Virginia 71, Miami 58
Nothing typified Virginia’s victory over Miami on Saturday quite like the Cavaliers’ 50-second possession with around five minutes left in the game.
It was an awkward one for UVa (14-9, 8-5 ACC) and featured a near turnover and two badly missed shots by Armaan Franklin. But on the first shot, Franklin gathered his own miss and on the second, Francisco Caffaro wound up with the ball. Eventually, Kihei Clark buried a deep 3-pointer that also buried any last-ditch hopes of a comeback for Miami (16-7, 8-4).
Finally, this was a game in which just about everything seemed to go Virginia’s way against one of the ACC’s better teams. Coming into the contest, the Wahoos, in sixth place in the conference, had lost every game it had played against teams above them in the standings. This type of performance had to feel like a long time coming for the players and coach Tony Bennett. Even though the setbacks and disappointments have been obvious this year, it’s now becoming obvious there has been steady improvement as well.
“I think we’ve slowly been improving,” Bennett told the media after the game. “And sometimes in that improvement … we’ll take a step back here and there, but slowly there’s been improvement in terms of that, and the experience of more games and guys playing together, I think, has helped. But that’s what you’re always chasing: chasing quality, chasing improvement. I think guys are a little more settled in and understand what it’s going to take and how you have to play.”
Armaan Franklin made three triples and scored 22 points against the Hurricanes.
The star of the game Saturday, Franklin, didn’t have too many misses like that pair on the long possession. The Indianapolis native had his best game as a Cavalier, and he played like a man possessed in the first half, when he had 15 points and made 3 of his 5 3-pointers. His personal 7-0 run early in the game gave UVa a 14-10 edge, a lead it didn’t give up. Franklin finished with 22 points and went 8 of 16 from the field, adding four steals, four assists, and three rebounds.
Jayden Gardner had 12 points on 6-for-9 shooting, with 10 coming in the second half. He added seven rebounds, four assists, and a steal.
Clark had 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting, including a 3-for-5 showing from beyond the arc. Clark also posted three assists, three steals, and two rebounds.
Reece Beekman was close to a double-double with 9 points, 10 assists, two rebounds, two steals, and a block. He went 4 for 6 from the field and made his lone 3 in what was another excellent performance, one that is becoming more common for him.
Francisco Caffaro made all four of his shots on his way to 8 points, five rebounds, and an assist. His back-to-the-basket game has greatly improved. A couple of years ago, I was hoping he’d be Jack Salt with more of an offensive game. Does he do some of the other things as well as Salt did? No. But it’s safe to say at this point that his offensive game has advanced past Salt’s.
For the bench guys, Kadin Shedrick went 3 for 3 and scored 6 points in addition to recording four rebounds. Kody Stattmann got in on the 3-point action as well, making his one deep attempt for 3 points.
Sensing a theme? Lots of good shooting. Virginia shot 60 percent from the floor, its best mark in an ACC game this season. The Cavaliers went 8 for 15 from beyond the arc.
“Well, I would say Tony Bennett’s a hell of a coach,” said Miami coach Jim Larranaga, whose team tried zoning Virginia at times as well. It didn’t matter.
UVa had a season-high 23 assists and an ACC-best 11 steals, too. The “three M’s” that so many fans wanted to see when Virginia was struggling in some other games — Taine Murray, Igor Milicic Jr., and Carson McCorkle — even got into the game late, plus Chase Coleman and Malachi Poindexter.
So dominant was Virginia that those last five in for UVa allowed an 8-0 run over the last 95 seconds and yet, Miami’s 58 points still represented its season low.
Don’t look now, but UVa has won three of four games, all by double digits. The team has indeed improved, but it may be too late for an NCAA tournament push. The Cavaliers would really need to kick some butt to put themselves in the middle of an at-large argument on Selection Sunday, thanks in part to another down year for the ACC. Those near comeback wins against James Madison and Iowa plus the collapse versus Wake Forest are hurting right now. And you can certainly throw the Navy, Clemson, and N.C. State losses on the pile as well.
