Tobacco Road Report

By Michael

Both teams entered this game with 5-2 conference records. Ahead of them in conference was North Carolina, Virginia Tech, and Boston College. With Virginia Tech stumbling in a loss to NC State and question marks surrounding BC's play sans Williams, the winner of Virginia v. No. 10 Duke would be in excellent shape to make a run for second place in conference. Virginia was just good enough, overcoming their second late-game deficit in a week, allowing us to quote Brittney Spears. We promise we won't do it again.

After reviewing the tape, my initial impressions didn't change. I thought both teams played very well, especially on defense, and the better team this night was able to generate just enough offensive efficiency through dribble penetration and one-on-one play.

Both teams had very similar defensive strategies. Duke (18-4, 5-3) clearly looked to take away the three point shot from the duo of Singletary and Reynolds. Virginia (14-6, 6-2) had been averaging 24 three point attempts per game in conference play, but only managed to squeeze of 13 attempts versus the Blue Devils. Thomas, Henderson, and McClure were active on the defensive boards, limiting Virginia to many one-and-out possessions. For the game, Duke grabbed 73 percent of their defensive rebounding opportunities.

Virginia's defense has been better than advertised in conference play, holding opponents to less than one point per possession. Against Duke, the Cavaliers also guarded the three point line well and protected the defensive glass, collecting 77 percent of their defensive rebound opportunities. Nelson had trouble shaking the various defenders thrown at him and Scheyer only saw one open look all night by my count.

With the three pointer taken away, Virginia relied on dribble penetration, which Duke attempted to thwart with helpside defense. Singletary (17 points) and Reynolds (25 points, 10-11 FT) were mainly scoring off high pick and rolls and some outright one-on-one play. Reynolds was key throughout, using his quickness to get to the free throw line down the stretch for needed offense. When he had leg cramps late in regulation and overtime, the offensive emphasis shifted to Singletary, who didn't disappoint. His 17 foot jumper at the end of regulation and his on-your-back flip in overtime will go down as some of the biggest shots in recent Cavalier history.

Without Nelson's aggressive offense, Duke continued to go to McRoberts in various post ups and dribble-drives. I was very curious to see whether McRoberts would be physical enough to take Cain in the low post with traditional back-to-the-basket post moves. I'd say his efforts here were mixed. Sometimes McRoberts could muscle the shots in, while other times he couldn't finish some close in opportunities.

However, and as we've mentioned in various posts, he was much better taking defenders off the dribble. Several times late in the game, Coack K cleared out the offensive set and let McRoberts go one-on-one. I think Virginia was "ok" with this and I'd be interested to know if Leitao told his players to let Cain play McRoberts solo and limit his ability to find other Blue Devils with the pass. For the game, McRoberts ended with 19 points, but only 2 assists, well below his per game average. So if the Cavaliers had a "stay home" game plan, it worked.

With both teams resorting to a lot of individual play, it's no wonder there were only 18 total assists between the two teams. Again, not terrible offense but very good defense.

The announcing crew was making a big deal out of Duke trying to run clock too soon with a small lead in regulation. I didn't quite see it this way. Yes, including overtime they went over 8 minutes without a field goal, but the Blue Devils weren't taking the air out of the ball on every possession. I saw Virginia tightening the defense and I saw Duke missing some shots.

After all, McRoberts missed a straight-on five footer to end regulation and Paulus missed a very good look at a three several possessions earlier. The ball just didn't bounce their way on several key possessions. On balance, the office generated the shots when they needed them.

We at TRR have implored Virginia to hold their home court this year in ACC play. So far they have and the Cavaliers are now in the drivers seat to make the NCAA tournament. What a difference a week makes.