X (Twitter): @TreyKelleher3 (https://twitter.com/treykelleher3)
RALEIGH, NC- UVA (+1.5) VS. NC STATE
Missed assignments on defense, poor decisions on offense, the inability to win one-on-one situations on both sides of the ball and failure to play the correct guys. The result? UVA lost its third consecutive road game on Saturday by a score of 76-60 in favor of NC State.
A point differential of 61 points, 20.3 point average margin of defeat, and an average point total of 56 for Virginia this season on road games. I'm not counting the "neutral site" Wisconsin loss as an away game or else my head would explode.
The road performances remind me of the movie "Like Mike" when Calvin Cambridge's special shoes go missing and all of his skills vanish and he seemingly forgets how to play the sport all together.
The missed layups, the careless turnovers, being seconds late on a defensive assignment, and the lack of confidence is just astounding to me. Its frustrating because we know this team has it in them to be good on offense and even better on defense, we just haven't seen that on the road quite yet.
UVA started this game differently than the other road games....with a lead. Memphis had the game controlled from the jump, and so did Notre Dame. In their contest against the Wolfpack, UVA held a lead for the first 15:30 in the first half and then NC State climbed its way to a 35-28 halftime lead and never turned back.
The turning point? See below:
NC State's leading scorer for the game, Dennis Parker Junior (a Virginia native that UVA decided not to recruit out of high school) drained a lengthy three at the end of the shot clock with 7:17 left in the first half. UVA still had the lead after that prayer hit the bottom of the net, but from that moment on you could just tell Dennis Parker took the wind out of Virginia's sail. That right there is a sign of youth.
As UVA fans, we know how often that same shot has happened in front of our eyes over the years. There are truly countless examples of that happening. The difference is that Tony Bennett teams of old would be able to shake that play off and return to regular scheduled programming. This team is not there yet.
Virginia is inexperienced and it is really showing away from JPJ. The road environment affects them, a single negative play can deflate them, and they seem to be playing tight from the tipoff.
There is still time to erase this narrative, but its going to take a great coaching job (which Tony is 100% capable of). If Tony asked me what I would do, which he should :) , I would shake up the lineup a bit.
Give Jordan Minor a chance to show that he can grab a board and defend the best of them, give Elijah Gertrude a chance to show that he can win his one-on-one's, give Taine Murray a chance to join Isaac in being a trustworthy sniper from behind the arc, and maybe even give your 4-star recruit in Leon Bond III a chance to prove to us why he was a 94 overall recruit coming out of high school. Thats just if Tony were to ask me though.
Next Game: @ Wake Forrest 1/13 @ 2pm. A great test and an even better opportunity to gain some confidence on the road. Go Hoos.
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