Virginia Plays Inspired Basketball in Statement Victory Over No. 5 Baylor
Throughout the entirety of the Tony Bennett era, there have been countless times in which the Cavaliers have held their opponents to lengthy scoring droughts. There have also been a number of stretches in which UVA got hot from beyond the arc. On the occasions when both of those things happen at the same time? Well, Virginia fans like to call that a Cavalanche.
A Cavalanche is exactly what happened at the start of the second half as UVA used an overwhelming 24-3 run to take control of the game and build a lead as large as 22 points. The Cavaliers then held off a late rally from the Bears with some clutch free throw shooting as No. 16 Virginia picked up a statement 86-79 victory over No. 5 Baylor on Friday night in Las Vegas.
As significant as the victory was for Virginia's prospects for the season - a marquee win over a top five opponent on a neutral court will do wonders for UVA's NCAA Tournament resume later in the season - this game's value for the basketball team pales in comparison to its importance for the University of Virginia community, which continues to mourn the tragic deaths of Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler, and D'Sean Perry, who were killed in a shooting at UVA on Sunday night. For many in the UVA community, the pain and grief caused by this senseless loss of life isn't going anywhere anytime soon. But for a couple of hours on Friday night, UVA fans undoubtedly found some solace and comfort in watching the Wahoos play what can only be described as inspired basketball in Las Vegas.
The first half was a physical grinding battle, played at a slow pace which greatly favored UVA. Baylor countered that slow tempo with proficient perimeter shooting, knocking down seven three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. LJ Cryer led all scorers with 13 points, while UVA had a committee of scorers - eight points each from Armaan Franklin and Kadin Shedrick and seven points from Ben Vander Plas. At halftime, Baylor held a slim 33-30 margin as this game seemed destined to be close from wire-to-wire.
Then came the game-changing run for Virginia early in the second half. A jumper from Baylor's star freshman Keyonte George gave Baylor a 35-33 lead at the 18:17 mark. Nearly eight minutes later, the Cavaliers found themselves up 60-38. Baylor was held scoreless for almost six minutes and had just one field goal over an eight-minute period as the product of some smothering, classic Tony Bennett Virginia defense.
On the offensive end, the Cavaliers exploded from three-point range. After attempting only two three-pointers in the first half, seemingly the entire Virginia offense got hot at the same time, hitting eight three-pointers in the second half, and finishing 9/14 (64.3%) from three for the game. Armaan Franklin knocked down three of his six three-point attempts and finished with 26 points to lead all scorers.
It would have been foolish to think this talented, well-coached Baylor Bears team would simply roll over for the Cavaliers after that. And sure enough, Baylor's gifted scorers hit tough shot after tough shot to work the Bears back into the game. Keyonte George led the charge for Baylor, scoring 14 of his team-high 20 points in the second half. The full-court press was also crucial to Baylor's resurgence, as UVA turned the ball over a few times in the backcourt and became stagnant on the offensive end even after breaking the press with the resulting shortened shot clock.
Baylor cut the Virginia lead down to as little as six points, but the Cavaliers were resilient in responding to the pressure. UVA made just enough plays to hold the Bears at arm's length and most importantly, the team was solid from the free throw line late in the game. Virginia went to the charity stripe 35 times in the game and made 27 of those attempts. UVA went 22/26 on foul shots in the second half, effectively shutting the door every time Baylor tried to get within two possessions.
There were several key individual performances for the Cavaliers, who played great team basketball on both ends of the floor to beat what will likely be one of the best teams in college basketball this season. In addition to Franklin's 26 points, UVA had three players score in double figures. Kadin Shedrick was a perfect 6/6 from the floor and finished with 17 points, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Ben Vander Plas made four of his five field goal attempts and scored 14 points and Reece Beekman had a double-double with ten points and ten assists.
The significance of this victory cannot be understated both in terms of this UVA men's basketball season and for the entire University of Virginia community. Wahoos everywhere needed this win and Tony Bennett's team got the job done.
"I know there are a lot of crushed spirits and broken-hearted people and we're praying for those people. To have that performance - it's just a game - but if it brought some momentary joy to any of those guys, thank goodness for that," Tony Bennett said after the game.
On Sunday at 3pm, Virginia (3-0) will look to win the Main Event title and remain undefeated on the season against No. 19 Illinois.
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