The rivalry rematch between Virginia and Virginia Tech remained competitive throughout, but the Hoos could never take the lead on the scoreboard and ultimately fell in Blacksburg for the third straight time. The Double Bonus returns for a closer look.

Virginia Switches On Defense

Virginia had its problem on defense all day long. The Hokies took the 74-68 win behind 50.9% shooting in the game, a number that climbed to 56.0% in the second half when they made 14 of 25 shots. That’s the second ACC road loss of 2023 where the opponent simply dismantled UVA’s defense after halftime as Pittsburgh shot 51.7% in the second half to win 68-65 in that matchup. The Hoos have just three more conference road games remaining with Louisville (2/15), Boston College (2/22), and UNC (2/25) falling in a 10-day span later this month.

But back to VT for now. Virginia’s defense in the first five minutes told the tale of the whole day. Tech got two wide-open 3’s and an easy cut for a layup among its first points. On all three buckets, UVA’s execution was extremely poor in terms of communication and with awareness of the next action coming. Within those early minutes, there was also some foreshadowing.

On the first possession of the game, Virginia caught Virginia Tech on a defensive switch when Ben Vander Plas set an on-ball screen for Kihei Clark. The ball moved to Jayden Gardner at the top of the key for a high-low pass when Sean Pedulla fronted the post defensively. The pass over the top hit Vander Plas, but he could not turn it into points as Pedulla made a play. Vander Plas ended up scoreless for the day.

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