In a conference that boasts four of the nation’s top 10 teams, lack of offensive rhythm on any given evening can quickly lead to a resounding defeat. The Virginia men’s basketball team must cope with its most recent stagnant performance as it tries tonight to prevent a three-game conference slide.
Maryland (12-5, 1-2 ACC), fresh off consecutive losses to Miami and Florida State, will give Virginia a chance to rebound from this past week’s disappointment. Despite their recent losing streak, the Terrapins pose a formidable threat and could give the struggling Virginia squad its eighth loss of the year.
While Thursday night’s North Carolina game lingers in the past as an example of a blown opportunity, coach Dave Leitao and his team will try to solve their offensive woes before they move into the thick of their conference schedule. For the Cavaliers, the answer seems to lie in their shot selection.
“I felt like we were off balance on offense,” junior forward Jamil Tucker said. “Just having that, every shot’s not going to be as good as it could’ve [been] if we were in rhythm. I feel like a lot of my shots did come a little bit forced.”
Tucker was not the only one who felt his decision-making could improve in the future; many Cavaliers noted their inability to find a rhythm and hit open shots. In particular, freshman guard Sylven Landesberg, who has emerged as the number one option for Virginia this season, had trouble making jump shots and could not adjust when North Carolina played to prevent his patented drives into the lane.
“You could tell their game plan [went] real good for them,” junior guard Calvin Baker said. “They tried to take the drive away, force him to shoot ... I think they did a real good job of guarding Sylven.”
In addition, Leitao seemed to think 3-point specialist sophomore guard Mustapha Farrakhan also could have chosen his shots better. While Farrakhan’s four 3-pointers in the final minutes against Virginia Tech nearly allowed the team to overcome a 15-point deficit, his hot hand went cold against the Tar Heel defense. He finished 4-15 on field goals for the evening, including only 2-7 from beyond the arc.
“I’m not sure all 11 [missed shots] were either good or bad,” Leitao said. “He made his first one and then went through a stretch where I know, especially when he drove, he was off-balance on some of those, and those are not good shots.”
Farrakhan noted that he was not letting the large number of misses affect his mindset. He insisted that his shots were good ones — it was just a matter of finding a rhythm.
“It was a bit frustrating,” Farrakhan said. “Knowing that I can shoot the ball pretty good and seeing them rattle in and out — I mean, sometimes it gets a little frustrating. I just try not to let it get into my psyche; I was thinking the next four were going to go in.”
Leitao noted that the team’s lack of foul line production was a product of an impatient offense as well. Against North Carolina, the Tar Heels more than tripled Virginia’s free throw production.
“It’s different things — it’s settling, it’s not running — as I mentioned — quality offense; if you get the ball, as I keep saying, below 15 feet enough — and I don’t think that we have — you look down the line,” Leitao said. “Sylven’s about the only guy that gets fouled a lot ... We’ve got to do a better job at realizing that and working to get the ball in a position to get fouled more.”
North Carolina’s degree of talent may have magnified the Cavaliers’ problems, but the team recognizes that things must change, and change quickly, if they want to beat Maryland and try to stay competitive in the ACC race.
Baker described the team’s mindset heading into the game: “We feel like we have to win against Maryland.”
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