Virginia is getting ready to hit the court against Purdue in about 30 minutes. In honor of this important game (and it is an important game,) I am recording my thoughts prior to the start of the game, at halftime and immediately following the game. Here goes...
PRE-GAME:
Three things stand out in my mind prior to this game:
1) Virginia needs this win. Yes I know, it's still November and Purdue is not even an ACC opponent. What I also know is Virginia was atrocious last year on the road -- going 1-7 away from U-Hall in conference play. This team needs to learn how to win on the road before the heart of ACC play begins -- and that process begins tonight.
2) Virginia's glaring weakness in my mind is its low post defense. Granted, junior Tunji Soroye has been out with a groin injury. But even with him in the mix, I question Virginia's ability to shut down a top-notch post player (ahem... Tyler Hansbrough.) The Cavaliers face one of the country's best post players tonight in Purdue's Carl Landry. ESPN's Jay Bilas thinks he might be the best big man in the Big 10, and that includes all-world freshman Greg Oden. I think tonight's game hinges on Virginia's ability to, at the very least, slow down Landry.
3) Will the real Jason Cain please stand up? The senior Cain had an absolute monster game against Maryland Eastern Shore over the weekend. If Cain can become a third go-to option for Virginia in the clutch, this team might just knock off the Boilermakers on the road and justify its early season ranking.
It's game time kids, see you in an hour.
HALFTIME: Virginia behind 23-26
Virginia played well below its ability in the first half. Yet, the Cavaliers find themselves down only three. After leading much of the first half, Virginia's offense really struggled towards the later moments in the first. It has become painfully clear that this team simply cannot survive an off night by junior point guard Sean Singletary -- which is exactly what has occurred thus far. When Singletary is on his game, Virginia runs a fluid, capable half-court offense. With Singletary on the bench or playing out of control (both of which happened in the first half), the Cavalier offense appears confused and relies too heavily on the three.
The good news for Cav fans is Purdue has not shown an ability to do much well in the first half. Landry, the Boilermakers' star forward, has been held in check by a combination of Ryan Pettinella and Soroye, with the Cavaliers double and triple-teaming him whenever possible.
If the Cavaliers can continue to play good team defense, they should be able to pull out a win tonight in West Lafayette. They are going to need Singletary, however, to play like Singletary.
POST-GAME: Virginia falls
In the end, even an improved second half performance by Singletary was not enough for Virginia to earn its first road win. Two things stand out following tonight's performance.
1) Virginia must improve its transition defense. Purdue built its lead early in the second half by out-hustling Virginia down the court. The Cavalier s left too many Boilermaker shooters open throughout the second half.
2) Singletary cannot carry this team alone. It is a familiar story for Virginia fans. Certain Cavaliers stepped up at certain times, but no Cavalier consistently produced down the stretch to take some of the burden off Singletary and his 21-point performance.
The Cavaliers return home this weekend for the start of ACC play against N.C. State. It is on the road, however, that the Cavaliers still need to figure out how to win.
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