Miami was averaging 80.8 points per game coming into Big Monday. Let that sink in as you consider how the ‘Canes didn’t score half that in that 60-38 loss to Virginia.
Then process how Virginia (18-5, 9-3 ACC), which has now won seven straight, had 29 at halftime; Miami (15-8, 6-6 ACC) was stuck on 29 until a Bensley Joseph free throw with 5:38 to go scored the 30th Miami point.
What we just saw was classic Tony Bennett Virginia basketball – holding an opponent to 28.6 percent shooting, 2-of-20 from three, forcing 11 turnovers while only having three on the stat sheet on your side.
It started innocently enough. Virginia only had one bucket in the opening six minutes, but a quick flurry from Jake Groves, who scored seven points in a 3:16 stretch, fueled a 12-0 run, and after a couple of Miami buckets, an 11-0 UVA run pushed the lead to 25-11 at the 3:34 mark.
Virginia led 29-17 at the half, then opened the second half on an 18-4 scoring binge over eight minutes to put the game out of its misery.
Not much else to recap but that.
Reece Beekman, in front of about a dozen NBA scouts, had 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting and seven assists in 27 minutes, and on defense, he pitched a shutout – the guys he guarded were 0-of-7 from the floor.
Ryan Dunn, also auditioning for the scouts, had eight points on 4-of-5 shooting and eight rebounds in 28 minutes.
On D, he gave up three points on 1-of-3 shooting, and had two blocks and two steals.
Groves was the other double-digit scorer for Virginia, with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, 2-of-4 from three, in 17 minutes.
Virginia’s offense, in addition to just three turnovers, shot the ball well – 48.1 percent from the floor (26-of-54) and 5-of-11 (45.5 percent) from three.
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Chris Graham
