Hampton, facing Midwest top seed UVA on Thursday, likes to push tempo, averaging 72.2 possessions per game, according to KenPom.com.
The Pirates don’t do much with the pace, averaging a point per possession on offense, and giving up 1.048 points per possession on defense, by KenPom’s adjusted efficiency data.
On paper, this is about as close to a perfect first-round matchup for the Cavaliers as you could draw up.
Virginia was able to control tempo against three high-octane teams on its 2015-2016 schedule – West Virginia (average tempo: 70.5 possessions; tempo against UVA: 66), Villanova (average tempo: 67.4 possessions; tempo against UVA: 62), and two games against North Carolina (average tempo: 72.0 possessions; tempo against UVA: 63.5).
And the wins came in different ways – beating ‘Nova and UNC in high-scoring affairs (86-75 over the Wildcats on Dec. 19, 79-74 over UNC on Feb. 27), and West Virginia in a slugfest (70-54 on Dec. 8).
Expect Virginia to control tempo against Hampton on Thursday, forcing the Pirates into a half-court slog that isn’t exactly their strength, on either end of the floor.
Inside Hampton
- The Pirates shoot 41.5 percent from the field and 30.8 percent from three-point range. Their preference for pace leads to issues with turnovers, with Hampton averaging 14 a game.
- Point guard Reginald Johnson Jr. averages a team-best 18.3 points and 4.1 assists per game. Those are the good numbers. The not-so-good: 37.2 percent shooting from the field, 30.2 percent from the line, 16.3 field-goal attempts per game, 2.8 turnovers per game. It’s feast-or-famine.
- Forward Quinton Chievous averages 17 points and 11 rebounds a game on 57.1 percent shooting from the field. Chievous gets to the line (5.7 attempts per game), but only shoots 48.3 percent on his charity tosses.
- Also watch for: Brian Darden (13.2 ppg, 34.6% FG, 33.5% three-point field goal), Lawrence Cooks (8.0 ppg, 40.7% FG, 32.7% three-point field goals).
Inside Virginia
- The return of Anthony Gill: AG has scored in double figures in five of his last six games after a late-season slump, including scoring 13 on 5-of-8 shooting in the ACC Tournament final against North Carolina.
- Malcolm Brogdon is coming off probably his worst performance of the season in that UNC game: 6-of-22 from the field and just one free-throw attempt.
– Preview by Chris Graham
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