Virginia’s early-season wins against then-No. 12 Villanova, No. 14 West Virginia and California were all nice. Even the recent victory against then-No. 8 Miami was impressive. But none compare to the statement the Cavaliers made Saturday against Louisville.
The Cardinals, winners of six of their last seven contests before Saturday, were as hot as any team in the conference not named North Carolina. In fact, a day before tipoff, columnist Rick Bozich of WDRB.com tabbed then-No. 16 Louisville as the conference’s most underrated team — and Virginia the most overrated.
But the tables turned about as sharply as they could Saturday in Virginia’s 63-47 win — the largest in the KFC Yum! Center’s six-year history. To Virginia Coach Tony Bennett, it marked the best he has seen his team play all season.
“It was our most complete game,” Bennett said.
Virginia (17-4, 6-3 ACC) improved to 4-0 against ranked teams this season, and climbed to No. 9 in the most recent polls.
Now in the midst of a four-game win streak, Virginia will host ACC bottom-dweller Boston College Wednesday at 7 p.m. The Eagles (7-14, 0-8 ACC) have lost eight conference games in a row and are 0-5 on the road this season.
The key for Virginia Saturday was its defensive effort. Hindered by the emphasis on freedom of movement in the new 2015-16 officiating rules, the Cavaliers have not played up to snuff this season, allowing teams to score 61.2 points per contest — well above the nation-best 51.5 points per game Virginia opponents scored last year.
“I think defense is a hard one to figure out for us,” Bennett said. “It just takes such a commitment to it.”
Against Louisville, however, the Virginia defense of old showed up. Even without the famed stalwarts Akil Mitchell and Darion Atkins, the defensive performance was reminiscent of those that became so common during the previous two ACC regular season championship runs.
The Cardinals, who score 79 points per game, only mustered 14 in the first half, where they shot 21 percent from the field — a season low for a Virginia opponent in either half.
Even Louisville’s 33 points in the second half was exaggerated, as Virginia inserted its walk-ons — senior forward Caid Kirven, junior forward Jeff Jones and freshman guard Justice Bartley — in the final minute.
On the other end, the Cavaliers were efficient as ever. Virginia shot 57.8 percent from the floor — the fifth time this season the Cavaliers shot at least 55 percent.
Senior forward Anthony Gill set the tone from a physicality standpoint. The former South Carolina transfer converted 6-of-9 field goal attempts, including several crowd-silencing dunks, in addition to his team-high six rebounds.
“Our game plan going against Virginia is what I told [my team] last year… if you are not close to them defensively, you have no chance of beating them,” Louisville Coach Rick Pitino said.
Another important factor in the win was Virginia dominating from the opening tipoff. The Cavaliers never trailed, leading for all but the first 21 seconds, when the game was tied.
Part of that start came from the energy of sophomore forward Isaiah Wilkins, who made his sixth start of the season and first since a Jan. 4 loss against Virginia Tech. At the under-four media timeout, Wilkins had a dunk, rebound and assist in addition to breaking up a lob which would have resulted in a Cardinal dunk. He also drew a charge in transition later in the first half.
Bennett stated after the game that he would have liked to start Wilkins in place of freshman center Jack Salt against Wake Forest, but the sophomore was sick. Saturday, he played 22 minutes, adding four points and two rebounds.
“I was nervous because [Louisville] is a team that rebounds so well and we were a little smaller, but he did the job,” Bennett said.
Virginia will face what should be a much easier foe in Boston College Wednesday. The Eagles are last in the ACC and the only team still without a conference win. In Boston College’s current eight-game losing streak, the Eagles are losing by an average of 21 points. Their closest margin of defeat coming against Florida State in 72-62 defeat.
KenPom.com lists Boston College as the No. 255 team in the land — the lowest in the conference. The next-lowest ACC competitor is Wake Forest at No. 120. With Virginia’s renewed defensive effectiveness, Bennett will hope to string together another masterpiece Wednesday against the No. 338 adjusted offense in the country — out of 351.
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