Virginia had won five straight times at Cassell Coliseum entering Monday night’s rivalry showdown with Virginia Tech. Despite that string of success, however, UVA squeaked out four of those victories by four points or less, including a pair of late comeback wins the past two seasons in Blacksburg. The No. 4 Hoos didn’t have another great escape in the tank Monday.
The Hokies led by 11 points entering the final two minutes and held on for the 70-68 upset win. The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak in the series and an 11-game winning streak this season for the Cavaliers.
“We weren’t very good tonight, and Virginia Tech was good,” UVA coach Tony Bennett said in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. “We’re not built that we can pick and choose our spots. Either we’re going to learn from this or we’re going to continue to struggle.”
While Bennett didn’t specify in the quote, one likely can safely assume that he was talking about his team’s defense. The Cavaliers have shown some inconsistency on that end of the floor this season. It certainly has not reached the air-tight ways of the Pack-Line Defense over the last two seasons.
Against Virginia Tech, those problems proved costly, particularly in the second half. The Hokies shot 57.7% after intermission Monday, which helped hold off an even better offensive half from the Cavaliers, who shot 59.3% in the second half. VT forward Zach LeDay took advantage of the openings with a trio of second-half 3-pointers and several straight-line drives throughout the game. He finished with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting. Seth Allen added 13 points and 3 assists, while Justin Bibbs tallied 16 points. Tech also got 10 points from Kerry Blackshear Jr. and 6 assists from Justin Robinson.
Allen hit a pair of 3-pointers with his last one breaking a 52-52 tie in the second half. Bibbs knocked down 4 of 5 triples, including a critical one that made it 62-56 in Tech’s favor. That shot came after Isaiah Wilkins blocked LeDay, but the Hoos couldn’t come up with a stop on the possession.
The Cavaliers have allowed better than 45% shooting four times over the past 35 days: Ohio State (50.0%), Villanova (49.1%), Notre Dame (48.2%), and VT (47.1%).
“We couldn’t come up with a stop and you know that’s what we need. You have to get it in those spots,” Bennett said. “We were just unsound. We were out of position, we weren’t as ready as we needed to be. They hit at least two or three threes where they got separation. A lack of communication sometimes and they exploited us.”
Despite the poor defensive effort, UVA rallied from the late 11-point deficit to make things interesting in the final moments. Virginia’s London Perrantes and Anthony Gill each made 3-pointers at the top of the key in the final two minutes, while Wilkins hit a long two-point jumper as well. Add in a drive from Gill and two free throws from Malcolm Brogdon plus some critical misses at the free throw line by the Hokies and suddenly Virginia had the final possession with a chance to tie or win.
Perrantes drove around the left side and attacked the basket, but he couldn’t get the ball to the rim through some defensive contact from Tech and the late rally fell short. Just before that drive, it appeared that VT’s Devin Wilson reached out to purposefully foul Perrantes thinking his team had a three-point lead as well. Still, while the Hoos appeared upset with the call, they didn’t dwell on it afterward.
“He might have gotten fouled, [but] we shouldn’t have been in that situation,” Brogdon said in The Daily Progress.
“We didn’t deserve to win that game, though we had a chance,” Bennett said. “It would have been nice to at least be at the line and send it into overtime. When you guard like that, defensively, and credit to Virginia Tech for making tough shots and getting on the glass, you can’t come up with stops. On the road you’re not just going to outscore people and certainly, they took it to us.“
The late rally was part of a strong second half on offense, particularly for Perrantes. Virginia made 16 of 27 shots after halfime (59.3%). Perrantes knocked down four 3-pointers early in the second half to push the visitors to the lead, but it didn’t stand. He finished with 22 points and 2 assists. Brogdon added 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists but he made just 1 of 5 triples. The Cavaliers also got 17 points and 8 rebounds from Gill.
That hot shooting helped cover up a poor first half (36.4%/8-22) of offense, but it did not cure the other big issue of the night: turnovers. UVA turned the ball over 16 times, which led to a 26-6 advantage in points off turnovers for the hosts. The Hokies had just 8 turnovers.
“I don’t think that we’re good enough for it to be pure basketball,” Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams said. “I think that it has to be more of a fight, pseudo basketball, because that’s what gives us our best chance.”