But still, even if a possible late-season surge ends up being too little, too late for a Big Dance berth, it’ll still make the rest of the year more fun — to go into games with more confidence we will see a Virginia performance that is more like what we got so used to over the years. On Saturday, it was like “old” times if you will, especially for those of us whose fandoms don’t go back to the Ralph Sampson era.
The Cavaliers may get to play spoiler down the stretch against some of the ACC’s tougher teams. I am sure that a clicking UVa team is one of the last things the league’s coaches want to see. And let’s face it: A down ACC means every team can be had. A few weeks ago, this stretch run of the campaign was looking more daunting. But it doesn’t look as bad now.
Virginia plays Duke twice, starting Monday on the road. Now, I can guarantee you the Blue Devils won’t be shooting zero free throws like Miami did Saturday. It’s going to be an uphill battle to win in Cameron during Mike Krzyzewski’s final season — we know that. But now we can at least entertain the thought of Virginia looking competitive.
And who knows? Weird things can happen. Duke blew North Carolina out of the water Saturday, but it has had its share of “meh” performances as well. Duke lost at home to the same Miami team the ‘Hoos just beat. The Blue Devils lost to Florida State, which has now fallen in four straight games. Duke also found itself down at home against Virginia Tech at halftime and only defeated Clemson by 2 points, also in Cameron, a game in which the Tigers shot just one free throw. Clemson coach Brad Brownell was asked about that after the game. He replied, “Uh, yes,” when asked if he was surprised his team took one free throw. Then he said, “That’s happened before here, too.” So yeah, I am again hinting that we should all know what to expect Monday regarding officiating.
However, Duke is beatable, just like everyone else. And on Feb. 23, Virginia will get another crack at the Blue Devils at JPJ.
“You’re going in to play one of the best teams in the country with probably the best talent or one of the most talented teams and in that setting,” Bennett said about Monday’s matchup. “So you get as ready as you can. And you approach it with joy, and you play as hard as you can. … This is why you don’t get too down when you lose, and you don’t get too up when you win. You just keep approaching quality, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
After Duke on Monday, Georgia Tech comes to JPJ. Josh Pastner’s Yellow Jackets are having a tough time this season, finding themselves in last place in the conference. After the Jackets, Virginia has to travel to Blacksburg. Tech appeared to be in freefall but rescued its season, perhaps, by winning at Florida State on Jan. 29, though some of the luster is now wearing off that victory. The Hokies have now won three in a row, albeit with the last two coming against Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh. They will be fired up to get revenge on the ‘Hoos and will likely play better than they did in Charlottesville, but the Wahoos are playing better as well.
After VT, Virginia goes to Miami, and with the way the Cavaliers just beat the ‘Canes, you have to at least give them a good chance to win that one as well. Virginia also has the aforementioned Seminoles on the docket. FSU has given fits to good Virginia teams over the years, but the ‘Noles are really sliding right now, and that game is in Charlottesville. So all of a sudden, the prospects for that matchup are better than they were. And then in the last game of the season, Virginia visits Louisville, which parted ways with coach Chris Mack after the ‘Hoos beat the Cardinals a couple weeks ago. Since then, Louisville has played both Duke and Carolina tough, but it lost to Syracuse in a blowout Saturday and has now dropped four consecutive contests.
So are these last few weeks more challenging than the earlier portion of Virginia’s ACC slate? Yes. But it’s possible the ‘Hoos can still pick up several wins. Would success result in a tourney invitation? It’s going to be tough, but if nothing else, we should be getting pretty confident we will at least have more fun watching some of these games down the stretch. No matter what, we can expect the coaches and players to keep pushing to be better.
“Each game is an opportunity to play and to see if you’ve improved and go after it,” Bennett said. “But I’m not naive enough to think, ‘Oh, yeah, we got it.'”
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