The Virginia Cavaliers (6-4) pulled out a 59-41 win against the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats (2-7) on Thursday night in John Paul Jones Arena. Despite a dreadfully stale, low-scoring first-half, the ‘Hoos managed to shift momentum, highlighted by Jacob Cofie’s double-double and Ishan Sharma’s four-of-seven from deep.
Here are our four takeaways for the ‘Hoos moving forward.
Sharma saved Virginia’s stale first-half offense
The first half looked more like a scrimmage than a December game, riddled with silly mistakes and ineffective offense. Within the first four minutes, the ‘Hoos had two turnovers, a shooting foul, and a mere two points. After the first initial bucket, the ‘Hoos didn’t score again until the 7:50 mark, when Ishan Sharma hit his first of four from beyond the arc, three of which came in the final stretch of the first half. He was, without a doubt, the offensive lifeline from the bench.
“[I] just try to come in and give life,” Sharma said after the game. With twelve points, three assists, and five rebounds, it’s safe to say he did his job.
Still, Virginia’s first-half offense had no movement and relied, too much, on missed three-point attempts. The team was 7-of-23 from deep for the night, but saw even easy block buckets rattle off the rim in the first 20 minutes. The first-half performance is a warning sign to shooters like Isaac Mckneely: when the ball isn’t dropping from three, we have got to find another way.
The ‘Hoos failed to adapt until the second half, which included two successful lobs to Elijah Saunders and successful cuts down low. The offense clearly suffers when plays don’t initiative movement—they aren’t a self-starting offense and guys like McKneely or Sharma can’t be expected to be hot shooters every time.
Jacob Cofie’s double-double added heart to the post
Virginia had some work to do in the post after their loss to SMU on Saturday and, while the first half was discouraging, Jacob Cofie’s 12 points and 10 rebounds against Bethune are a good start. The ‘Hoos had a collective 43 rebounds on the night—ten of which were offensive (although UVA still missed too many easy “gimme points” and put-backs). Plus, Saunders’ 15 points and momentum-shifting dunk off of a lob from Rohde topped it off.
But, credit to Black Buchanan who showed grit and hustle through both halves. In fact, he scored the first points of the game with a dunk (the two points that lasted nearly a quarter of the game) after winning the jump ball. Buchanan ended with nine rebounds, three blocks, and a beautiful assist to Saunders for a second momentum-assuring dunk.
After Sharma broke the scoring drought from deep, the energy was arguably carried in the post—whether it be Rhode (finally) taking a successful drive to the basket late in the second half or dumps to Cofie, Buchanan down low—Virginia was better when they played big and aggressively against a much smaller Bethune defense.
Virginia hasn’t escaped its turnover curse
That’s right. The ‘Hoos had eleven turnovers that contributed to a self-conscious offense. The starting five players committed nine turnovers over the course of the game, three of which from McKneely who has, this season, built a habit of telegraphing passes into traffic.
Especially with freshman Dai Dai Ames out with an ankle injury, Virginia is struggling to establish a reliable ball-handler. Too many turnovers come from poor passes at the top of the key (or even an off-the-foot dribble). Combined with an overall poor shooting performance in the first half, the guards are fumbling on their top priority.
Close games against non-conference opponents are nerve-wracking for ACC success
It’s the elephant in the room: Bethune was 2-6 before their loss to Virginia. And, it wasn’t a run-away game for the ‘Hoos. While Virginia’s now 6-4 record is no secret, a nail-biting win against Bethune isn’t necessarily cause for celebration. Upcoming conference play looks daunting if we can’t manage a run-away win in early season games.
While Ron Sanchez must have talked some sense into the team at halftime, it feels like the ‘Hoos are always losing one of the two halves—and not by close calls. The team needs to dramatically—and quickly—develop consistency. And while life off the bench has been the saving grace, the team could benefit from a more reliable lineup to build chemistry moving into tougher competition.
