There were many outstanding performances in yesterday's game: Anthony Morrow's ridiculous 6-for-9 3-point shooting on one side and Singletary's double-double on the other. Jeremis Smith's pounding inside for 18 points and Diane's confident shooting for 18 of his own.
My factor of the game, however, was not a player. As disappointing as it was to watch Singletary go out in round one in possibly his last game, a tip of the cap must go to Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt.
From the outset, the Yellow Jackets' defensive intentions were clear: They were not going to let Singletary score.
Sure, most teams try to keep it out of Singletary's hands as much as possible -- but not like this. Georgia Tech played help defense so fast and so far into the lane when Singletary drove that, after he dished, the open shooter had time to dust off the ball and still be wide open.
"Our whole game plan was to just to try to keep the ball out of his hands and make him work to get every catch," Hewitt said. "You've just got to try to keep the ball out of his hands and eliminate him from the game."
And, at the outset, I thought Hewitt's plan was going to backfire. Singletary is the ultimate playmaker and when left open, the rest of the Cavs know how to knock down shots. In the first half, they did, making eight of 17.
After all, this was exactly why the Cavaliers were picked to finish fifth in the conference before the season started; Virginia's numerous 3-point shooters in supporting roles are excellent complements to Singletary's versatility. Sure enough, at the half, Singletary already had eight assists. Less then two minutes into the second period, he tallied number 10.
Furthermore, when Virginia starts knocking down those open triples, confidence builds and dominos begin to fall. Whereas some teams feed off energy or suffocating defense, Virginia receives positive input -- in addition to the energy from Lars the lively Lithuanian -- from perimeter shooting.
Case in point: Mamadi Diane. Obviously one of Virginia's most prominent members of the supporting cast, Diane has been a tale of inconsistency all year long; however, his inconsistency has, ironically, consistently been derived from whether he makes shots early. If he makes shots early, he can go nuts; if he doesn't, he often disappears.
Diane's play and the team's shooting as a whole, however, is tangential, because Georgia Tech won the game, and did so convincingly. Why? Because there was no way Virginia could keep that up for 40 minutes, and Hewitt knew it.
Looking back on it now, I feel stupid for not seeing the suspicious parallel to Virginia's overtime loss to Georgia Tech in Charlottesville. In that game, Virginia also got off to a hot shooting start, hitting nine of 18 threes in the first half and led Georgia Tech at halftime 48-38.
But, remember what happened in the second, and ultimately in overtime? The Cavs ran out of gas. They shot 2-14 from behind the arc in the second, and got scorched in overtime en route to a 92-82 Georgia Tech victory.
So, when Virginia got off to a similarly hot start last night, Hewitt wasn't worried.
"If we did not play them earlier in the year in Charlottesville, I would have been worried," Hewitt said. "But it was very similar; they made nine threes in the first half. We just told our kids, 'Just keep the tempo going, and hopefully their legs would leave them.'"
Like clockwork, Virginia struggled to 1-for-6 3-point shooting in the second half last night. And, in yesterday's victory, Hewitt got a bonus the first time around -- his squad shot lights-out in the opening period, too, and went to halftime up 2 points. The result? Instead of having to come back as in the first game, the Yellow Jackets' charge was merely to win the second half against a tiring Virginia team.
Perhaps most shockingly, the unthinkable happened to Singletary: He got tired. Leitao was forced to pull him earlier and more often then he would have liked, and Singletary played 33 minutes instead of his usual 35 to 37. While that might not seem like much, we all know how tenuous Virginia is with every moment Singletary is on the bench.
"It's very, very difficult to have two people guard you 94 feet, set up the offense, make a play for yourself, make a play for your teammate," Leitao said. "Then, to come down and have to guard two very aggressive point guards in Causey and Miller ... that gets anybody winded."
I hope Singletary gets to play another game, even if is in the College Basketball Invitational, or "Can't Believe it Tournament," as the Charlottesville's Daily Progress so lovingly put it. This loss sure doesn't help the chances of that scenario, however, and the fans were certainly aware of that. With 36 seconds remaining, Singletary subbed out. As Singletary put his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath, the packed house at the Charlotte Bobcats Arena gave the senior a standing ovation.
"I was fairly aware everybody was applauding," Singletary said. "Nobody wants to go out losing, and that's tough, but I really appreciate all the support that folks are giving me."
I suppose that this ending wasn't so bad -- Virginia's run is going to have to end in a loss barring a CBI or NIT championship. At least he did it in front of an appreciative crowd.
He has Paul Hewitt to thank for it.
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