Virginia returned from an 11-day exam break and promptly won two games to get to 10-1 and now is in the middle of a mini-Christmas break before beginning ACC play in a very tough way Wednesday at Louisville (Virginia does have one more non-conference game, Jan. 29 at defending champion Villanova). The No. 10 Cardinals played in a terrific and competitive game last time out, beating No. 6 Kentucky at home, 73-70, last Wednesday. Here's a look at Virginia's most recent two victories.
Virginia 79, Robert Morris 39 (Dec. 17): It took awhile for the Cavaliers to awake from their slumber at JPJ. The Colonials held a slight, 13-12 lead with fewer than seven minutes to go in the first half. From there, though, it was all Wahoos, as they finished the half up 32-18 and sealed one of their more dominating victories in the final 20 minutes despite the slow start. Kyle Guy and Devon Hall each put up 13 points -- a career high for Hall -- and Jack Salt and Jarred Reuter added 10 apiece -- a career high for Salt -- to pace the Cavaliers.
The great thing Virginia showed on offense in this game is an expanded arsenal. Names you don't see among the leading scorers are London Perrantes, Marial Shayok, and Isaiah Wilkins, guys you might expect to lead the team this season. Sure, the competition wasn't sharp, but Guy, just a true freshman, again stepped up and showed that he could be one of the team's main scorers (more on that later). He went 3 of 5 from 3-point land. Hall displayed more confidence on the offensive end and made 4 of 7 shots, including 1 of 2 from beyond the arc. Reuter and Salt have had to step up as post-scoring options after the dismissal of Austin Nichols and have done an admirable job. Reuter's progress is expected. He had a couple good games last season, including when he scored 11 against Cal. You could see he had some nice moves in the paint. Still, he has upped his production from 1.6 points and 1 rebound per game to 6.5 and 4.1. But Salt's progress has been amazing. He was described as a raw prospect when he redshirted at Virginia two seasons ago. Last year, he didn't show much, though he did have slightly better numbers than Reuter. I don't think anyone expected him to make the jump he has this season, though, as he's averaging 5.6 points and 3.5
rebounds. Virginia's defense was amazing as usual, holding a fourth opponent this season to fewer than 40 points.
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| Kyle Guy is starting to turn it up on the offensive end for the Cavaliers. |
Virginia 56, Cal 52 (Wednesday): The Cavaliers repaid the visit from the Golden Bears from a season ago but the result was the same for Cal: a narrow loss at the hands of the 'Hoos. The defeat snapped Cal's school-record 27-game home winning streak. The contest was a tight, back-and-forth affair until Virginia made some big plays down the stretch to pick up the big road win. Guy -- yep, that guy -- led the team with 17 points and Perrantes, in front of a large contingent from his Los Angeles hometown that came to see him, did not disappoint, adding 14, including the game's first nine points. Hall chipped in with seven points, Wilkins had five, Salt five, and Darius Thompson recorded five assists.
In this one, Guy stepped up against top competition, whereas he didn't exactly do that earlier in the year vs. Ohio State (two points) and West Virginia (seven, though his defense wasn't up to snuff, and Tony Bennett sat him down the stretch). Guy made 2 of 4 from beyond the arc and 6 of 10 overall, and calmly sank two free throws in a one-and-one opportunity with seconds to go to seal the victory. Seven of his 17 points came in a 97-second stretch of the second half that were critical because Virginia had just given away a nine-point lead and was in a six-minute scoring drought. The Indiana product has now scored in double digits in three consecutive games and five of 11 overall and could be on his way to being Virginia's leading scorer. Perrantes made 6 of 13 shots, but just 1 of 7 from deep. He's slumped to shooting 34.6 percent on 3-pointers after making almost 49 percent last season, so hopefully he can rediscover his range. Wilkins and Mamadi Diakite didn't have big games but came through in the clutch with Wilkins making a tiebreaking 3-point play (on an assist from Guy) with one minute left and Diakite converting on a deep two to extend the lead after a defensive stop.
After the final buzzer, Bennett, normally calm, pumped his fist wildly before getting serious again for the handshake. You could tell he knew this was a big win for this year's team, which has struggled against good teams, but really showed something by capturing victory on the road against a quality team and coach in Cuonzo Martin, who has really pushed Bennett and the Cavaliers the past two seasons. Heading into conference play, taking and passing this test was a great accomplishment for the Cavaliers.
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