The Cavaliers moved to 2-0 on the season tonight with a 74-54 win over USC-Upstate. Virginia struggled early and only led by three, 31-28 at the half. Down the stretch, the Cavs pulled away. Mike Scott led the Cavaliers with 19 points and 12 rebounds.
Last Friday, Virginia opened its season with a 76-52 victory over William & Mary. A friend of mine, JP Stroman, was at the game and here were some of his thoughts he emailed to me about how the Cavs looked in the win:
"-Virginia struggled some in the first half, jumping out to some leads but never really pulling away from W&M until about midway through the second half. Credit Tony Bennett for lighting a fire under the team for the second half. The run that eventually helped them take control of the game was led by the sweet shooting of freshman guard Billy Baron, who sank several key three-pointers and led the Cavaliers with 19 points.
-Virginia's biggest issue was a lack of inside presence in the first half and most of the second half. Unlike in previous years, we actually have some size, with Assane Sene and Mike Scott clogging up the lane. Sene needs to use his length to swat away some shots and challenge guys on defense. He seemed a bit soft in this game. The guards also need to be more willing to drive to the basket and draw fouls. W&M's guards surely were.
-Virginia seemed to be living and dying by the three-point shot for most of the game, even after we took a big lead. Every time I see a team do that, I'm reminded of football coach Steve Spurrier's Fun-N-Gun offense that was prone to bad stretches and am concerned for the same reason. Like the Fun-N-Gun, which relied heavily on less-reliable passing plays and flopped in the NFL, making the three the focal point of your offense is fun... until the shots stop falling. Virginia can't count on hitting 52% of its three-pointers every game. That'll work against teams like William and Mary, but when we get into the meat of our ACC schedule, it could be potentially dangerous.
-Sene did provide the most electrifying play of the game, a two-handed dunk that more or less swung the momentum to the Cavaliers for the rest of the game.
-Highly touted freshman guard KT Harrell had a decent debut, starting at guard and scoring 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
-Sophomore guard Jontel Evans may end up being our "glue guy," the sort of player who does all the little things that don't show up on the stat sheet but that are vital to helping the team win. He was constantly chasing after loose balls and breaking up passes, especially in the second half. And had a really nice fast-break layup."
Next up, Virginia travels to play Stanford on Thursday.
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COMING TUESDAY, HOPEFULLY
A few thoughts about Virginia football's game against Maryland and the Cowboys' first win under interim head coach Jason Garrett.
Last Friday, Virginia opened its season with a 76-52 victory over William & Mary. A friend of mine, JP Stroman, was at the game and here were some of his thoughts he emailed to me about how the Cavs looked in the win:
"-Virginia struggled some in the first half, jumping out to some leads but never really pulling away from W&M until about midway through the second half. Credit Tony Bennett for lighting a fire under the team for the second half. The run that eventually helped them take control of the game was led by the sweet shooting of freshman guard Billy Baron, who sank several key three-pointers and led the Cavaliers with 19 points.
-Virginia's biggest issue was a lack of inside presence in the first half and most of the second half. Unlike in previous years, we actually have some size, with Assane Sene and Mike Scott clogging up the lane. Sene needs to use his length to swat away some shots and challenge guys on defense. He seemed a bit soft in this game. The guards also need to be more willing to drive to the basket and draw fouls. W&M's guards surely were.
-Virginia seemed to be living and dying by the three-point shot for most of the game, even after we took a big lead. Every time I see a team do that, I'm reminded of football coach Steve Spurrier's Fun-N-Gun offense that was prone to bad stretches and am concerned for the same reason. Like the Fun-N-Gun, which relied heavily on less-reliable passing plays and flopped in the NFL, making the three the focal point of your offense is fun... until the shots stop falling. Virginia can't count on hitting 52% of its three-pointers every game. That'll work against teams like William and Mary, but when we get into the meat of our ACC schedule, it could be potentially dangerous.
-Sene did provide the most electrifying play of the game, a two-handed dunk that more or less swung the momentum to the Cavaliers for the rest of the game.
-Highly touted freshman guard KT Harrell had a decent debut, starting at guard and scoring 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
-Sophomore guard Jontel Evans may end up being our "glue guy," the sort of player who does all the little things that don't show up on the stat sheet but that are vital to helping the team win. He was constantly chasing after loose balls and breaking up passes, especially in the second half. And had a really nice fast-break layup."
Next up, Virginia travels to play Stanford on Thursday.
--------------------------------------------------------
COMING TUESDAY, HOPEFULLY
A few thoughts about Virginia football's game against Maryland and the Cowboys' first win under interim head coach Jason Garrett.
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