Virginia Basketball Double Bonus: Florida State

Virginia Cavaliers Kihei Clark
Kihei Clark scored 18 points in the Virginia win. ~ Photo By Kris Wright/TheSabre.com

The Virginia basketball team opened ACC play with a win (again) on Saturday against Florida State. The Hoos improved to 14-0 in ACC openers under Tony Bennett with the 62-57 victory and extended their undefeated start to 7-0 with only JMU left before the exam break.

The win felt a little sluggish – the word Bennett used to describe the first half in particular – as UVA scored under 70 points for the first time this season. The Seminoles and their switching philosophy on defense managed to disrupt the Cavaliers’ rhythm as much as anything because the hosts did still create plenty of open looks that simply didn’t go down. That was definitely true in the first half when Virginia shot a season-low 23.08%.

One thing spotted on the replay was how the Hoos tried to attack those switches before and after intermission. In the first half, they set screens to force those switches and then tried to attack through post-ups, high-low looks, or other similar tactics. In the second half, there was a concerted effort to get more things on the move instead of as many direct post feeds. That led to drive-and-kick 3’s for Armaan Franklin and Ben Vander Plas, for example, but also some easy catches for buckets in the paint for Jayden Gardner. To be clear, both tactics were in play in both halves, but the focus clearly shifted to include a heavier diet of movement plays in the second half.

What else can we take a closer look at in the Double Bonus? Let’s dive in.

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