Georgia Tech arrived in Charlottesville with an impressive two-game winning streak, having beaten Louisville and Clemson, both upper-division ACC teams.
However, on a day when the University of Virginia honored Tony Bennett, the Yellow Jackets simply had no chance.
The Cavaliers, looking increasingly like a Bennett-coached team, played efficiently and confidently throughout the game. Before a raucous crowd of 14,593, they never took their foot off the throttle against the Yellow Jackets.
The loss was nothing new for Georgia Tech against Virginia.
The Yellow Jackets have now lost 13 straight against UVA, including the last 11 in John Paul Jones Arena.
However, considering that Louisville, Notre Dame and Virginia Tech have each picked up rare wins in the Cavaliers home arena this season, holding serve against Georgia Tech was imperative for the Cavaliers.
Virginia’s perimeter shooting was on fire from the opening tip, as the Cavaliers connected on three quick threes to jump to a 9-0 lead in the game’s opening two minutes.
Andrew Rohde opened the contest with a three, and Isaac McKneely followed with back-to-back threes. McKneely finished with four first-half threes.
More on Rohde
OK, this guy has been the target of plenty of criticism, including mine, since he arrived in town.
And, for the most part, it was warranted.
But no longer.
Rohde’s impact is reaching beyond his new-found shooting touch; while McKneely (20) and Ames (18) led the Cavaliers in scoring, Rohde led the Virginia offense.
In his usual humble manner, Rohde said this after Saturday’s win. “As we get more comfortable running our offense the right way, I try to put them in the best positions where they can score. They make the hard shots, so they make my life easier.”
Huh, did you catch that?
“As we get more comfortable running our offense the right way.”
Does the right way mean the Tony Bennett Way?
If you look back over Virginia’s last two games, both wins, the final stats look very familiar.
The Virginia offensive has been efficient in both the Pitt win and the win over GT.
On Saturday, UVA scored 75 points on just 59 possessions. The Cavaliers had 21 assists on 30 made baskets.
Speaking of assists, Rohde had nine for the game. In his last three games, Rohde has 25 assists with ZERO turnovers, and going further back, since Jan. 19th, he has 33 assists and one turnover.
I knew my criticism would eventually pay dividends.
Virginia’s bigs are getting better
The outside shooting certainly got the crowd into the game, but the Cavaliers’ inside game was huge.
Blake Buchanan, who’s also been the focus plenty of criticism from me, battled in the paint all night against Georgia Tech.
Buchanan fought his way to several key rebounds and delivered some critical second-chance points to keep the Yellow Jackets at bay.
Virginia outrebounded GT, 38-24, 11 of which came from Buchanan. Five offensive rebounds, two of which resulted in put-back scores, were also recorded.
Georgia Tech coach Damon Stoudamire said this of UVA’s inside play: “I thought their bigs played well. I thought they made great reads offensively, they finished offensively, and they kept our bigs off the glass. They made it hard for us.”
I can’t remember when an opposing coach praised Virginia’s inside play.
That’s encouraging.
Saturday had that familiar JPJ feel
No doubt the Virginia players felt the energy in the arena.
The crowd was huge in the win over Georgia Tech, which impacted the Cavaliers significantly.
The sellout crowd, which included Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter sitting courtside, fueled UVA’s energy level from the opening tip.
Virginia jumped out to an early 9-0 lead, and in the opening minutes of the second half, the Cavaliers outscored Tech 10-2.
Rohde told me after the game that hearing a teammate just a few feet away was often tricky.
Dai Dai Ames said the environment was the best he had played in during his college career and credited the environment for the win.
Ames’s family was also in attendance for the game. “It meant a lot seeing them. Chicago is 10 hours away,” said Ames.
Can we pause the coaching search for a while?
I write plenty about who the next coach at UVA may be or should be.
I’m just going to stop doing that, at least for now.
I have my reasons.
First, no one from Virginia has asked my opinion on the matter.
Second, no one should or will.
That’s way above my pay grade.
Thankfully.
Here’s what we know.
Virginia is improving under Ron Sanchez.
The scoreboard says this, as does the eye test.
Over the last few weeks, the main culprit for Virginia’s early losses has been corrected.
Most notable are turnovers and rebounding.
Virginia is protecting the ball and doing a better job on the glass.
We are seeing players developing, such as Rohde and Ames, and again, despite all the criticism, the Virginia staff has to get the credit here.
Virginia is 5-8 in league play with seven games left.
Let’s allow the process to play out.
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