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Cavaliers Now

The ACC Championship Plus/Minus: Virginia Basketball Can’t Get By Duke

In a game worthy of an ACC Tournament Championship, Virginia falls to Duke 74 – 70.
Val Prochaska|
Ugonna Onyenso
Ugonna Onyenso | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Minus

Duke is just better than Virginia, even missing two starters in Caleb Foster and Patrick Ngongba.  No problem for head coach Jon Scheyer.  He still has Cameron Boozer, the presumptive NCAA player of the year, his brother Cayden Boozer, the 19th ranked player in his incoming class, as well as Isaiah Evans (#16,) Dame Sarr (#81,) Nikolas Khamenia (#16,) and Darren Harris (#35.)  Just an embarrassment of riches there.

Plus

This was a thrilling game, apart from the final score, featuring 16 lead changes and 12 ties.  The game was physical, and yet even with an assist from the refs, until the game reached the fouling stage, Virginia actually got to the free throw line more than Duke.  And if you are a fan of college basketball, you probably like watching the growth of these young men, right before your eyes.  Though it pains me to say it, watching the maturation of the “other” Boozer, Cayden, this past week would have been inspiring.  He has taken the point guard mantle for the Dukies in Foster’s absence, and followed his 16-point explosion against Clemson with a similar 16-point stat line in this one.  Throughout the year, he averaged just 21 minutes, but on this night, he played the entire 40.

Plus

Ugonna Onyenso is on a roll.  After setting the record for blocks in a tournament in just two games, he added nine more blocks for a three-day total of 21.  The guy whose record he broke?  Some nobody named Tim Duncan.  Had Virginia won the tournament, Onyenso most likely would have won the MVP.  Keep in mind, Onyenso got his nine blocks in 22 minutes.  I’ve never seen anything like it, and I watched a lot of peak Mutombo.

Onyenso was not the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.  That award to went to Duke’s Maliq Brown and Ugo played this tournament with a chip on his shoulder.

Minus

If you look at Thijs De Ridder’s stat line – five points and only one made bucket – you’ll see why Maliq Brown won that award.  Brown simply stuffed De Ridder as no one has done this year.  De Ridder tried, many a time, to back Brown down and couldn’t.  Not once did De Ridder get penetration wheeling in from the arc.  And for the second straight game, when De Ridder got switched off, his teammates couldn’t get him the ball.  In hindsight, Virginia wasn’t going to beat Duke with De Ridder scoring just five points.

Minus

For the first time all season, I thought coach Ryan Odom cost the team down the stretch.  To combat Onyenso in the paint, Duke’s Scheyer started having Cameron Boozer bring the ball up court, playing as a point-forward.  (He must have seen the tape, this was a tactical move Virginia Tech made in the epic three-OT thriller on New Year’s Eve.)  The point is that it drags Onyenso well out of the paint.  This happened on five straight Duke possessions at about the 7 minute mark.  I have no idea why Odom didn’t switch De Ridder onto Boozer, but Virginia gave up three Duke offensive rebounds in the game’s closing minutes.

Secondly, Duke’s Cayden Boozer had just scored (off one of those offensive boards) to give Duke a 66 – 68 lead.  Virginia would come down and never get their offense set and be called for a shot-clock violation.  It was pretty clear with six or seven seconds left on the shot clock that none of Virginia’s players was aware of the clock.  Odom should have called a timeout.  Isaiah Evans went 2/2 from the line on Duke’s next possession and that was essentially the game.

Plus

What Odom got right, and it was pretty simple really in the absence of Ndongba, was to have the Hoos drive to rim as often as possible.  Virginia’s first six points were scored by Sam Lewis and Dallin Hall driving to the rim.  Malik Thomas feasted at the rim and led the team with 18 points.

Minus

Whither Jacari White?  He played only 10 minutes, two in the second half.  He was 2/4 from deep and I didn’t see any egregious play that would have warranted a coach yanking him.  Odom didn’t mention anything in his post-game presser about an injury.  If there is no injury, then Odom bottled this decision too.

Minus

Another sluggish start shooting the three-ball.  It was a hard-fought game and both teams struggled with the three, each shooting about 33% on the night.  Virginia started out 3/12 before righting the ship and closing on a 5/12 run.  This is becoming a habit.  Maybe Odom should up the intensity on threes during pre-game.

Minus

Soccer players and coaches talk all the time about 50/50 balls and whoever wins the lion’s share of those battles usually prevails.  We don’t talk about 50/50 balls in basketball so much, but these are the balls that pop up and away, outside of the ball’s usual flight path.  Or they can be balls that are fought for down around the ankles.  You get the idea.  But Duke won just about every 50/50 ball and it wasn’t because Virginia wasn’t playing hard.  Sometimes the breaks just go your way, as they did Duke’s way tonight.

Minus

I hate that Duke pulled off the double, winning both the regular season and now the tournament.  I really hate that.

Plus

This loss aside, the tournament was successful enough that Virginia probably earned a three-seed for the Big Dance.  That fits.  This team should be looking to make a run to the Elite Eight.

Next Up:  Who knows.  The Cavaliers will know who they play by Sunday evening.

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Published
Val Prochaska
VAL PROCHASKA

Val graduated from the University of Virginia in the last millennium, back when writing one's senior thesis by hand was still a thing. He is a lifelong fan of the ACC, having chosen the Tobacco Road conference ahead of the Big East. Again, when that was still a thing. Val has covered Virginia men's basketball for nine years, first with HoosPlace and then with StreakingTheLawn, before joining us here at Virginia Cavaliers on SI in August of 2023, continuing to cover UVA men's basketball and also writing about women's soccer and women's basketball.

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