Eighth-ranked UVA rolled as expected to an easy 72-32 win over St. Francis Brooklyn in their 2016-2017 home opener Tuesday night.
The Cavs (2-0) held the Terriers (0-2) without a field goal for the final 12:47 of the first half en route to taking a 35-13 lead into the break.
Coach Tony Bennett was able to spread his minutes out as a result, with point guard London Perrantes logging a team-high 25 minutes, and 11 players getting double-digits on the floor.
Defense, as always, was stellar, with the ‘Hoos holding St. Francis Brooklyn to 16.7 percent shooting in the first half (4-of-24) and 22.9 percent for the game (11-of-48).
Austin Nichols (violation of team rules) and Mamadi Diakite (vague NCAA review of eligibility) made their UVA debuts after sitting out the season-opening win at UNC-Greensboro. Nichols scored a team-high 11 points in 16 minutes. Diakite had eight points in 14 minutes.
UVA shot 59.6 percent from the field, though the ‘Hoos didn’t make a shot from three-point range (0-of-10).
Virginia scored 1.125 points per possession for the game. St. Francis Brooklyn scored .508 points per possession on the night, hampered by poor volume shooting from long range (5-of-26 on threes) and 13 turnovers.
Glenn Sanarbia scored 10 point to lead the Terriers, who were picked seventh in the preseason Northeast Conference poll.