Despite a strong first half, the Virginia Cavaliers fell to the No. 21 Memphis Tigers on Wednesday night. The ‘Hoos led 30-21 at halftime but lost the second half 43-32 as Memphis’ athleticism and shooting caught up with the ‘Hoos. UVA now falls to 6-5 on the season with a game left before ACC play starts for real.
With the loss, we have five takeaways for the Cavaliers looking forward.
The Wahoo offense struggles from a lack of identity
Without a career-game from Taine Murray, Virginia would’ve suffered a third blowout loss and a fourth double-digit defeat. Entering Wednesday’s game, he’d scored 23 points this season. He proceeded to put up 14 on the Tigers in a spirited performance as he attacked the rim hard all night long.
Of course, imagining Virginia’s offensive outing without him is a silly hypothetical. But it does suggest how inconsistent UVA’s offense is. The team doesn’t have an offensive identity beyond being an above average three-point shooting team.
Elijah Saunders (15 points) led the ‘Hoos in scoring and was an impressive bright spot as an outside shooter. He’s been in a groove recently, shooting 50% from three in the last four games. Beyond his stretch shooting and Murray’s straight line driving, UVA had close to no consistent offense versus Memphis.
In his return, Dai Dai Ames was part of the problem for the ‘Hoos. He shot 2-for-11 from the field, finishing with eight points and four assists. He provided some spark early in the game and was far less turnover-prone than his fellow point guard Andrew Rohde. It’s worth noting he did so while potentially still playing through pain after he sprained his ankle against SMU on December 7th and missed the Bethune Cookman contest.
Yet Ames’ late game situational play cost the Cavaliers in the final minutes. His indecision on Virginia’s possession with a minute to go – when he didn’t hit Saunders open under the basket, passed up an open three off an offensive rebound, and then jacked up a contested layup with an open man in the corner – essentially iced the game for Memphis.
Ames also had a costly technical foul when he seemed to lift his left leg up to trip a Memphis player coming down with a rebound. That aided an 8-0 Tigers run which built the deficit Virginia tried to reduce for the remaining 10 minutes of action.
Meanwhile, Memphis reduced Isaac McKneely’s role to be purely off-ball. He added just five points on 2-for-7 shooting. McKneely taking just seven shots and a mere four triples is not winning basketball for the Wahoos.
Throw in the boneheaded turnovers which plagued Virginia in the second half, a limited post presence, and a frustrating tendency to pass up good shots and there isn’t a lot to be optimistic about for UVA on offense. Maybe getting unexpected contributions from someone like Murray is an indicator that Virginia can rely on different players on different nights. But there isn’t that star power for the Cavaliers to rely on on a game-to-game basis, nor a team-wide offensive identity that can pilot the ship.
UVA cannot handle Memphis’ second half pressure
Speaking of turnovers, the Tigers’ second half adjustment to pressure Virginia’s ball handlers was exactly what the doctor ordered for Penny Hardaway’s team. UVA struggled to get the ball up the floor with Rohde (five turnovers) in particular coughing up the ball by repeatedly trying to make inexplicable cross-court heaves which were picked off.
Eventually, Memphis’ athleticism in the open floor caught up with the ‘Hoos. The Tigers scored 12 points in transition, 10 second chance points, and racked up 13 off turnovers. In a tight game like this when Virginia limited Memphis’ settled offense, allowing those other opportunities is a back-breaker.
UVA doesn’t have enough quality ball-handlers who can overcome and exploit ball pressure. Ames is the only true point guard who’s active for Virginia, and that’s biting the Cavaliers in the behind against good teams.
Anthony Robinson plays like Virginia’s best defensive center
Redshirt freshman Anthony Robinson was a glimmer of real hope for the Wahoos on Wednesday night. With both Blake Buchanan and Jacob Cofie in foul trouble, Ron Sanchez threw Robinson in the game early and he stabilized Virginia’s interior defense against Dain Dainja. He grabbed six rebounds, blocked a pair of shots, nabbed a steal, and had a nice finish through contact on his second offensive possession on the floor.
Virginia has not had a legitimate rolling threat who can finish through contact in the paint this season.
ARob showing signs that he could be that guy. pic.twitter.com/EKS35NuI0X
— Zach Carey (@Zach_Carey_) December 19, 2024
Oddly, after Robinson played the final 8:27 of the first half, Sanchez did not go back to Robinson until the 9:13 mark of the second half. Virginia opted to play a four guard lineup with Saunders at the five for a stretch, then also went back to Cofie and Buchanan here and there.
Robinson was still the best defensive big for the ‘Hoos on Wednesday, and that should warrant more opportunities down the stretch. Virginia is going to play teams with inside threats like Dainja, and Robinson’s size and defensive instincts should be valuable against such matchups.
The Cavaliers’ settled team defense provides reason for optimism
Even with this shooting output, Memphis is fourth in the country in three-point shooting. The Tigers made five triples on 21 attempts (versus 21.7%) Virginia. Some of that was them going cold, some of it was the UVA perimeter defense looking the most disruptive it has so far this season.
UVA racked up eight steals and seven blocks against the Tigers, scoring 21 points off turnovers and, at times, burning Memphis for its run-and-gun style. Virginia’s rotations were the crispest they’ve been this year. Unfortunately for the Wahoo faithful, second half foul trouble and PJ Haggerty’s 21 points in the final 20 minutes were too much to overcome.
Memphis simply out-talented UVA in this game – that’s happened a lot to Ron Sanchez’s group this season. But the defensive system was finer tuned in this loss, and that means something.
Virginia’s second half struggles continue
Maybe it’s because UVA is a young team. Maybe it’s a result of a hall of fame coach retiring three weeks before the season. Maybe it’s just playing good teams early in the season.
But, man, Virginia is not a second half team. The Cavaliers continue to fall apart in the second periods of games. They led Memphis by nine at halftime on Wednesday. They held the Tigers to 21 first half points. Then Hardaway’s group put up 43 in the second half.
Second half collapses have become an unfortunate trend for the ‘Hoos in their games against quality competition. Quality first halves versus Tennessee, Florida, SMU, and Memphis have all given way to head-scratching second halves.
It’s worth noting that UVA didn’t completely fall apart against Memphis and clawed back into the game multiple times to keep things close. This dichotomy between first and second half performance isn’t sustainable, though, and it’s something Sanchez and his staff will need to address before Virginia hits the crux of conference play.
