Wisconsin 48, Virginia 38
Did not get a chance to preview this game but I will say I felt just about as good headed into this game as I did the Duke contest last season and the Cavs won that one, 73-68 (I felt about as confident as ever we would beat Duke). Virginia was coming off a six-game win streak and had just scored 76 and 83 points back-to-back to win the Corpus Christi Challenge in Texas, beating SMU and Missouri State. UVa had great success against the Badgers last year in Madison, upsetting the them 60-54. There was no sign that an offensive breakdown was coming.
But that's what happened. UVa's offense was absolutely putrid and it was the second-lowest offensive output for the 'Hoos in a game since the shot clock era, which began in 1986. UVa's 23.4 percent shooting was fourth-lowest in school history and it was the first time it had no scorers in double figures since a 2011 game vs. Maryland. Did I expect the game to be a bit of a slugfest? Definitely. These are annually -- since Tony Bennett arrived in Charlottesville -- two of the nation's premier defensive teams. But Wisconsin, despite being undefeated and ranked No. 8 heading into the matchup, actually was sporting one of its weaker defensive teams in recent years, giving up 66.3 points per game, about 13 more per game than Virginia. So given the offensive hot streak the 'Hoos were on and the fact that the Badgers were ranked lower in defense and rebounding than normal, I expected Virginia to give Wisconsin a much better game.
The Wahoos looked sloppy and timid on offense. No one could get into a flow -- the refs did not help -- but the loss was absolutely on Virginia's inability to get anything started offensively. The Cavs made just 1 of 11 3-pointers and the other offensive option seemed to be to drive into Wisconsin's tall interior and throw up a contested layup or 4- to 5-footer. It didn't work. In my opinion, Virginia should have been more patient with getting the ball down low instead of having the guards penetrate into the lane for contested layups. Something in between contested layups and 3-pointers -- ah, the lost art of the mid-range jumper -- should have been more a part of the arsenal.
Freshman point guard London Perrantes had one of his better scoring games, leading the team with eight points, but had zero assists for the first time in his short career to go along with two turnovers. Joe Harris had one of his worst offensive games ever, with two points on 1 of 10 shooting. Malcolm Brogdon, who has looked very good in his return to the team, had his worst game of the year with five points on 1 of 7 shooting. Down the list it went, a team with seemingly endless offensive weapons came up with nothing on this night.
With all that said, this was against a really good Wisconsin team which will probably finish in the top four of the Big Ten (despite the hyped up new ACC, the two conferences tied, 6-6, in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge), has yet to lose a game, and is traditionally known for stellar defense. Virginia played terribly on offense, pretty solid on defense, and just lost by 10. The fact UVa stuck around despite awful offense is probably a good thing.
Hopefully this means Virginia's worst offensive game of the year is out of its system. The Cavs turn around and have to play another Wisconsin school -- this one on the road -- on Saturday in Green Bay, which looks to have a pretty good team this year. The Phoenix, Virginia coach Tony Bennett's alma mater, are 4-2 and played this same Wisconsin team within three points at Green Bay (69-66). Their leading scorer, Keifer Sykes, is averaging 22.8 points per game. Alec Brown, a 7-foot-1 senior center, is second on the team with 11.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Like Frank Kaminsky on Wisconsin (a 7-foot center who can shoot the 3 but didn't make any vs. Virginia), Brown can shoot the 3 as well, making 9 of 17 so far this year. I'm concerned that Green Bay has a skilled 7-foot big man like Wisconsin did. Certainly Kaminsky gave Virginia trouble inside so hopefully the 'Hoos come into Saturday's game with a different strategy on how to attack offensively. Carrington Love is third on the team, averaging 10.7 points per game. Greg Mays and Vince Garrett round out the Phoenix's top five scorers, both pouring in 9.3 points per game. All of those players except Love (sophomore) are juniors or seniors, so this is a veteran team. Virginia will be in for a challenge facing this team on the road.
Green Bay's other loss was 76-64 to Harvard. The Phoenix's wins included a pair over Division II schools and also one over Pepperdine and one over Tulsa. Virginia's played Green Bay the last two seasons at home, coming away with 67-51 and 68-42 victories.
