A Close Call for the Virginia Cavaliers

On Saturday afternoon, the Virginia Cavaliers faced another challenge from a lower-tier ACC team, narrowly escaping with a 73-66 victory on the road against Boston College. Despite trailing at halftime, the ‘Hoos managed to score 46 points in the second half, taking the lead for the first time at the 15:31 mark and maintaining their offensive pressure throughout the game. Thijs De Ridder led the way with 17 points, while Malik Thomas (14 points) and Chance Mallory (11 points) also contributed significantly.

A Win with Room for Improvement

While it’s easy to critique UVA’s performance after an underwhelming win, the fact that they managed to secure the victory is a positive sign. The hope was for the ‘Hoos to bounce back quickly after the North Carolina collapse with get-right games against teams in the bottom third of the ACC standings. However, given that a rut was bound to happen, timing it well wasn’t too bad.

The resume-boosting wins at Louisville and SMU are already in Virginia’s back pocket. Now, it’s time for the players to get their act together, gain some confidence back, and play to their full potential once again.

Exploiting Defensive Flaws

One of the key issues for Virginia was their half-court defense. As previously discussed, the Wahoo defense is at its best when the guards are running shooters off the three-point line, and the shot blockers — namely Johann Gruenloh and Ugo Onyenso — are able to sit back and protect the rim. This strategy worked initially, but Notre Dame used a unique schematic approach, going five-out to pull Gruenloh and Onyenso from the basket, and torching the ‘Hoos with ball screen action and deep shot-making.

Boston College had offensive success in a different way. A notably poor shooting team, the Eagles attacked Virginia’s front court with their own bigs. The Cavaliers were outclassed physically by Boden Kapke and Jayden Hastings, who combined for 26 points on 9-of-12 from the field. This kind of interior play had not been previously thrown at the ‘Hoos in conference play, and they were clearly caught off guard.

Struggles with Pace

Virginia struggled in transition on both ends in this game. In the first half, Boston College ended up with two uncontested breakaway layups, which were not the result of sloppy turnovers, but rather the inability to get back on defense after shot attempts. This is the clear risk of heavily pursuing the offensive glass with guards and pressing in the backcourt. However, this aggressiveness can work, and has worked in the past.

Virginia’s offensive transition opportunities were few and far between in this contest, but even when they did arise, it did not typically end well either. These scenarios are another thing that Odom and staff need to put an emphasis on cleaning up.

Adjusting Scoring Strategies

Despite shooting just 4-of-23 from deep, the Cavaliers eventually ditched their identity en route to their strong second-half offensive effort. Mallory has been a godsend to this team, and he is always the place to start in this conversation. His quickness allowed him to get to the rim and draw contact and/or finish on several occasions.

Thomas, who has completely cooled down from his shooting barrage, had more spurts of the three-level scorer he was at San Francisco. After his own flurry of beating opposing guards off the bounce for layups, Thomas drained a tough midrange late in the shot clock with about six minutes remaining to keep UVA in front.

The Rise of Thijs De Ridder

While De Ridder is slowly coming into his own defensively, he has fully figured it out on the offensive end. His 17 points came on 7-of-10 shooting, with all his makes coming from around the basket. The first-year from Belgium was the focal point of Virginia’s offense on Saturday. While Boston College’s aforementioned bigs are strong and physical, De Ridder is even bigger and badder, continuing to show the ability to will his way to the basket and finish.

De Ridder’s shooting touch certainly adds to his package as well. While he only attempted one three-pointer in this one, his 37% season average makes his perimeter pump fake awfully tempting, which ultimately helped him gain leverage downhill. At the line, De Ridder is now 36-for-42 (86%) in his last six games, including a 3-for-4 mark in this one.

Looking Ahead

The Wahoos return to JPJ to take on another struggling team in Pitt. Opening tip is scheduled for Tuesday, February 3 at 9 pm.