The Plus/Minus: Hot-Shooting Pittsburgh Cruises by Virginia
Virginia suffered a 74-63 loss to Pittsburgh, who used 14 threes to snap UVA's eight-game winning streak and 23-game home winning streak on Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena. Val has the Plus/Minus to break down Virginia's first home loss since December of 2022.
Minus
Despite all the twists and turns of this season, there is one constant: when Virginia loses, it loses big. With 14 minutes left in the game, Virginia held a 47-45 lead. Pitt outscored Virginia down the stretch 29-16. And the score could have been worse had the game devolved into free throws and Pitt not taken their foot off the pedal.
Plus
Reece Beekman continues to produce. Reece paced the Cavaliers with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists. Virginia’s losses have all been characterized by stagnant movement on the offensive end and Beekman is the only guy on the team who can get his own shot. Over the last five games, Beekman is averaging over 18 points per game which is astronomical for a team that plays at Virginia’s pace.
Minus
The best player on the court, though, was Pitt’s Blake Hinson who led all scorers with 27 points on 11/19 shooting. He was 5/13 from deep (38%) and a perfect 6/6 closer to the rim. Virginia threw double teams at him down low and sent multiple defenders on the perimeter. It didn’t matter. It took Coach Tony Bennett too long to put Ryan Dunn on him, but honestly it didn’t matter. In this clip, Hinson is scoring over Dunn.
Minus
Pitt entered the game taking, and making, the most threes in the ACC. Their season average of made threes is nine per game, and they made eight in the first half alone. Five different players had 2+ threes as the Panthers would connect on 14 of 32 treys. The Cavaliers responded by going 4/14. That’s a loser’s split.
Minus
Pitt’s ball movement was excellent and Virginia never responded. Part of the Pack Line Defense is the center comes out very high to hedge the ball handler. If anything this season, it’s gotten higher because Blake Buchanan is very mobile, but that requires another player to slot in at the rim leaving a shooter on the perimeter open. Usually that person is Dunn, but if you look at the first Pitt possession in the clip below, you will see that it is Andrew Rohde. He can’t recover in time, and Zack Austin is wide open for the three. Pitt had way too many wide open threes on the night.
Minus
Jordan Minor has been the star of Virginia’s resurgence this season, but Bennett banished him to the bench very early in the second half and he logged just eight minutes on the court. It was right after he committed a foul fighting for position under the rim. It seemed a soft call to me, so I’m not sure why Bennett was so incensed, but Virginia needed Minor’s physicality in this game. Reverting back to darker days, Virginia was pounded on the boards by Pitt, out-rebounded 35-25, with a greater disparity on the offensive glass, 11-3. Pitt had a 13-2 advantage in second chance points as a result. I think this loss is on Bennett.
Minus
12 seconds left in the first half and Beekman had the ball, holding it for the last shot. He set up in the corner of the front court, a step or two above the half court line. Now, he’s not alone. Lots of guards seem to set there and I have never understood why. From that spot, he’s only got 90 degrees of movement: the sideline is to his left, the halfcourt line just behind him. A single guard can trap him there. And one did and Beekman panicked and threw the ball away for an easy turnover. Instead of getting the chance to draw level at the stroke of half-time, Virginia entered the locker room down four points. Virginia came out firing in the second half, but Pitt’s efficiency, and this needlessly larger deficit, were too much to overcome.
Minus
On a night when ACC-leading UNC lost to Syracuse, Virginia failed to capitalize and ascend to the top of the ACC. Virginia had entered the week back in the Top 25 for the first time since December. But it’s like the Cavaliers are allergic to looking good in the polls. Gone is the nation’s longest home winning streak. Gone is the ACC-leading 8-game winning streak. Pitt now possesses the longest current streak with five games. They now have road wins against Duke, NC State and Virginia in the last two weeks.
Read more: Matt's game report.
Plus
Dunn and Buchanan are building a nice two-man game of their own. In each of the last two games, Dunn has found a smartly-moving Buchanan at the rim. Seriously, these are Reece-Beekman quality assists.
Next Up: Virginia has a chance to get revenge on Wake Forest as they host the Demon Deacons on Saturday, February 17th. In case you missed it, Virginia had just played on the road for the last seven Saturdays. That seems to have caused lots of consternation in Cavalier Nation, but that many weekends on the road means more home games mid-week. I would think this particular split would be better for student athletes. Anyway, the game is noon and is on ESPN2.
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