A look inside the numbers from the 61-53 win for #12 UVA at #6 Louisville in the teams’ ACC opener on Wednesday.
Plus-minus MVP: Isaiah Wilkins
Isaiah Wilkins doesn’t put up big numbers – averaging 6.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game this season – but he was again the team leader in another measure.
Wilkins was +15 in Wednesday’s win, in which he scored four points and snared five rebounds in 30 minutes.
For the season, Wilkins is the team leader in box plus-minus, at 17.4.
So much for Louisville’s post advantage
Much has been written about Virginia’s deficiency in the post, with the losses of Anthony Gill and Mike Tobey to graduation, and the dismissal of Austin Nichols.
Louisville, one of the bigger teams in the nation, 16th nationally in average height, actually, per KenPom.com, was expected to have a big advantage on Virginia in the paint going into Wednesday night.
And then you look at points in the paint, which was a 26-26 wash.
UVA had a slight 8-6 edge in second-chance points, and the offensive rebounds were knotted at eight apiece.
Virginia outrebounded the Cards, 31-26, with Jack Salt grabbing seven, Wilkins getting five, and freshman Mamadi Diakite pulling down four.
And the combo of Diakite and Jared Reuter combined to score 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting with seven rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench.
Need to get the Guy kid more minutes
Kyle Guy got 19 minutes off the bench, and had nine points on 3-of-5 shooting. His haul included the only UVA field goal in the final 9:03, an 18-footer on a set called out of a timeout with 2:02 to go.
Guy had 29 minutes off the bench in the win at Cal last week, and rewarded Tony Bennett’s award of playing time with a team-high 17.
Somebody needs to provide the spark offensively, and Guy, whose offensive box plus-minus of 13.4 is far and away tops on the Cavs’ roster this season, it would seem to stand to reason that he’d get more opportunities, and maybe they’ll be coming his way more soon.
– Compiled by Chris Graham
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