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Preview: What UVA Basketball fans need to know about SMU ahead of the rematch

Chris Graham
uva basketball isaac mckneely
UVA Basketball guard Isaac McKneely. Photo: Mike Ingalls/AFP

Isaac McKneely made a three with 10:19 to go to put the UVA Basketball team up 45-38 on SMU back on Dec. 7, capping a personal 7-0 run – McKneely had converted a four-point play on UVA’s previous trip down the court.

SMU coach Andy Enfield called a timeout, drew up a play that led to an open three, and presumably pushed a button enabling a force field to prevent the ball from going in the Virginia basket the rest of the way.

In the final 10:19, after the Enfield timeout, Virginia was 0-of-9 from the floor with six turnovers, getting its final six points at the free throw line.

SMU (12-4, 3-2 ACC) went on to post the 63-51 win.

What SMU, UVA have done since


The Mustangs have blowout wins over two ACC bottom-feeders (Boston College, Georgia Tech) and blowout losses to Duke and UNC.

Virginia is in a free-fall – three straight double-digit ACC losses (Louisville, Cal, Stanford).

Forecast


  • KenPom: SMU 70-66
  • BartTorvik: SMU 68-65
  • EvanMiya: SMU 72-66
  • Haslametrics: SMU 72-63
  • ESPN BPI: SMU +4.9

How they match up


uva basketball ron sanchez
UVA Basketball coach Ron Sanchez. Photo: Mike Ingalls/AFP

Samet Yigitoglu, a 7’2” freshman, set the early tone, with 14 points (6-of-7 FG) in the first half.

Kario Oquendo, a 6’4” senior, took advantage of the extra attention that Virginia gave to Yigitoglu in the post in the second half, scoring 15 of his game-high 21 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor, 2-of-3 from three and 5-of-6 at the free throw line.

Oquendo, at 220 pounds, is a tough guard for the UVA backcourt, which is a bit on the light side (only Taine Murray, the fifth guard in the five-man backcourt rotation, tips the scales at 200+).

Yigitoglu, at 7’2”, 265, for his part, is a tough big for a UVA D that lacks a defensive stopper in the post.

That means Ron Sanchez will need to rely on post doubles to try to contain Yigitoglu.

It almost worked out in the game down in Dallas; outside of Oquendo, who was 4-of-6 from deep, SMU couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn (his teammates were 2-of-18 from three).

We could only be so lucky if SMU is 6-of-24 from three as a team again – on the season, the Mustangs shoot 38.2 percent from three, ranking 27th nationally.

As we saw in the first game, this is a bad matchup for this Virginia team.

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham, the king of "fringe media," a zero-time Virginia Sportswriter of the Year, and a member of zero Halls of Fame, is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].