'Hoos smack Tribe after long break as they gear up for shot at No. 1 Gonzaga

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No. 16 Virginia 76, William & Mary 40

No. 16 Virginia vs. No. 1 Gonzaga in Fort Worth, Texas, Saturday, 4 p.m. CBS

With a long, COVID-induced layoff behind it and a matchup with No. 1 Gonzaga looming, No. 16 Virginia looked like it was itching to get back on the court Tuesday at John Paul Jones Arena against William & Mary, dispatching the Tribe with ease.

“I don’t even remember the last time we played,” Kadin Shedrick said after the game. “It felt really good to be out there.”

If you’re like Shedrick and need to jog your memory, the last time the Wahoos (4-1) played before Tuesday was Dec. 4 at home against Kent State. They had to battle for a 71-64 overtime win.

Things went much more smoothly versus W&M (2-3).

UVa bolted out to a 24-6 lead in the opening eight minutes and change. The rest of the half was more ragged, but the Cavaliers still led 36-14 at the break after Sam Hauser drained a 3-pointer from the corner with 30 seconds left.

It took a little while for the players to find their footing in the second half, but eventually Virginia pulled away, building the lead to 30 points for the first time at the 5:15 mark. UVa outscored W&M 40-26 in the second 20 minutes. It was actually the first time the Cavaliers outscored their opponent in the second half since the opener against Towson. It also was the largest margin of victory this season, nipping that Towson margin (89-54) by 1 point. And it was the first time in 2020-21 that UVa held its foe to fewer than 50 points, something it has done 102 times in the Tony Bennett era.

“Really, I think that quarantine put a little bit of hunger in us, and we were all just so eager to play, and when we came back [to practice this past] Saturday, it was just clicking,” said Trey Murphy III (in photo), who earned his first start and led Virginia with 15 points, his most since dropping 21 versus Towson. “It was crazy that we were out for 10 days and that first practice back, it was one of our better practices.”

It wasn’t an A+ effort, but it was just what was needed after the extended time off as the ‘Hoos prepare to head to Fort Worth, Texas, for the big showdown with the Zags. Bennett, of course, though he acknowledged the team looked sharp and focused for the most part, said it will need to be even better to pull off the victory this Saturday.

“I think you’re going to have to be better in every area,” he said. “I’m not saying we were poor, but that’s just the reality of it.”

If you can think back that far, you may recall that Kihei Clark was dropped from the starting lineup the past two games in favor of Reece Beekman. But against Kent State, Clark still played 38 minutes and helped will the team to the win.

Clark was back in the starting lineup versus W&M and picked up where he left off, scoring the game’s first points on a runner in the lane. He had a solid game, tallying 6 points, four assists, two steals, and just one turnover in 31 minutes.

The other starters were the usual pairing of Hauser and Jay Huff, and Tomas Woldetensae started his third consecutive contest.

Murphy also tallied four rebounds and three assists as he impressed in his debut as a starter. The transfer from Rice made 6 of 9 shots from the field, including 3 of 6 from beyond the arc.

Shedrick was the only other player in double figures with 10 points. He added seven rebounds and a block in 16 good minutes.

Hauser and Huff each put up 9 points. Hauser went 3 of 7 from deep (he didn’t take any 2s) and added three rebounds and two assists in 32 minutes. Huff went 1 for 2 from deep and also recorded four rebounds, three blocks, an assist, and a steal in 17 minutes. Early in the second half, there was a sequence when W&M got an easy layup, and Hauser and Huff could be seen arguing about who was supposed to be covering that player.

Beekman and Casey Morsell each had 6 points. Beekman also put up four assists, two rebounds, and a steal in 14 minutes. He did not have a turnover. Morsell had two rebounds, a steal, and a block in 17 minutes.

Woldetensae posted 5 points and went 1 for 4 on 3s. He also had two rebounds and a steal in 16 minutes. His one trey was a really nice step-back to make the score 5-0.

After starting the first four games, Justin McKoy came off the bench for seven minutes, tallying 3 points, a rebound, and an assist.

Jabri Abdur-Rahim posted 2 points, a rebound, and a steal. Francisco Caffaro recorded 2 points on two free throws and had two boards.

Area local Austin Katstra (Albemarle High School) got in on the fun at the end of the game, hitting a triple for Virginia’s final points.

Kody Stattmann was in street clothes on the bench.

Virginia shot 50.9% from the field, made 9 of 26 from beyond the arc (34.6%), and went 11 of 14 at the line. W&M managed to shoot just 28% on field goals and went 3 of 17 from long range. Yuri Covington was the Tribe’s only double-figure scorer with 12 points.

The ‘Hoos outrebounded W&M 35-29 but did give up a few too many second chances. But they did a good job of limiting turnovers, recording just seven, while helping force the Tribe into 17.

Virginia held a dunk fest out of the gate. Clark missed a 3, and Huff was there for the put-back slam and a 7-0 lead. Clark had nice feeds to Murphy and Shedrick that they finished with dunks. Hauser found Morsell for a baseline jam.

Another nice sequence in the first half occurred when Huff blocked a shot right to Beekman, who took off on a fast-break. He passed to Murphy, who finished with a layup plus a foul.

The second half featured its share of highlights as well.

Clark found Huff for an alley-oop off a pick-and-roll, and Huff went all spin-o-rama for another jam on a helpless player’s face. Beekman poked away a pass for a steal and went in for a layup. Shedrick dunked when Beekman’s shot (or pass??) went high off the backboard. Later, Shedrick had a flying backward layup plus a foul off a definite pass from Beekman. Abdur-Rahim went to the floor to battle for possession of a loose ball, threw it to Beekman, and he found McKoy for a breakaway dunk. And of course, there was Katstra’s 3-pointer — a trey for a walk-on is always cause for celebration.

It’s tough to know just how good the Cavaliers are right now. They have had dominant stretches, so-so stretches, and bad stretches. At times, they look the part of a Final Four contender. At other times, we are left wondering if there will be enough time for all of this talent to meld together into a single, cohesive, enemy-demolishing unit.

The season has, understandably, had such an odd feel so far. Part of that is COVID, and part of that is the team integrating all the new parts. Plus, the pre-ACC schedule is shorter than usual, meaning there have been fewer games to get ready for conference play. The first ACC contest is only a week away, Dec. 30 at Notre Dame.

The team was supposed to have already faced Florida, Michigan State, and Villanova, and none of those games came to fruition. Each would have been a good litmus test for just how good Virginia can be, and how far it may have to go. But barring another cancellation — which of course could happen — the Wahoos will finally get the chance Saturday to test themselves against a big boy.

No matter what happens, some fans will undoubtedly overreact, whether positively or negatively, but the players are just ready to go.

“Things that you can’t control, you can’t have a negative reaction to it,” Murphy said of not facing a big-name opponent thus far. “And so I just had to move on because we know we’re going to get our opportunity, and I’m looking forward to that on Saturday.

Photo credit: Andrew Shurtleff/The Daily Progress

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