Did not get a chance to preview this game but I will say I felt just about as good headed into this game as I did the Duke contest last season and the Cavs won that one, 73-68 (I felt about as confident as ever we would beat Duke). Virginia was coming off a six-game win streak and had just scored 76 and 83 points back-to-back to win the Corpus Christi Challenge in Texas, beating SMU and Missouri State. UVa had great success against the Badgers last year in Madison, upsetting the them 60-54. There was no sign that an offensive breakdown was coming.
But that's what happened. UVa's offense was absolutely putrid and it was the second-lowest offensive output for the 'Hoos in a game since the shot clock era, which began in 1986. UVa's 23.4 percent shooting was fourth-lowest in school history and it was the first time it had no scorers in double figures since a 2011 game vs. Maryland. Did I expect the game to be a bit of a slugfest? Definitely. These are annually -- since Tony Bennett arrived in Charlottesville -- two of the nation's premier defensive teams. But Wisconsin, despite being undefeated and ranked No. 8 heading into the matchup, actually was sporting one of its weaker defensive teams in recent years, giving up 66.3 points per game, about 13 more per game than Virginia. So given the offensive hot streak the 'Hoos were on and the fact that the Badgers were ranked lower in defense and rebounding than normal, I expected Virginia to give Wisconsin a much better game.The Wahoos looked sloppy and timid on offense. No one could get into a flow -- the refs did not help -- but the loss was absolutely on Virginia's inability to get anything started offensively. The Cavs made just 1 of 11 3-pointers and the other offensive option seemed to be to drive into Wisconsin's tall interior and throw up a contested layup or 4- to 5-footer. It didn't work. In my opinion, Virginia should have been more patient with getting the ball down low instead of having the guards penetrate into the lane for contested layups. Something in between contested layups and 3-pointers -- ah, the lost art of the mid-range jumper -- should have been more a part of the arsenal.
Freshman point guard London Perrantes had one of his better scoring games, leading the team with eight points, but had zero assists for the first time in his short career to go along with two turnovers. Joe Harris had one of his worst offensive games ever, with two points on 1 of 10 shooting. Malcolm Brogdon, who has looked very good in his return to the team, had his worst game of the year with five points on 1 of 7 shooting. Down the list it went, a team with seemingly endless offensive weapons came up with nothing on this night.
With all that said, this was against a really good Wisconsin team which will probably finish in the top four of the Big Ten (despite the hyped up new ACC, the two conferences tied, 6-6, in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge), has yet to lose a game, and is traditionally known for stellar defense. Virginia played terribly on offense, pretty solid on defense, and just lost by 10. The fact UVa stuck around despite awful offense is probably a good thing.
Hopefully this means Virginia's worst offensive game of the year is out of its system. The Cavs turn around and have to play another Wisconsin school -- this one on the road -- on Saturday in Green Bay, which looks to have a pretty good team this year. The Phoenix, Virginia coach Tony Bennett's alma mater, are 4-2 and played this same Wisconsin team within three points at Green Bay (69-66). Their leading scorer, Keifer Sykes, is averaging 22.8 points per game. Alec Brown, a 7-foot-1 senior center, is second on the team with 11.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Like Frank Kaminsky on Wisconsin (a 7-foot center who can shoot the 3 but didn't make any vs. Virginia), Brown can shoot the 3 as well, making 9 of 17 so far this year. I'm concerned that Green Bay has a skilled 7-foot big man like Wisconsin did. Certainly Kaminsky gave Virginia trouble inside so hopefully the 'Hoos come into Saturday's game with a different strategy on how to attack offensively. Carrington Love is third on the team, averaging 10.7 points per game. Greg Mays and Vince Garrett round out the Phoenix's top five scorers, both pouring in 9.3 points per game. All of those players except Love (sophomore) are juniors or seniors, so this is a veteran team. Virginia will be in for a challenge facing this team on the road.
Green Bay's other loss was 76-64 to Harvard. The Phoenix's wins included a pair over Division II schools and also one over Pepperdine and one over Tulsa. Virginia's played Green Bay the last two seasons at home, coming away with 67-51 and 68-42 victories.
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