For their latest homestand, Virginia entered John Paul Jones Arena averaging 84 points per game against Division I opponents and 80 against ACC teams. Tuesday night, in a turnover-laden, defensively-minded showdown, the Cavaliers (19-3, 8-2 ACC) secured victory by a 20-point margin despite recording their lowest scoring total of the season, 67-47.
The Panthers (9-14, 2-8 ACC) jumped out 7-3 in the first half, running several scripted plays to establish an early lead. But then, the turnovers started for Pitt. The Cavaliers went on a 12-0 scoring run, 10 of which were scored off of Panther turnovers. From there, Pitt would stumble to the locker room at a 13-point halftime deficit.
“We weren't organized, then we panicked and it's like an avalanche of turnovers from there,” Pittsburgh Coach Jeff Capel said. “We have to be able to have poise, make sure we're organized, not try to do too much, trust each other and make the plays that are right in front of us.”
In the first half, the Panther’s lack of an outside shot was glaring — of their 20 points at halftime, 16 came in the paint, one at the foul stripe and just one shot fell from beyond the three-point arc.
Virginia, particularly in the first half, also lacked heat from the three-point range, an issue that has emerged over the last several games. Graduate guard Jacari White failed to score throughout the evening, going zero for seven from three and missing all eight two-point field goal attempts. On the night, only junior guard Sam Lewis would hit more than a single three-point attempt.
“I mean, you're going to have lulls during the season … where [shots don’t] go in, as much as you want,” Coach Ryan Odom said. “I thought Jacari got some good looks tonight. And certainly there were some at the end that he was having to rush a little bit to get off. But for the most part, [I am] pleased with the attempts that we took.”
Turnovers became the defensive currency of the night. Pitt conceded a crippling 17 turnovers, while Virginia lost 10 of their own. The difference became who could capitalize off of those newfound possessions — and the Cavaliers secured 23 points off of forced turnovers. While the Panthers ended the game with one more total possession, the Cavaliers would put up 25 more shots, an ode to those turnovers, as well as shot-creating plays like offensive rebounding, blocks and steal totals that all bested Pitt’s.
“Turned it over a little bit too much in the first half,” Odom said. “I thought our guys did a better job in the second taking care of the ball. Clearly, offensively, we weren't clicking on all cylinders, but the defense was a key aspect of the game for us tonight.”
Freshman forward Thijs De Ridder once again led the offensive stat effort for Virginia, recording a 10-point, 12-rebound double-double. Freshman guard Chance Mallory also breached double digits in the scoring column to go along with his four steals. Graduate guard Malik Thomas and Lewis rounded out the Cavalier’s quartet of double-digit scorers. Lewis in particular heated up late, scoring 12 second-half points to lead the Cavaliers with 15 total.
Turning the calendar to February makes the looming prospect of March Playoff hoops feel ever closer, and with it, the pressure for teams to start playing their best brand of basketball. A departure from the type of scoring, pace, and three-point efficiency that’s brought Virginia success at this point in the season may raise some concern for playoff expectations. The Cavaliers will have several more opportunities to prove their ACC chops in with games against ACC top five opponents Duke and NC State due before the end of the month.
Virginia will continue their week at home Sunday, facing Syracuse (13-10, 4-6 ACC) in a noon tipoff to be aired on ESPN. The Orange are fresh off a road loss to North Carolina, which the Cavaliers fell to earlier in the year in a disappointing 80-85 loss at JPJ.
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