Virginia extended its home winning streak to 19 games on Wednesday night by defeating NC State 61-51. That 10-point margin gave UVa 18 wins by double digits during this 19-game stretch. The Double Bonus is back to look close at the victory.

Triangle Motion

In the Double Bonus article on Maryland and VCU a few weeks back, I mentioned that the Cavaliers sometimes use what I called a triangle motion on offense. TheGrinch, a Sabre EDGE poster, asked for a longer explanation and the NCSU game provided a good opportunity for that because the Hoos dialed it up at least five times in the game. Interestingly, the only trio that ran the three-man motion was Malcolm Brogdon, Mike Tobey, and Evan Nolte.

The general concept puts two players on the wings that remain in a mostly stationary position, moving only to get themselves open if necessary. Those two players serve as outlets for reversal passes, drive-and-kick looks, and other similar roles. Strategically, this offers an opportunity for two players to catch their breath on offense so that they can remain steady on the defensive end of the floor.

The other three players – Brogdon, Tobey, and Nolte – play inside of those two wings while usually aligned in a triangle of some sort (one on the block two above the free throw line or two on the blocks and one above the free throw line as examples). Here is a look at the general formation of the play, along with the first two motion actions from the first possession described below:

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