The Virginia basketball team won its second ACC Tournament title in the last five years this past weekend in Brooklyn. The Hoos capped off the run with a 64-58 win against Clemson and a 71-63 win against North Carolina.

Both games contained some interesting storylines and things that may matter in the NCAA Tournament when it starts Friday night for UVA. The Double Bonus is back to take a closer look.

Shallow Curls

One of the more interesting parts of the tourney run was the blast from the past that opened the second half and then continued down the stretch. Virginia began to have Kyle Guy either shallow curl – bending toward the free throw line area instead of tightly in toward the basket – or use dribble motion to move away from the path of the chasing defender. Curls, of course, always have been a big part of the offense and have played a big role as recently as the Miami road win, but the little flurry to start the second half reminded me a lot of the Joe Harris days.

After UNC sat in a 3/4 denial position against the posts (one foot and one hand in front of the offensive post player with the non-denial shoulder even with the offensive post player’s shoulder) and chased Guy off screens for most of the first half, the Cavaliers made the curl adjustments. In the first six minutes of the second half that led to dunks for Jack Salt and Isaiah Wilkins, both on Guy assists, and an elbow jumper for Guy. It continued at different points in the second half, including a jumper just after the 7:00 mark that made it a three-possession game.

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