After losing at Notre Dame a month earlier, the Virginia basketball team pulled off a 34-point turnaround from the 76-54 loss in South Bend with a 65-53 win in Charlottesville. The rematch featured hot outside shooting from both teams, but the Cavaliers prevailed behind 13 3-pointers from a trio of players. The Double Bonus is back for a closer look.

No Ice

UVA’s 3-point shooting landed at 52.0% (13-25) for the game with Jake Groves (6-8), Reece Beekman (4-7), and Isaac McKneely (3-5) all checking in at above 55%. Or above 70% in Groves’ case. Groves was so hot that it prompted a “groove Groves” joke from Tony Bennett after the game.

Part of the graduate transfer’s success came as a counter to Notre Dame’s defensive strategy. The Irish spent much of the game using ‘ice’ coverage against the Hoos’ screening actions. To ‘ice’ a screen means to move out in front of the offensive player before they can use a screen – essentially the defense is forcing the offense to refuse or go away from the screen. Think of it like putting the screen on ice. In many cases, this sends the action toward the baseline.

An effective counter to ice coverage though is to use the screener as a pop player that moves away from the ball behind the 3-point line. That’s because in ice coverage, the screen defender is providing help on the non-screener in the same way a hedge defender does if you allow the offensive player to use the screen. It’s necessary because the cutter’s defender has to overplay the offensive player in order to get him not to use the screen. That leaves a moment potentially where the screener on offense can get a clean look at the basket.

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