Blacksburg, Va. On paper, this is almost no contest. On paper, Virginia should demolish Virginia Tech. On paper, Virginia should be able to play on cruise control. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, this game was not played on paper but at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va.
Much has been made about the Cavaliers' road woes from a season ago, but this was supposed to be a whole new season. New look, new players, new assistant, new schemes, and new commitment. Right?
Wrong.
This year has been simply more of the same. The Cavaliers still do not know how to win games outside of the cozy confines of U-Hall, which became resoundingly clear last night in Virginia's 73-55 loss at the hands of a very hungry Hokie squad.
So what exactly is the problem? Simple. Composure, or more importantly a lack thereof.
This lack of composure was most clearly seen by those who the Cavaliers need to have the most, their guards. Sophomore Keith Jenifer and junior Todd Billet combined for more turnovers, 12, than the entire Virginia Tech team, who only let the ball slip away 11 times. These two guards were almost a non-factor in the game. Offensively most of their looks from the field were heavily contested and many of their passes where deflected by the long athletic Hokie guards. When it came down to crunch time, with over 8,000 Hokie fans screaming down the back of their necks, neither showed the ability to stay composed and execute. Forcing the action by over dribbling, firing away with quick shots, or trying to thread the needle with impossible passes simply played right into Virginia Tech's hands. The Hokies outscored Virginia 25-7 in the last 10 minutes of the game and made sure that there were a lot of happy people wearing maroon and orange.
Jenifer and Billet also were exposed defensively, as they could not handle their larger opponents when they got position in the paint.
Speaking of defensive miscues, that brings up another issue: Billet and Jenifer were not the only ones who couldn't stay focused on that side of the court.
Zone defense, man-to-man, it almost didn't matter as Virginia simply could not put it together defensively. No matter how many points you score, if you can't stop the other team, you don't win the game. At an electric Cassell Coliseum, the Cavaliers could not come up with the stops when they needed to.
Down by eight with under four minutes left, Billet managed to connect on a three that bounced off the rim straight into the air before swishing through to cut the lead to five and momentarily regain momentum. Fifteen seconds later, Virginia Tech junior forward Bryant Matthews stuffed home two of his career-high 30 points with a ferocious dunk.
The quick score is a prime example of how Virginia has yet to figure out how to stop players defensively when they need to. When a chance finally opened up to make a statement in the game, they were unable to take advantage of it by getting that key stop.
It's easy to talk about composure, but it is a whole other matter to show it. Composure is often one of the toughest things to demonstrate on the court. In Virginia's last three games, all on the road, all losses, this lack of discipline has resounded more clearly after every game. This is why Virginia has not made the leap from the cute little team that will beat Duke at home to a team that can honestly compete at a national level. On paper the Cavaliers more than have the ability to be the latter. If Gillen can figure out a way to get his team to stay focused and execute their game plan down the stretch, this should be the last time that the Cavaliers see a piece of paper as ugly as this box score.
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