight season that the Cavaliers have won at least 15 home games. In other words, it’s been a good time to go the JPJ for games because you almost always leave happy if you’re a Hoo fan! The Double Bonus looks at the latest W.

Managing Mismatches

In Virginia Tech’s first season under coach Buzz Williams, one of the biggest challenges has been an undersized roster. Satchel Pierce is the only true big man at 7’0″ that gets regular minutes. So when you’re a Virginia fan looking at that and UVa’s post roster of Darion Atkins, Anthony Gill, Mike Tobey, and Isaiah Wilkins, the immediate reaction is naturally “PUT THE BALL INSIDE!”

Ultimately, that’s exactly what the Hoos did with Atkins and Gill both posting huge days on offense. Atkins finished with 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting (2 of 5 free throws), 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocked shots, and 2 steals. Gill recorded 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting (4 of 5 free throws), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 blocked shot, and 1 steal.

Of course, attacking those mismatches isn’t as easy as it might seem. VT played physical on some possessions, flopped at the slightest contact on others, double-teamed at times, and surrounded the paint with a shifting zone too. That can lead to offensive foul calls, walks on no calls (as happened to Gill on one play where the defender flopped), or just out-of-rhythm shots despite the significant size advantage around the blocks.

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