There were not many fans in the Watsco Center to see it happen, but Virginia’s road losing streak finally reached its long-awaited conclusion.
Three-point shooting proved the difference in the Cavaliers’ (10-11, 3-7 ACC) 82-71 victory over Miami. Virginia did it with an undemocratic scoring attack, as 62 of its points came from the trio of junior guard Isaac McKneely, senior guard Taine Murray and sophomore forward Blake Buchanan.
The Hurricanes (4-17, 0-10 ACC) collapsed under the three-point onslaught, missing a chance at their first ACC win of the season and sinking further into the undertow of a 10-game losing streak. Jim Larrañaga, the team’s longtime head coach, retired earlier this season, leaving his program in a similarly knotty position as their opponents Wednesday. In the end, it was the Cavaliers who prevailed in a bout between two historically solid programs, each a world away from the expectations of seasons past.
It wasn’t exactly an inspiring display on either side. Virginia’s offense and defense both looked far from their most beautiful, especially without two starters, junior guard Andrew Rohde and junior forward Elijah Saunders. And McKneely, Interim Coach Ron Sanchez noted, was not feeling his best. But Virginia fought anyway.
“When guys are laying it on the line, you want to win every game,” Sanchez said. “I’m just proud of the fact that our guys continue to fight.”
Despite Miami’s position in the conference’s basement entering the game, Virginia was the underdog on the road. For the duration of the game, though, it was the better team — the first road game this season where that has been abundantly clear.
It was clear on the scoreboard and in the box score. Virginia won the battle on the boards, out-rebounding Miami 27-24. The Cavaliers also played cleaner, with seven turnovers to the Hurricanes’ 11. It was not dominance. But it was a positive turn of events for a team desperately in need of a momentum swing.
In picking up the win after being routed at the hands of Notre Dame Saturday, the Cavaliers demonstrated the ability to bounce back from a tough loss, a critical characteristic with the rest of the season — and a tough gauntlet of quality opponents — looming just over the horizon.
Wednesday’s win was hardly a resume-booster, but it did include some promising developments for Virginia. The offense broke out for 82 points, Virginia’s first time eclipsing 80 points this season. McKneely and Murray both shot exceptionally well from behind the three-point line, as the Cavaliers shot 54.9 percent from the field.
McKneely scored 26 points with six three-pointers, matching his highest three-point total in a game. Murray scored 20 points with four three-pointers of his own, a career high in points for the senior, whose presence continues to be felt as the season progresses.
Virginia was undoubtedly thankful to get the win. Once the dust settled, though, the difficult circumstances facing both programs once again rose to the forefront.
“I know that these games here were really difficult for many years,” Sanchez said. “Both our programs were ranked in the top 25. Unfortunately, this new space has created a shift where Virginia has lost a Hall of Famer and Miami has potentially lost a Hall of Famer.”
There’s no choice for either interim coach, Sanchez said, but to keep moving forward.
“[Miami Interim Head Coach Bill Courtney] and I are going to do the best that we can with the hand that we’ve been dealt,” Sanchez said. “We can’t control the emotional state of our players losing our head coaches, that’s real, but I can guarantee you that Bill and his staff are working their tails off every single day.”
The Cavaliers will get a chance at a Commonwealth Clash win Saturday at 4 p.m. as Virginia Tech comes to John Paul Jones Arena. A win would bring Virginia back to .500 overall and give the Cavaliers their second consecutive ACC victory.
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