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Has #9 Virginia turned the corner? Not yet

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virginiaIt says a lot about the expectations around Virginia basketball that an 18-4 record is considered a comedown.

“We’ve struggled,” UVA coach Tony Bennett said after the Cavs’ 61-47 win over Boston College Wednesday night.

And he wasn’t being dramatic in saying so.

The ‘Hoos have struggled. And as he also told reporters, “stumbled.”

Straight face there, because they have.

The past few days have been defining. First a miracle comeback win at Wake Forest, then a dismantling of a good Louisville team on the road.

The win over BC, no disrespect to BC, was according to script. The Eagles have not won in ACC play, and though they played well at times on the defensive end Wednesday, the outcome was never in doubt, and Virginia led, as expected, by as many as 25.

But that’s the kind of win a good team puts on the scoreboard. The starters didn’t have to go as hard or as long, some bench guys got some valuable minutes, and the focus could shift to what’s next.

“These guys want to win desperately. I understand that,” Bennett said. “I told them before the game that our staff is going to do everything we can to keep you on the path that you’re on.”

Senior forward Evan Nolte talked about how the struggles – three road losses in a two-week span, at Virginia Tech, at Georgia Tech and at Florida State – may have made the Cavs stronger in the final analysis.

“Every team has to go through whatever form of adversity during the season,” Nolte said. “I think we have stumbled a little bit, but the Louisville game I think we played a complete game. I do think that that was a turnaround moment and that we really locked in to that game and we wanted to keep it going.

“It was just adversity. Every year in the past you have to forget about and you take it one game at a time, so it is not, Oh man, we lost these games. What does this mean? You have to work on what you can get better at and go from there.”

Three weeks ago, there were fans on message boards wondering aloud if Virginia would even make the NCAA Tournament. Yes, fans can be … interesting. Now on a five-game winning streak, the ‘Hoos are on the fringe of being in contention for a third straight ACC regular-season title, a game and a half back of North Carolina, which lost at Louisville on Monday night, two days after the Cardinals had their pants taken down and their bare asses reddened on their home floor.

But don’t tell that to this team, though. As bad as things might have been a few weeks ago, as good as they might seem now, they follow the lead of their heart and soul, Malcolm Brogdon, who scored 27 points on just 10 shots from the field on Wednesday.

“You never see him get rattled out there or rushed,” Nolte said of Brogdon, though he could also be speaking about the team as a whole, following Brogs’ lead. “He definitely adds a layer of maturity and just poise and being relaxed out there.”

Brogdon, for his part, isn’t quite ready to declare the season turned around just yet.

“I can’t say that for sure because it’s only been two games where we’ve really played almost up to our potential. But I think we’re learning. We’re tasting what it’s like to be a defensive-minded team,” Brogdon said.

Oh, yeah, the defense. That’s what has been different the past two nights. Louisville and Boston College each finished with 47 points. Louisville shot 32.1 percent from the floor; BC shot 26.5 percent. Both scored under .800 points per possession, after Virginia had not held an ACC opponent to under 1.000 points per possession in its first eight.

Bennett thinks the D can still get better.

“I’ll be curious to see on film if we were bothering enough shots and jamming the lane or if they were just missing their shots. That remains to be seen,” Bennett said.

– Column by Chris Graham

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