The Virginia basketball team grabbed a 64-57 win against Clemson on Tuesday. That clinched a top 4 seed and double bye at the ACC Tournament. The Double Bonus is back for a closer look.

Sides, No Surprise

The Cavaliers suffered through a rough stretch offense during the last half of February. They manufactured just 38.1% shooting (88-231) over a four-game stretch that included two losses and two close wins. With that prologue, it was not surprising to see what Tony Bennett turned to in an effort to get things back on track. For two reasons, really. One, the ‘Sides’ motion, mover-blocker scheme is the system he knows inside and out and it’s been a staple of UVA basketball throughout his tenure. Two, there was the added factor of Clemson being next and the Hoos gave the Tigers fits last season in January with a heavy dose of the scheme. Read about that here.

Things did not start well Tuesday, though it should be noted that Virginia did not come right out of the gates in ‘Sides’ either. The hosts missed their first 8 shots of the night and trailed 5-0 early as a result. After that sluggish opening segment, however, UVA found its way by shooting 47.8% (22-46) over the final 35 minutes of action. And, yes, ‘Sides’ was heavily featured.

Among the plays that worked well were pocket passes to Jayden Gardner sliding along the baseline as he earned free throw trips in both halves and knocked down some short jumpers stepping out from screens. The Cavaliers also got pull-up jumpers for Reece Beekman and Armaan Franklin at times plus there was the three-point play for Isaac McKneely when he wrapped around a screen and scored at the rim while getting fouled.

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