Assessing Cavaliers' performance

When the Division I men’s basketball statistics are compiled this week, it is likely that the Cavaliers will be ranked first in Division I in scoring defense.

Virginia is holding the opposition to 50.2 points per game, but that didn’t keep 15th-ranked UVa from dropping a 47-45 decision to Virginia Tech, which had lost its first four ACC games.

Tech was a 7 ½-point favorite, but the recent history of the series belied those odds. Seven of the last eight games between the teams had been decided by seven points or fewer.

It was also the fourth time in the last eight games that the visiting team has won

Nobody should have been surprised that it was a low-scoring affair. Two times in the past decade, the losing team has scored fewer than 50 points, but this was the first time since 1944 that both teams were in the 40s.

Virginia won that game 44-34 and easily could have won Sunday by shooting better from any one of three venues — from beyond the 3-point arc, where they were 1-for-14; from inside the 3-point arc, where they were 14-of-32; or from the free-throw line, where they were 14-of-22.

The Cavaliers were 3-for-8 from the line over the final 10:05, including 1-for-4 by junior point guard Jontel Evans.

Something has to be wrong when Mike Scott, the second-leading scorer in ACC play, has two field-goal attempts from the field in the second half and Evans has eight.

Evans had a season-high 12 field-goal attempts for the game and did not have an assist. He had three steals that led to fast breaks but he was blocked from behind on two lay-up attempts.

Evans frequently got to the hoop in the half-court and his inability to convert was no more glaring than the inability of backcourt partner Sammy Zeglinski to hit from outside.

Zeglinski was 0-for-7 from the field, including 0-for-6 on 3-pointers, in an outing that was reminiscent of his game eight days earlier at Duke, where he was 0-for-8 from the field and 0-for-5 on 3-pointers.

The Cavaliers (15-3, 2-2 ACC) were three-point losers at Duke, 61-58, and now have suffered three losses by a combined seven points, including a 57-55 setback to Texas Christian on Nov. 18 in the Virgin Islands.

Zeglinski was 2-for-2 from the field in that game.

Virginia did some good things Sunday, outrebounding the Hokies 34-27 despite the absence of 7-foot Assane Sene, out six weeks after surgery Friday in which a plate and three screws were inserted in his right ankle.

Akil Mitchell, a 6-8, 232-pound sophomore, started in Sene’s place and had two points and one rebound in 25 minutes. He was 1-for-3 from the field, missing two shots from point-blank range on UVa’s first possession of the second half.

The Cavaliers employed a four-guard lineup in hopes of opening up the lane and got a solid performance from freshman Malcolm Brogdon, who finished with eight points in 25 minutes.

Brogdon also had a nifty pass to Scott for a fast-break dunk that gave the Cavaliers a short-lived three-point lead, 40-37, with 4:22 left. When coach Tony Bennett reviews the film, I’m guessing he’ll see some opportunities when one more pass would have led to a better finish.

Certainly, a lot of credit had to go to a Tech team that seemed determined to beat the Cavaliers at their own game – defense. Virginia’s 32.6-percent shooting from the field was its low for the season.

Not only were UVa’s four assists the low for the Cavaliers this season, but it wasn’t even close to the previous low. If you don’t make many shots, you’re not going to have many assists, as Bennett was quick to point out, but the decision-making was far from stellar.

The Cavaliers will be off till Thursday, when they entertain a Boston College that lowly Wake Forest defeated by 15 points Saturday, but the Tech-UVa game proves that there are no givens.

Besides, the Eagles beat the Cavaliers twice last season, including a 63-44 decision in Charlottesville. That should have convinced UVa that you don’t win very often while scoring in the mid-40s.

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