The Virginia Cavaliers secured a win against Manhattan this Tuesday, a much needed bounce back after a brutal trip to the Bahamas which involved two blowout losses (to Tennessee and St. John’s, two really good teams for what it’s worth). Unfortunately, the 74-65 win wasn’t as commanding as Coach Ron Sanchez and the ’Hoos hoped for against a lesser opponent.
Holy Cross is perennially one of the worst teams in college basketball. They haven’t won more than 10 games since 2019, and they play in the Patriot League which is pretty much run by a team that shares its name with a toothpaste company (it’s Colgate — but Crest is better). That being said, they haven’t been as bad to start this season as they’re sporting a 4-3 record while only losing by an average of 15 points in their two games against legit opponents: Wisconsin and Rhode Island.
The post-Thanksgiving sleepies can affect power conference teams in buy games, so UVA needs to come out of the gate executing. Here’s a quick preview with two things to know, one player to watch, and a prediction for Friday’s game.
Time: Friday, November 29 at 4:00 PM EST
Watch: ESPN+
Two Things to Know
Holy Cross is young
Virginia will have the talent and experience advantage against Holy Cross. The Crusaders start three true freshmen guards, and they play just one senior who comes off the bench. According to KenPom they rank 323rd in D1 experience (Virginia is 232nd: still pretty young).
With freshmen comes freshman mistakes. Ron Sanchez needs to have the packline defense humming, and they should be able to overwhelm a young squad that hasn’t faced that type of defense. The Cavaliers need to force more turnovers than they have so far this season. This game should be a great opportunity to start that trend.
Holy Cross won a National Championship in 1947
This isn’t a strategical insight on the 2024 Holy Cross team, but it’s Thanksgiving and I thought it would be fun to give Holy Cross some props. When Dick Bennett was just three years old (Truman was president and the NBA hadn’t been formed yet), head coach Doggie Julian and freshman point guard Bob Cousy led the Crusaders to a national title.
My brief research revealed that Holy Cross didn’t even have a home court in 1947, they played home games at the Boston Garden. They went on a 23-game winning streak to close out the season, besting Oklahoma in Madison Square Garden in the championship, 58-47.
Kudos to the Crusaders for having one more national title than Virginia Tech.
One Player to Watch
G Max Green (#10)
Freshman guard Max Green leads the Crusaders in scoring at 12.6 points per game (41.4% shooting). The 6-foot-6 wing can hit three balls. He’s made 14 this season in seven games, and has three games with three or more made threes (wow that was a lot of “three” that I just wrote).
Holy Cross Freshman Max Green had a strong game today in the win against Sacred Heart. He finished with
25 Points
7 Rebounds
7/12 FG
5/6 3FGGreen showcased his shooting for his size along with his versatility leading his team in scoring and in rebounds pic.twitter.com/vyvyMmKFWF
— KJ (@KJ__Hoops) November 16, 2024
Green has a nice catch-and-shoot stroke, and with his height Virginia defenders will need to close out well on his shot attempts. I expect Andrew Rohde or McKneely to guard him most of the game, and they should make things difficult considering their experience in Virginia’s defensive system.
One Prediction
Holy Cross can hit threes (37.8% this season) and they’re comfortable playing at a slow tempo (317th in adjusted tempo). Those are things you need to do against Virginia. I think it’ll look like a post-Thanksgiving letdown in the first half (thinking like 27-23 ‘Hoos) before the team locks in and dominates in the second half. Blake Buchanan should feast down low, and Jacob Cofie could have a big impact as well with his size.
Virginia 71, Holy Cross 51
