Virginia moved to 7-5 with a 63-58 win over American in JPJ on Sunday afternoon. After a back and forth second half, the Hoos were able to pull away late to finish their non-conference slate with a win. Let’s look at some quick takeaways.
Despite shooting 42% from deep, UVA struggled with consistency throughout the game. With Andrew Rohde shooting 2/9, Isaac McKneely only 4/10, and a five minute scoring drought in the second half, Ron Sanchez’s squad seemed uncomfortable from the start. The stats don’t look awful; the Hoos shot 42% from three and committed only eight turnovers, but the continuity was off all game. This team lacks someone that can create their own bucket when they need one, especially when McKneely isn’t playing his best. Fortunately for the Hoos, a couple other players picked up the slack.
Saunders and Murray combined for 34 points on only 15 shots, with Saunders snatching eight rebounds along with his 21 points. After entering the game, Murray immediately sank a three and continued his sharp shooting from the Memphis performance, going 3/4 from deep on the day. Elijah Saunders did a little of everything, including 5/6 from the line in the last two minutes to ice the victory. UVA has struggled to find different players to step up at times this season, it was encouraging to see a great performance from these two.
Additionally, despite struggling with foul trouble, Blake Buchanan had a great defensive performance on Sunday, holding the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year, Matt Rogers, to only 12 points on a very inefficient 4/13 shooting. Rogers committed a couple frustration fouls in the second half as he never could get going offensively. The Cavaliers will need this physical presence for ACC play.
Jacob Cofie earned his second start, logging 25 minutes including all of crunch time. Clearly, Cofie has earned Coach Sanchez’s trust and made the most of his time, scoring six points and collecting seven rebounds. Advanced stats love Jacob Cofie because of his offensive and defensive efficiency, both of which were on display against American. On the flip side, TJ Power recorded a season low in minutes, playing only four. He has struggled to find any semblance of an offensive identity this year and Sanchez continues to look elsewhere for minutes at the forward position.
Another player who did not enter the game was Anthony Robinson. After an encouraging first half against Memphis, I expected to see more of Robinson against American, but instead Sanchez opted for a smaller lineup. The Hoos were struggling to defend the three point line, so it seems UVA wanted to keep a quicker lineup on the floor, but Robinson’s physical presence could have been key when Buchanan was not in the game.
After trailing by two with five minutes left, UVA went on a classic 7-0 Cavalanche, reminiscent of the Tony Bennett era. This was really the first time all game that UVA looked like the superior team. The Hoos found enough points and stops to secure a victory, but an offensive sequence with three minutes left highlights some of the issues UVA is facing.
Down two points with three minutes to play, Rohde took the ball up the court, dribbled around, then dribbled around some more, then took a pullup 17 foot jumper. It went in on Sunday, but this kind of offensive set is unsustainable, especially against ACC teams that will be more athletic. UVA must find ways to score to close out games. One highlight in this area was free throw shooting. Despite missing some early free throws, the Hoos went 5/6 to close out the game, with Saunders and Murray putting the game away with key makes on 1-and-1s. UVA seemed much more settled than they have in other close games this season, a welcome improvement after the Memphis loss Wednesday.
For all 40 minutes, UVA and American looked like two evenly matched teams playing a close, hard fought matchup. While American is a formidable team in the Patriot League, they are a team that UVA needs to be able to handle. American lost by 27 to St. Joseph’s this week. Earlier this year, they lost to UNC by 52. UVA fans know by now that this team is not the caliber of the Tar Heels, but this is not a game that the Hoos should be struggling in. The entire ACC does not look great this year, so UVA may be able to find enough wins to be competitive, but in order to compete with the likes of Duke, UNC, or Clemson, Coach Sanchez and his staff are going to need to make significant changes to the offensive scheme to find easy points.
The Hoos will enjoy a break for Christmas before hosting NC State in John Paul Jones Arena at noon on December 31st.
VIDEO/Transcript: Ron Sanchez Talks UVA Basketball’s Loss to Memphis
The Plus/Minus: Virginia Basketball Falters Down the Stretch to Memphis
Five Takeaways From Virginia’s 64-62 Loss to Memphis
Sanchez Gives Injury Update on Dai Dai Ames on Coach’s Corner Radio Show
Report: UVA Basketball Set to Host Bosnian Sharpshooter for Visit
Point/Counterpoint: Injury Reports and Gambling in College Sports
