Defense wins championships: And UVA can play D

Marcus Georges-Hunt hit a jumper at the 10:40 mark of the first half, and at that point, it looked like Georgia Tech was solving the UVA Pack-Line.

The basket gave the Yellow Jackets scores on four straight possessions after a 1-for-6 start from the field. Virginia players were shaking their heads heading up the court on offense after giving up two layups and two jumpers, plus an offensive rebound, in the stretch.

That the Jackets would score just 18 points in the rest of the game would surprise you if someone from the future had let you in on that secret.

Or maybe it wouldn’t. This is UVA basketball we’re talking about here.

The 28 points allowed in Thursday’s ACC win is, astonishingly, just the third-lowest point total surrendered by the Cavs this season. (Rutgers tallied 26 in a November loss in Brooklyn; Harvard got 27 in a pasting in JPJ after Christmas.)

The numbers get uglier. Georgia Tech shot 24.5 percent from the field, and scored .509 points per possession. Tech’s turnover percentage (18.2) was within hailing distance of its scoring percentage (27.3).

In 55 possessions, the Rambling Wreck came away with points on just 15.

And remember, four of those scoring possessions came in a 2:44 stretch in the first half.

Virginia, in improving to 18-0, didn’t exactly light it up on the offensive end, shooting a respectable 45.3 percent from the field, and scoring 1.036 points per possession, but it seemed that there were points left on the floor, which is pretty clear when you look at the final number for its output on offense, at 57.

It’s rare that a team can score 57 and lead by as many as 33 in a game. But this is a UVA team that has scored 45 and won by 19, so consider it par for the course, maybe.

The old saying is that defense wins championships. Top-ranked Kentucky hangs its hat on the defensive end, too. The collision course for the two remaining unbeatens might not produce the prettiest basketball game you’ll ever see, unless you’re a fan of good defense, in which case, think Picasso.

– Column by Chris Graham