After just 10 minutes of play, Virginia’s fate felt sealed. An emphatic slam by senior forward Aboubacar Traore doubled Louisville’s lead, put the Cavaliers (8-10, 1-5 ACC) in a 12-point hole and provided a wave of momentum that the Cardinals (14-5, 7-1 ACC) rode to an 81-67 victory. The KFC Yum! Center was on its feet Saturday afternoon, and Virginia’s all-time dominance of Louisville was clearly coming to an end.
Coming off of a heartbreaking loss Wednesday against Southern Methodist, Virginia and Interim Coach Ron Sanchez focused on one objective. They were to play hard for all 40 minutes, regardless of the outcome. Sanchez felt like his team fulfilled that challenge despite the blowout loss.
“We want to be on our feet at the end of the game,” Sanchez said. “None of us will be the best version of ourselves until we are utterly uncomfortable.”
It was Virginia’s relatively inept defense that sunk it Saturday afternoon — Louisville’s 81 points were the second-most Virginia has allowed all season. Four Cardinals reached double-figures, and most of them found their success in the paint. The hosts made just six three-pointers, with senior guard Reyne Smith, who attempted only three-pointers, making four on 11 attempts.
Virginia was also outrebounded in the game, recording 30 rebounds to Louisville’s 36. Sophomore forward Blake Buchanan continued to show flashes of stronger rebounding, striding in from seemingly nowhere to secure tough rebounds and give the Cavaliers additional possessions. These flashes remained inconsistent, though, and it was junior forward Elijah Saunders who led the team with 10 rebounds. Saunders also led the scoring charge with 19 points.
Another major cause for concern, which has quickly become a recurring theme, was the turnover margin. Virginia’s 15 turnovers more than doubled the Cardinals’ seven, allowing Louisville to capitalize for 20 points off turnovers. Saunders’ four turnovers, a team worst, were perhaps more indicative of how critical it was for the offense to have the ball in his hands than anything else. Behind him, poor passing and questionable choices by the guards allowed the turnovers to accumulate.
The problems keep piling up for the Cavaliers. Virginia once seemed capable of playing competitive games based only on the merit of its three-point shooting — in recent games, though, that hasn’t been the case. Saturday’s three-point mark of 26 percent was only a marginal improvement over the percentage in Wednesday’s loss, when the Cavaliers shot 4-26 from deep.
More worrisome are the players who have struggled. Junior guards Isaac McKneely and Andrew Rohde, two of Virginia’s most reliable three-point shooters, have made just one three-pointer each over the last two games. The two sharpshooters’ recent struggles have led Sanchez to lean more heavily on freshman guard Ishan Sharma, who made two three-pointers in each of the last two games but plays less than stellar defense in comparison to McKneely and Rohde.
Still, Sanchez is hopeful that McKneely will hit his stride. It starts with equal effort on both sides of the ball.
“The shots that we created for him today were what I would call ‘Isaac McKneely shots,’ shots he would normally make,” Sanchez said. “Isaac just has to decide, ‘I have to own my offensive matchup,’ just like, defensively, he’s trying to own his defensive matchup.”
The loss broke up Virginia’s historic run of dominance against Louisville. Its two consecutive losses against the Cardinals have ended a nine-game winning streak. Saturday’s defeat was just Virginia’s third ever at the KFC Yum! Center, in 11 games.
Tuesday’s game against Boston College represents a winnable matchup at home as the Cavaliers desperately try to break a five-game losing streak. The game begins at 7 p.m.
Read More
Wrestling gets destroyed by NC State in ACC opener
By Ryan Weiner | 2 hours agoVirginia's conference opener did not go exactly the way it wanted.
No. 9 women’s tennis breezes past James Madison in 7-0 victory
By Gracie Genereux | 2 hours agoVirginia's blazing start to the season sets up a titanic showdown.
No. 5 men’s tennis defeats No. 15 South Carolina in season-opener
By Thomas Baxter | 10 hours agoThe Cavaliers notched a quality victory to kick off the semester.
