Experience ruled the day Saturday at the John Paul Jones Arena.
In a December showdown between college basketball heavyweights, strong performances from three upper classmen led No. 8 Virginia to an 86-75 victory against No. 12 Villanova on Saturday. The Cavaliers improved to 9-1 on the season, which has included wins against Ohio State (Big Ten), West Virginia (Big 12), and Nova (Big East) with California (Pac 12) up next.
The Hoos used runs of 11-0 and 14-0 to take control of each half with an efficient offense leading the charge. They shot 56.5% overall against the Wildcats, who had allowed better than 40% shooting just twice this season before UVA’s outburst on Saturday.
“We played a better team today,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “Their attention to detail and their execution is just on another level than ours right now. We have an inexperienced team, and we will get better. We really will. We will learn from this and we will get better. The way they play, I have such great respect for them and how they play. Any little mistake you make execution wise, offensively or defensively, they take advantage of it.”
Indeed, Virginia’s experienced core set the tone in the win.
Senior Anthony Gill poured in 22 points and 7 rebounds. He missed just two attempts all day, shooting 8 of 9 from the floor and 6 of 7 from the free throw line. Fellow senior Malcolm Brogdon joined Gill in the 20-7 club. He posted 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. He made 2 of 3 3-pointers and both were significant. His triple at 12:05 in the second half gave UVA a 44-43 lead, which it never relinquished, and his trey at 1:56 helped finish off Villanova.
Junior point guard London Perrantes delivered some similar daggers in the second half too. First, he scored 6 points in 34 seconds to help grow Virginia’s advantage near the midway point of the second half. Then in the final five minutes, Perrantes nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to stymie a rally from the Wildcats. Villanova had closed to 65-62 when Perrantes knocked down a shot with 4:04 to go that doubled the lead. After a pair of free throws on the other end, Perrantes delivered again at the 3:30 mark with another 3-pointer.
Perrantes recorded 19 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 assist, and 4 turnovers.
“London stepped up,” UVA coach Tony Bennett said. “Early, he was a little frustrated with some of his turnovers. I could see it in his eyes. But he knows when to step up and be assertive. He did it against West Virginia in the second half. He made some big plays getting to the paint and hitting his threes. We needed to answer Villanova. I wish we could have held them down more, but we needed all of our offense to beat them today.”
“They played pretty hard defensively off the ball,” Perrantes said. “They wanted to get in the passing lanes. I think we took care of the ball and got some good shots every time down. In the first half, we had some silly turnovers. But, I think we got what we wanted the whole game. That goes to us being patient and taking what they give us.”
“That came from us not being able to guard [Malcolm] Brogdon one-on-one and him just driving the ball,” Wright said. “Early, we were trying to contain him so we could take away threes. We did a good job in the first half. And then they made an adjustment and had him just start driving the ball. We couldn’t contain him, so we started leaving shooters to help. And when we left shooters, there is a way you can leave shooters to help and still get back to the shooter. Every time we were over aggressive on leaving shooters, he found [London] Perrantes, and bang. When we got down and we double-teamed, they reversed the ball, and bang. That is what good teams do. It was choosing your poison there.”
Virginia’s 3-point shooting proved to be the ultimate poison in the matchup as the Hoos managed to counter Villanova’s long-range barrage. The Wildcats entered the contest making 9.4 triples per game and they knocked down 10 of 26 Saturday. Junior forward Kris Jenkins led the way by making 5 of 11 long-range shots as he finished with 23 points as part of a four-guard look that Villanova favors.
Still, UVA essentially matched that production with an 8-of-12 outing from beyond the arc. Perrantes made 3 of 4 triples, while Darius Thompson hit 2 of 2 attempts to go with Brogdon’s pair of 3-pointers. Thompson joined the aforementioned trio in double figures with 11 points despite some foul trouble. Devon Hall hit a trifecta as well. In fact, Perrantes, Thompson, Brogdon, and Hall each hit a 3-pointer during a 4-minute in the second half that mushroomed UVA’s lead to 13 points, the largest margin for either team during the game.
With outside shooting being a potential concern entering the season, Saturday’s outing pushed UVA past the 40-percent barrier on the season. The Cavaliers have made 62 of 153 3-pointers to sit at 40.5% for the season. That’s a scary thought for opponents as they prepare for the Hoos, who have gotten 10 straight double-figure scoring games from Gill on the inside as well.
“I really think they are [underrated offensively],” Wright said. “We knew they were a good offensive rebounding team, and we aren’t a great rebounding team, but I think they are an underrated offensive rebounding team. They did it to West Virginia also. That is part of offense obviously. But when you add [Darius] Thompson making shots like that, [Devon] Hall making threes, that is a dangerous team. [Anthony] Gill is just a beast. He is as efficient as anyone I’ve seen in a while in the post area.”
