Facing rotating defenses from Notre Dame at the John Paul Jones Arena, the Virginia basketball team had trouble establishing much rhythm for long stretches of action on Saturday. In the end, Kyle Guy and De’Andre Hunter served as life jackets to keep the offense afloat and that was enough for UVA to pull out a 60-54 win.
The Hoos completed the season sweep of the Irish with the victory. They’re now 22-2 overall and 10-2 in the ACC. They have posted a winning league record for eight years in a row.
“That’s about as good as we got. I’m proud of our group,” ND coach Mike Brey said. “They’re really good, and they can win the whole thing. We’re obviously very impressed with Virginia. You know, [De’Andre] Hunter just took over. He’s really, really good. We competed and stuck our nose in there, and for our developing group, that’s kind of what I wanted to see today.”
With the offense struggling to knock down shots throughout the game, the Cavaliers ended up at 36.5% shooting. That included just 34.8% shooting from 3-point range. Guy and Hunter buoyed the floundering offense with two big outings, though.
Guy made 7 of 15 shots, including 4 of 10 3-pointers, to finish with a game-high 22 points. He came through with four clutch free throws in the final 30 seconds as well when Notre Dame twice cut the lead to two. The junior also added 5 rebounds and 3 assists in 40 minutes.
Hunter, meanwhile, poured it on with 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 blocked shot. He made 6 of 11 shots, including 2 of 3 triples. Hunter earned repeated trips to the free throw line in the second half too where he made 6 of 7 at the stripe.
When you add it all up, that duo posted 42 points and combined for 25 of the team’s 31 after halftime. They shot 13 of 26 shots for 50% shooting, while the rest of the team made 6 of 26 attempts on the day. The biggest two makes among those 13 buckets came at a crucial time too.
After trailing by as many as nine points, Notre Dame had cut the deficit down to one when John Mooney, who had 11 points and 15 rebounds, scored in the paint to make it 45-44. Hunter and Guy stepped up with the next two buckets for the Hoos.
With 7:53 remaining, Hunter knocked down a catch-and-shoot jumper at the left elbow as T.J. Gibbs tried to recover to contest the shot. Moments later, it was Guy’s turn. Following the under 8 media timeout, the Hoos moved the ball around and found Guy in the right corner where he buried a 3-pointer with 6:40 to go in the game. Those two baskets made it 47-44 and sparked a 9-0 run that grew the lead to 10 points.
The Hoos had to stave off one last ND rally and survive a couple of shaky moments against fullcourt pressure, but Guy’s free throws helped put the game in the win column.
“It’s a credit to [Notre Dame],” Bennett said. “You never apologize for a victory in a league like this. And that was good play on their part. [There were] a couple of turnovers, a breakdown or two defensively, but we made enough plays and made the free throws. We were up by 10 with five minutes left and you would like to have gotten a shot every time and have made them earn it – they made a couple plays. But, concern, you want to clean that up and be better. We did enough against a team that was playing very solidly.”
Much of Virginia’s offensive issues stemmed from Notre Dame’s choice to rotate defenses any time it seemed like the hosts were gaining steam. Remember, the Hoos had blasted the Irish 82-55 in late January on the road so Brey knew his team had to establish itself defensively to have a chance. That led to a combination of 2-3 zone, though the Irish frequently matched up with man-to-man principles if the ball entered the high post (that’s one reason Hunter had such a big game), man to man, and some soft fullcourt pressure prior to the last-minute style to try to make a comeback.
The Cavaliers created some open opportunities against the varying styles even in the early going, but many times the looks seemed out of sync. Virginia’s coaches pushed for more ball movement against the Irish zone and more aggressive cutting against man defense to try to jumpstart the sluggish shooting. Eventually, the Wahoos repeatedly turned to Hunter in the high post to solve things in the second half.
Beyond Hunter and Guy, Virginia’s scoring came from Ty Jerome with 8 points and Mamadi Diakite with 5 points.
“I thought [De’Andre Hunter] made some really good plays in the high post and low post,” Bennett said. “[Notre Dame] was mixing in some zone and some man-to-man. We were trying to get the ball moving, stretch the zone and then get [De’Andre Hunter], or anybody really, touches in the high post. A lot of times when you touch the high post, they would match up and play man. That’s where, depending on who’s matched up, [you want] to be aggressive and try to make the right play. Certainly, De’Andre did that. He’s very good in that high post, whether it’s a one dribble pullup or a hard drive, and we needed that. When you don’t shoot the ball particularly well, and we got some really good looks, that challenges you when people are packing in a zone or doing what Notre Dame did.”
Virginia’s defense caused problems for Notre Dame too. Beyond Mooney’s double-double, Gibbs posted 17 points and 3 assists while D.J. Harvey chipped in 10 points and 6 rebounds. Nate Laszewski had 9 points.
Still, the Irish had trouble putting the ball in the basket consistently too and UVA forced a pair of shot clock violations in the first half as well. The visitors shot 34.5% for the game, including just 26.7% from 3-point range. Harvey was the only ND player at 50% as he made 4 of 8 shots on the day.
The Cavaliers were happy to find a way to win even when it wasn’t their best performance at home.
“I think that we are never going to apologize for a win, no matter what it looks like,” Guy said. “Those are Coach Bennett’s words. I think we are just happy that we got the win.”
