Virginia kept up its winning ways with a 66-51 victory at Boston College on Saturday. The Cavaliers have won six true road games this season as part of their 17-0 start. The Double Bonus takes a closer look at the latest win in Boston.

The Drive & Flare

UVa’s base motion offense has been discussed frequently in the Double Bonus series, dating all the way back to the beginning of ACC play last season when the Hoos reinstalled this system. A good look at the basic tenets is in this Wake Forest Double Bonus article from last season. There are repeated baseline and flare screens in the offense.

A recurring theme this season has been how the coaching staff and players make subtle adjustments within the system to take advantage of opponent’s defensive styles. One example would be the Cleveland State-Harvard article that discussed a slight adjustment for the post players on curl cuts in those two contests.

Another small wrinkle available within the system appeared at Boston College. The Cavaliers repeatedly used a flare cut without a screen during the BC game to get the ball to its guards in open shooting position above the free throw line. This is different than the usual flare screen look in the offense where the top guard passes and then either flares or wraps off a high post area screen. Against the Eagles, the top guard passed and then read the new ballhandler’s decision for a moment.

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