UVA a little too three-happy

The approach offensively for third-ranked UVA in the first half of its 61-51 win over N.C. State seemed a bit uninspired, to say the least.

More than half of the Cavs’ shots from the field – 15 of the 28 – in the opening 20 minutes were three-pointers.

“We didn’t exploit some of the mismatches we had. We lacked the ability to rotate the ball and wear them down. We were a little trigger-happy tonight,” coach Tony Bennett said.

It’s not exactly as if the change in approach after halftime – emphasizing getting the ball into the paint – necessarily worked. Just five of Virginia’s 28 second-half shots were from three, but the Cavs still only shot 35.7 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes, and points per possession actually were down from 1.103 in the first half to .906 in half number two.

The damage was done in the paint, though. Anthony Gill, who had two points on 1-of-3 shooting from the field in the first half, had 10 points in the second half, shooting 3-of-6 from the field and 4-of-4 from the foul line. And Mike Tobey, who had three points on 1-of-2 shooting from the field in the first half, had eight in the second half, shooting 3-of-5 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line.

– Column by Chris Graham