No. 10 Virginia extended its winning streak to four games with a 78-68 victory over in-state rival Virginia Tech on Wednesday night at John Paul Jones Arena. At 14-3 overall and 6-2 in the ACC, the Cavaliers now sit just one game behind Clemson in the ACC standings.With that said, here’s five observations from Virginia's win over Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash:
Kihei Clark puts on a show, becomes UVA's all-time wins leader
Kihei Clark, now in his 5th year, has served as a cornerstone for Virginia basketball and he once again reminded us all of the talent he brings to this team. Clark scored a season-high 20 points on 7/14 shooting and shot 2/5 from the perimeter. Additionally, Clark dished out five assists to just one turnover, continuing to demonstrate his ability to share the ball and quarterback the Cavalier offense at a high level without turning the ball over.
Defensively, Clark contributed a steal and a block while limiting Virginia's Tech leading scorer Sean Pedulla to only 10 points. Pedulla came into the game averaging 16.8 points per game this year and was continually frustrated by Clark’s exceptional defending. As people frequently point out, Kihei Clark has been playing at Virginia for a long time. His former teammate Ty Jerome, now in his fourth season in the NBA, sat courtside for the game with Stephen Curry. Clark is playing his best and most efficient basketball in his fifth and final season at UVA.
Reece Beekman looking healthy and dangerous
Beekman has dealt with a hamstring injury over the last several weeks, but is looking closer and closer to 100% every time he takes the court. On Wednesday night, Beekman made a statement to close out the first half with a high-flying slam dunk over the 6'10" Lynn Kidd to give the Hoos a 40-31 lead at halftime.
Beekman scored 11 points and registered seven assists with zero turnovers, proving himself as an NBA prospect to Steph Curry and Ty Jerome, who had a great look at Beekman's highlight dunk and stellar performance throughout the game from courtside.He also remained stout on defense, producing a steal and block after leading the ACC in steals last season. Through the first half of the season, Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman have made a convincing case as the best backcourt in the ACC and one of the best guard duos in the country.
Strong Free Throw Shooting
The Cavaliers have been inconsistent from the free throw line this season, shooting 70.8% from the charity stripe as a team. But on Wednesday night, the Hoos made 12 of their 13 foul shots for an impressive 92.3%. Free throw shooting will always be a crucial factor for any team looking to make a deep run in March. On a night that Virginia needed every point it could get against a hot-shooting Virginia Tech team, UVA's execution at the free throw line was a big reason the Cavaliers were able to beat the Hokies.
Dominating the paint with a small-ball lineup
As was the case in Saturday's game at Florida State, Virginia leaned heavily on a small-ball lineup against Virginia Tech. Ben Vander Plas got the start at center and played 29 minutes and Jayden Gardner played extended minutes at the 5 as well. Kadin Shedrick played just four minutes off the bench and Francisco Caffaro did not play at all. Matchups certainly had a hand in these lineup decisions by the UVA coaching staff, but the success Virginia has had playing small-ball cannot be denied.
Despite having no player taller than 6'8" on the court for most of the game, the Cavaliers controlled the paint, outscoring the Hokies 36-22 in the paint. Additionally, Virginia won the rebound battle 30-27, led by Ben Vander Plas with seven boards and Armaan Franklin adding five of his own. UVA collected seven offensive rebounds and scored 11 second-chance points. Virginia's small-ball lineup, which allowed for the team to have as many as five players on the floor who could shoot the three, created the spacing that facilitated successful dribble drives for Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman. That was the offensive recipe that won the game for the Cavaliers.
Scoring droughts vs. offensive efficiency
Virginia's notorious slow pace of play in the Tony Bennett era has expectedly meant the team endures lengthy scoring droughts. Logically, when a team takes more time per possession, consecutive possessions without scoring produces lengthier droughts when compared to teams that play at a faster pace. This season, the Cavaliers have had more than 30 scoring droughts of at least three minutes. Against Virginia Tech, UVA had one drought of nearly five minutes that allowed Virginia Tech to put together a 13-2 run to briefly take the lead during the first half.
Even with that drought, the Cavaliers produced 78 points, their third-highest scoring output of the season and their most points scored since the win over Baylor back on November 18th. UVA has won every game this season in which it has scored at least 66 points. With Virginia Tech knocking down 12 three-pointers at a 44.4% clip, Virginia crucially shot 50.9% from the floor, including 61.8% on two-pointers, in order to outpace the Hokies. Virginia's defense will continue to improve - that is essentially a guarantee with a Tony Bennett-coached team - but UVA's offensive execution will determine how far the Cavaliers will make it come March.
The Hoos will look to extend their winning streak to five games against Wake Forest on Saturday at LJVM Coliseum at 2 pm.
To stay up to date on all Virginia Cavaliers sports news, follow CavaliersNow on social media:
Facebook: @CavaliersNow
Twitter: @CavaliersNowFN
See more Virginia men's basketball news and content: Virginia Men's Basketball on Sports Illustrated
See more Virginia sports news and content: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports Illustrated
