Stifling Defense Returns in Virginia's Smothering 63-50 Win Over NC State

The Cavaliers returned to their defensive roots, stifling the ACC's No. 1 offense in UVA's 63-50 win over NC State on Tuesday night

By the standards of most of the college basketball world, Virginia once again has a very good defense this season. By Tony Bennett's standards, his Cavaliers have vastly underperformed on the defensive end in 2022-2023. 

From 2011-2020, Virginia ranked no worse than fifth in the nation in points per game allowed and gave up under 57 points per game in all but one of those nine seasons. In each of the next two seasons, UVA ranked sixth in scoring defense, averaging a little over 60 points per game allowed. Coming into Tuesday night, the Cavaliers were ranked 10th in the country at 60.9 points per game allowed this season, the worst national defensive ranking for the program since Tony Bennett's second season at Virginia in 2010-2011. 

The Cavaliers are still by far the best defensive team in the ACC and one of the best in all of college basketball. But defense certainly didn't seem like a strength for this team on Saturday, when Virginia allowed in-state rival Virginia Tech to shoot 50.9% from the floor, score 40 points in the paint, including 15 layups, and score 1.175 points per possession in a 74-68 victory over UVA in Blacksburg. Virginia's defensive weaknesses were exposed to the highest degree by the Hokies, and the entire Cavalier team - both players and coaches - knew they needed a hard reset on the defensive end, especially with the ACC's No. 1 scoring offense in NC State coming to Charlottesville in the next game. 

“There was a pretty clear message sent in the last couple days of practice and I thought the guys responded,” said Tony Bennett after Tuesday's game against NC State. 

"Just get back to our ways and get back to the Pack [Line Defense] and kind of just do what we know we could do and know what we’re capable of," added Reece Beekman. 

With a couple of solid days of practice under their belts, the Cavaliers felt well-prepared for the challenge of defending against the Wolfpack, who came into the night averaging just under 80 points per game. In the battle between the ACC's best offense and the ACC's best defense, the latter emerged victorious in convincing fashion. Virginia held NC State to a season-low 50 points on 33.3% shooting from the floor as UVA came away with a well-earned 63-50 win on Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena. 

So, how did the Cavaliers manage to hold such a potent offense in check? 

First, UVA took away a key aspect of NC State's offense: transition opportunities. The Wolfpack came into the game averaging just under 16 fastbreak points per game, a figure which ranks ninth in all of college basketball. Virginia was sound in its transition defense, holding NC State to just two fastbreak points, while the Cavaliers, known for their slow and deliberate tempo, had nine fastbreak points. 

Virginia also forced 12 NC State turnovers and scored 17 points off of those turnovers. In a low possession game - as is often the case when playing against UVA - turnovers become even more costly. While the Cavaliers had only five turnovers, the Wolfpack has 12, turning the ball over on 20.3% of their possessions. NC State scored an average of just 0.847 points per possession as compared to 1.125 points per possession for UVA. 

After getting gashed on the interior of their defense by Virginia Tech on Saturday, the Hoos were determined to protect the paint in their next game. NC State scored just 12 points in the paint as compared to 32 points in the paint for Virginia. The Wolfpack frequently settled for low-percentage shots from the perimeter with 27 of their 57 shots coming from beyond the arc. NC State made just eight of those 27 threes (29.6%), a recipe for disaster against Virginia's disciplined defense. 

“Virginia Tech - that wasn’t us,” said Jayden Gardner after the win. “That wasn’t how we want to be looked at, portrayed, so we’re just getting back to what we do.”

A big aspect of Virginia's successful interior defense was UVA's ability to neutralize NC State's DJ Burns, who had averaged over 20 points per game over the last five outings coming into this matchup. Thanks to some exceptional on-ball defense from Kadin Shedrick and some well-timed and effective double-teams from Jayden Gardner, Burns was held to just eight points and turned the ball over six times. After seeing his playing time dwindle over the past few weeks and not playing at all in the game against Virginia Tech, Kadin Shedrick seized the opportunity to play extended minutes and was a big reason why Virginia was so successful on the defensive end in this game. 

“I think it’s a great lesson. It’s why you keep working and you stay ready," Tony Bennett said of Kadin Shedrick. "Kadin practiced well for the last couple practices and the practices matter. He came ready and he kept himself ready.”

Based on the results from the game, it wasn't just Shedrick who had a couple of good practices leading into the NC State game. The entire team was connected on defense and the Cavaliers executed at a high level on the offensive end as well, frequently producing high-percentage looks close to the basket. Virginia attempted just eight three-pointers, but scored 32 points in the paint.

Jayden Gardner led UVA in scoring for the fourth-straight game, tallying 18 points on 6/12 shooting and collecting five rebounds. Reece Beekman joined him in double figures with 15 points to go along with four assists and three steals. Kadin Shedrick had 10 points and six rebounds and Isaac McKneely added eight points, four rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. Virginia led for all but two minutes of the game and led by as many as 20 points early in the second half, earning a convincing victory against the No. 22-ranked Wolfpack. 

The difference between Virginia's performances against Virginia Tech and NC State was night and day, especially on the defensive end.

“I thought they did to us what Virginia Tech did to them," said NC State head coach Kevin Keatts. 

But Tony Bennett and the Cavaliers know that one game of good defense won't cut it, especially in the ACC, where any team can and will take advantage of defensive lapses. 

“It won’t be perfect, but it has to be a little tougher, sounder mindset," said Tony Bennett. "I was pleased that the guys established that and they’ll need to continue to establish it at our next practice, and moving forward.”

Another tough challenge awaits the Virginia defense this weekend as Duke comes to Charlottesville on Saturday at 4pm. 

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