The Virginia basketball team advanced to the ACC Tournament Semifinals for the seventh time in the last nine events Thursday night with a 68-59 win against North Carolina. The Double Bonus returns for a closer look.

Virginia Vs. Drop Or Switch Coverage

Some of the main themes in the Double Bonus article from the UVA-UNC game in Chapel Hill focused on Virginia’s offense playing against drop coverage or switch coverage. The Heels used both again at times in this tournament rematch, but UVA found a lot more success consistently in this meeting.

First, here are a few clips against drop coverage. Remember, that’s when the screener’s defender plays off of the screener and toward the basket (dropping toward the basket to absorb the dribbler’s potential attack). The Cavaliers broke down this tactic in the tournament by scoring over that defender, both by shooting and passing the ball.

In this first clip, Reece Beekman came off a screen from Ryan Dunn with some open space. He spotted Puff Johnson retreating in drop coverage to protect against a lob to Dunn and slid through the lane to score.

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