Virginia Basketball Double Bonus: NC State, UNC

The Double Bonus provides analysis on Virginia basketball.
Kyle Guy and the Hoos got payback against North Carolina. ~ Mike Ingalls

The old saying goes that revenge is a dish best served cold. The Virginia basketball team wanted nothing to do with that adage against North Carolina, though. Just nine days after losing its most lopsided game in more than three years, UVA issued a history-making defeat to UNC. The Double Bonus returns for a closer look at the Hoos’ two recent wins.

The Cavaliers uncorked a vintage bottle of defense against the Tar Heels on Monday, shutting down the visitors in a 53-43 victory. That represented the lowest point total for any team with Roy Williams as the head coach. the previous low had been 45 points both at Carolina and Kansas. It marked the program’s lowest point total since 1979 before the arrival of the shot clock.

UVA’s defense held North Carolina to 35.4% shooting, including just 27.6% after halftime. The Tar Heels made only four 3-pointers (25% on 4-16 shooting) and five free throws (71.4% on 5-7). They dished out 12 assists with 14 turnovers.

Plus, the Hoos logged 8 blocked shots with 6 steals. The 8 blocked shots matched a season high. It also extended a season-long trend previously discussed in the Double Bonus. The Cavaliers currently own a block percentage (estimate of the percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked) of 9.0%, good enough for 18th nationally. This is the best season yet during the Tony Bennett era. It’s up almost 3% from last year’s 6.4%, which ranked 129th. In order of the previous six years, UVA posted 4.8% (253rd), 5.7% (199th), 5.5% (205th), 8.7% (31st), 8.0% (73rd), and 8.5% (41st).

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