Virginia’s men’s basketball team added another big win to this season’s total when it defeated Villanova on Saturday, 86-75. The Cavaliers are now 9-1 this season with victories against Ohio State, William & Mary, and West Virginia in December as well.

The win against the Wildcats provided some nice check-up statistics:

• UVA is 89-20 under Tony Bennett at the John Paul Jones Arena.
• The Hoos scored at least 80 points for the sixth time in 10 games this season.
• Anthony Gill has scored in double figures in all 10 games, while Malcolm Brogdon has hit the mark in nine straight games – Darius Thompson has done the same for five straight games.
• Since losing by 35 points (87-52) at Tennessee on Dec. 30, 2013, UVA has lost only eight games by a total of 35 points (69-65 at Duke, 75-69 at Maryland in OT, 61-59 to Michigan State in Sweet 16, 69-63 to Duke at JPJ, 59-57 at Louisville, 71-67 to UNC at 2015 ACC Tournament, 60-54 to Michigan State in 2015 NCAA Tournament, and 73-68 at George Washington). That’s a record of 60-8 with an average margin of defeat of 4.375 points.

So what leads to all that success? San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich says that “what wins is consistency and competitiveness” when you drill down to the core. Well, UVA certainly has that act down as one of the nation’s most efficient and most unrelenting teams. That’s coach Tony Bennett’s “outlast” mantra in a nutshell.

Let’s take a look at some of the keys to the Villanova win as well as a couple of big picture items in the return of the Double Bonus!

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