Postgame: Virginia coach Tony Bennett on win at Wake Forest

Virginia coach Tony Bennett talks with reporters after the Cavs’ 59-49 win at Wake Forest on Sunday.

On tonight’s game…
“Wake Forest is close. Danny Manning did a good job with those young kids, I watched them against NC State and UNC and they’re very close. Unfortunately, that’s this league. It is such a battle and I knew this game would be tough, especially remembering our last game here. For example, at the start, we got up 17-10 and then started getting careless with the ball and they took advantage of it. In the second half, we took advantage of the zone, and got some clean looks so that helped us. I thought going into the half it was good to be behind and we wanted to find out more about Wake Forest and how to play them.”

On the second half…
“Kyle Guy surely got us going by making key shots, but we also battled defensively. In the locker room, we talked about playing with more effort offensively and avoiding some mistakes and turnovers that hurt us in the first half, and really making sure to tighten up defensively.”

On Wake Forest’s height…
“Wake Forest is long, and you saw that when Doral Moore tipped over Isaiah Wilkins. We went small with De’Andre Hunter and Isaiah Wilkins, so I was concerned about that coming into the game. In our last few games we’ve been giving up more defensive rebounds so that certainly was an issue. Coach Manning ran good plays, and it was hard for us to get anything going at the rim, so we really focused on being in position and making Wake Forest earn each point.”

Team Notes

• Virginia improved to 18-1 and 7-0 ACC
• UVA has a six-game winning streak vs. Wake Forest
• The Cavaliers’ 10-game winning streak is their longest since winning 11 straight in 2015-16
• Virginia has started 7-0 in ACC play for the first time since starting 7-0 in 2014-15
• UVA is 4-1 in true road games
• UVA trailed at the half (24-22) for the second time this season (first time in ACC)
• UVA went on an 8-0 run to gain a 15-8 lead at10:16, but Wake Forest out-scored the Cavaliers 16-7 the rest of the first half
• UVA’s 22 first-half points marked a season low (24 vs. Wisconsin)
• UVA went a perfect 10 of 10 from the free throw line
• UVA held its opponent under 50 percent shooting for the 19^thtime (Wake Forest – 37%)
• UVA is 73-2 when holding opponents under 50 points in the Tony Bennett era (9-0 in 2017-18)

Player Notes

• Kyle Guy (17 points) has reached double figures in 16 games
• Guy led the Cavaliers in scoring for the ninth time
• Guy extended his 3-pointer streak to 19 games
• Guy matched career highs in steals (4) and assists (4)
• De’Andre Hunter (16 points) has reached double figures in five of the last six games
• Isaiah Wilkins (4 blocked shots) has blocked three or more shots five times this season
• Devon Hall (12 points) has reached double figures in six straight games