Inside the Numbers: Virginia Tech slices, dices Pack-Line, upsets #4 Virginia

Have we ever seen the Virginia Pack-Line cut up like Virginia Tech was able to perform surgery Monday night?

Actually, yes. Two days ago.

Remember that easy 77-66 Notre Dame win on Saturday? The Irish put up 42 in the final 20 minutes, shooting 51.6 percent from the field and scoring 1.40 points per possession.

Seemed insignificant at the time, since Virginia led by double digits for the entirety of the second half.

Monday night, Virginia trailed by five at the break, and scored on their first six possessions of the second half, getting four threes from London Perrantes and another three from Malcolm Brogdon in the stretch.

And yet at the end of it all, the Cavs led by just four, because Virginia Tech was able to get a pair of threes from Zach LeDay, who had hit two all season coming in.

The open looks would continue for Tech, which went with what was effectively a four-guard lineup most of the night, running an endless series of high pick-and-rolls at the top of the key, its guards getting into the lane, finding the cutting big rolling to the basket, or hitting jump shooters on the wing on the back end of the action.

The Hokies shot 57.7 percent from the floor in the second half and drained six of its eight attempts from three, scoring 1.375 points per possession in the second half after Virginia had held the Hokies to .833 points per possession in the first half.

LeDay, 5-of-23 career from three-point range before Monday, finished 3-of-4 from three. Justin Bibbs, a 56.9 percent shooter from long range this season, was 4-of-5 from three.

 

Hokies pack it in

Despite going four-guard most of the night, Tech outscored Virginia in the paint, 26-22. Anthony Gill had 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting in 35 minutes, but that was about it as far as productivity from the post.

Isaiah Wilkins had six points and eight rebounds in 28 minutes, but was just 2-of-6 from the floor, and missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with the Cavs down three at the 6;26 mark.

Mike Tobey, coming off back-to-back double-digit games, slid back into being a non-factor, scoring four points and pulling down two rebounds while racking up four fouls in just nine minutes on the floor.

UVA was able to control the boards to a 34-22 advantage.

 

Where in the world was Darius Thompson?

Darius Thompson contributed almost precisely nothing Monday. The sophomore didn’t score, was 0-for-3 from the field, had one rebound, two steals and two turnovers in 23 minutes.

Devon Hall got 16 minutes, scored two points, had two rebounds and two turnovers.

The increasingly irrelevant Marial Shayok got just six minutes of PT, missed his only shot, but did contribute two assists.

 

Rotation

UVA coach Tony Bennett used 10 players, giving four minutes each to little-used Evan Nolte and Jarred Reuter.

But the bulk of the minutes went to the starters, who logged 161 of the 200 minutes of PT.

 

Virginia Team Notes

• The loss ended UVA’s 11-game winning streak
• The loss ended UVA’s seven-game winning streak against Virginia Tech
• The Hokies earned a half point in the Virginia 529 Commonwealth Clash
• UVA leads the Clash 3.5-2.0 over the Hokies
• The loss also ended UVA’s five-game winning streak against the Hokies in Blacksburg
• UVA trailed at the half (26-21) for the fifth time in 2015-16 (3-2 when trailing at the half)
• Virginia’s 21 first-half points marked its second lowest of the season (20 vs. California)
• UVA tallied 17 points in the first 5:09 of the 2^nd half
• Virginia Tech shot 52.9 percent (9-17) from 3-point range, a season-high for an opponent against UVA

 

Virginia Player Notes

• London Perrantes had a season-high 22 points, including a career-best seven 3-pointers (6 in the second half)
• Perrantes had his 2^nd career 20-point game
• Anthony Gill (17 points) scored in double figures for the 14^th consecutive game this season (17 straight dating back to last season)
• Gill made his first career 3-pointer in three seasons at UVA after tallying 11 during his freshman season at South Carolina in 2011-12
• Malcolm Brogdon (15 points) reached double figures for the 13^th straight game
• Brogdon (1,367 points) moved past Elton Brown (2002-05, 1,356 points) into 24th on the UVA all-time scoring ledger
• Isaiah Wilkins matched a season high with eight rebounds

– Story by Chris Graham