Franklin Sparks Virginia Offense in 73-61 Win Over NC Central

A confident Armaan Franklin dropped 21 points on four threes as the Cavaliers took down the Eagles in the season-opener

Last season, the Cavaliers scored 73 or more points in only six of their 35 games. They didn't have a single game in which they made 11 or more three-pointers. In fact, UVA only had double-digit three-pointers once. 

What a difference an offseason makes. 

UVA met both of those offensive bench marks in the 2022-2023 season-opener, announcing the arrival of a deeper roster with much more offensive firepower than last season. Virginia made 11 threes on 44.0% three-point shooting as a team and outlasted an upset bid by an experienced and well-coached NC Central team to pick up a 73-61 victory on Monday night at John Paul Jones Arena. 

There are many factors contributing to what should be a much-improved shooting team this season for the Cavaliers. But none more important than the resurgence of Armaan Franklin. After seeing his three-point shooting percentage decline from 42.4% at Indiana in 2020-2021 to 29.6% in his first season at UVA, Franklin went to work relentlessly on his shot this summer, even spending a week training with former Wahoo Justin Anderson. But more importantly, Franklin changed his mindset in order to be more confident in his shot, make or miss. He attributes some of that reconstructed confidence to his increased comfort level now that he is entering his second year at UVA. 

“I’m a lot more comfortable," Franklin said after the game. "I’m more comfortable with my teammates, coaches, and with Charlottesville in general. I feel like I’m just more confident in myself and it shows from all the work I put in this summer. It benefits me a lot to be so much more comfortable on the court this year.”

That renewed comfortability and confidence showed itself prominently in Franklin's performance on the court on Monday night. Franklin made four of his seven three-point attempts, including makes on three of his first four attempts. He finished with a game-high 21 points on 5/9 shooting, collected four rebounds, and had one assist. Franklin also shot 7/8 from the free throw line. 

Behind Franklin's hot start, Virginia raced out to a 31-15 lead midway through the first half and looked to try to put NC Central away early. But the Eagles were certainly never going to make things easy with their roster laden with veterans and talented shot-makers like Justin Wright and Eric Boone. 

Reece Beekman picked up his second foul and checked out of the game with just less than six minutes left in the first half. From that point on, NC Central outscored Virginia 14-7 through to halftime. UVA went through a scoring drought of nearly five minutes and Wright and Boone got the Eagles back into the game, cutting the deficit to 38-30 at halftime. Wright had 20 points to lead NC Central and Boone added 18 points on a very efficient 7/9 shooting.

Another three from Franklin early in the second half pushed the UVA lead back up to 11 points, but another drought would follow. The Eagles took full advantage, completely closing the gap and taking a brief 44-43 lead with a little over 14 minutes left.

That one-point NC Central lead last all of 17 seconds as the pressure served to kick the Cavaliers into gear. Kihei Clark splashed a three-pointer on Virginia's next possession, then Reece Beekman stole the ball and finished with a dunk in transition. Justin Wright hit a step-back three, but then Beekman answered with a three of his own. A dunk from Francisco Caffaro, a three-pointer from Ben Vander Plas, and a layup from Kadin Shedrick later and the Cavaliers found themselves back up by 12 points. 

Justin Wright and Eric Boone continued to make tough shots to keep things within striking distance. That forced the Cavaliers to rely on their continued offensive production to maintain the lead, a rare occasion under Tony Bennett. Fortunately for Virginia, the offense executed well enough to keep NC Central at arm's length. 

Kadin Shedrick, who is visibly much stronger now compared to last season, powered UVA down the stretch, blocking a couple of shots in the second half and collecting several rebounds on both ends of the floor. The redshirt junior center finished with 10 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and two assists in an incredibly well-rounded and impressive statistical performance, especially for a center.

Beekman joined Shedrick in double figures, tallying seven points five assists, three rebounds, and a steal. More importantly, Beekman knocked down two of his three attempts on three-pointers and, like Franklin, looked much more confident with his jumper than last season. 

UVA did well not to rely too much on its perimeter shooting. The Cavaliers aggressively attacked driving lanes and the Eagles struggled mightily to defend those drives without fouling. NC Central was whistled for 25 fouls as compared to just 12 fouls for Virginia. The Cavaliers went to the free throw line 30 times, making 22 of their attempts. One very encouraging sign is that UVA's two centers went a combined 8/9 from the free throw line, with Shedrick making all four of his foul shots and Caffaro going 4/5. 

For a moment, it seemed the Cavaliers might have to endure a season-opening upset for the second year in a row. Instead, Virginia responded with poise and execution when NC Central threw its strongest punch and took the lead. 

"I thought they responded well. I think having some more options off the bench and guys digging in and making some tough plays," said Virginia head coach Tony Bennett. "But North Carolina Central and us, those are two older teams playing, they're very old and their athleticism was real. Their pressure on the ball and being in passing lanes - they got us a little bit standing around. Again, they're a veteran team with some good, physical athleticism and they played hard and made some shots."

When asked if last year's team could have responded to the adversity the way UVA did in this game, both Kadin Shedrick and Armaan Franklin said they didn't think so. That reflects both the growth of the returning players and the impact of the newcomers. 

Ben Vander Plas played 23 minutes in his UVA debut. The Ohio grad transfer scored seven points, including a couple of deep threes, and recorded four rebounds, two assists, one block, and one steal. Isaac McKneely was the sole member of the freshman class to play in this game. He made one of his four-three-point attempts but also registered a blocked shot and a rebound in 23 minutes of action. 

Notably, nine different Cavaliers had checked into the game by the midway point of the first half. The UVA coaching staff experimented with several different lineups and that process of trial and error will likely continue all the way through non-conference play.

For now, Virginia can take a moment to savor a season-opening win. There are lot of things to clean up, particularly on the defensive end, as the Cavaliers performed far below Tony Bennett's standards. But it always feels better to work on things after a win than after a loss and Virginia takes a 1-0 record into its next game against Monmouth on Friday night at JPJ.

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