Reece Beekman had 17 points and seven assists, and Virginia rolled to an easy 79-44 win over an undermanned Morgan State team on Wednesday.
The Cavaliers (10-2, 1-0 ACC) were never seriously challenged by the Bears (4-11), who were without two of their top three scorers – Wynston Tabbs (16.4 points per game) and Will Thomas (10.1 ppg).
UVA coach Tony Bennett, meanwhile, was able, with the game out of reach early on, to spread his minutes around, with the heart of the ACC schedule set to tip off this weekend with a road game at Notre Dame.
Ten ‘Hoos got double-digit minutes in this one, with Bennett getting longer looks at big-man backups Blake Buchanan (zero points, 0-of-3 FG, five rebounds in 13 minutes) and Jordan Minor (six points, 3-of-5 FG, two rebounds in 12 minutes).
Jake Groves, the starter at the five spot, had 10 points (3-of-6 FG, 3-of-4 3FG) and one rebound in 15 minutes.
Leon Bond III had 10 points and seven boards in 19 minutes off the bench. Andrew Rohde had 10 points, five rebounds and four assists in 31 minutes.
Beekman’s 17 and seven came on 8-of-12 shooting, and he had two blocks, a steal and just one turnover in 30 minutes.
Ryan Dunn had eight points (3-of-9 FG) and 10 rebounds, and Isaac McKneely had six points (2-of-7 FG, 2-of-6 3FG) and four assists.
Team Notes
What’s up with iMac, Dunn?
Remember that nice two-game stretch that McKneely had there with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 from three in the wins over Texas A&M and Syracuse?
Since, McKneely has a total of 20 points (6.7 ppg) in his last three, on 6-of-27 (22.2 percent) shooting from the field and 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) shooting from three.
Opponents are giving him more attention, switching on screens, giving him little daylight, and he’s rushing the rare open looks he’s getting.
Also in a funk: Dunn.
For all the talk about the 6’8″ sophomore being a lottery pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, I dunno, man.
His defense is already NBA-level, but his offense would land him in the G League to start the 2024-2025 season.
Dunn has only gone for double-digits in five of his 12 games this season, and in his last five games, he’s averaging a very modest 6.8 points per game on 15-of-35 (42.9 percent) shooting from the field, 0-of-4 shooting from three, and he’s just 4-of-11 (36.4 percent) from the free-throw line.
Getting better every time out: LB3
Bond redshirted as a true freshman last year, and is only getting 16.3 minutes per game off the bench in his first season at the college level.
He’s been productive in his limited playing time.
LB3 has four double-digit games, and in his last four, he’s averaging 9.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in 19.0 minutes per game, shooting 16-of-26 (61.5 percent) from the field in that stretch.
It won’t happen this year, but when he works in the offseason to develop a consistent perimeter shot, he will be next-level.
What happened to B-Dub?
Yes, I’m trying to coin nicknames.
I’m not claiming iMac. That one was already out there.
B-Dub and LB3 would work in both cases.
Anyway.
Buchanan had 18 points and seven boards in his second college game, the 73-70 win over Florida way back on Nov. 10, in what seemed like his coming-out party.
Since: he has a total of 33 points and 29 rebounds in his last 10 games (obviously, 3.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per game).
He has four goose eggs, including his last two games (zero points, 0-of-4 shooting, seven rebounds in 19 minutes).
Over those last 10, Buchanan is 11-of-27 (40.7 percent) from the field and 9-of-15 (60.0 percent) from the line.
It won’t happen this season, but Mike Curtis will put him through the ringer in the weight room in the offseason, and we’ll see more of what we saw in the Florida game than what we’ve seen since.
The KenPom offense numbers are ghastly
KenPom has the defense ranked third nationally, allowing 0.896 points per possession.
The last time Virginia was this high in the defense metric this late in the season was the 2019-2020 COVID-shortened season, which ended with the Cavaliers ranked first overall (0.851 PPP).
That Virginia team was god-awful on the offensive end (you no doubt remember this) – ranking (gulp!) 234th in offense (0.993 PPP).
That group had four wins with point totals in the 40s, and somehow still finished tied for second in the ACC with a 15-5 league mark, and finished that season with 11 wins in their last 12.
This year’s Virginia team isn’t as bad as that one was on offense, but …
It ranks 139th in offense in KenPom (1.060 PPP), and to be blunt, that just ain’t going to get it done.
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Chris Graham
