The Plus/Minus: Virginia Shuts down Texas Southern

The athleticism of Virginia’s defense was on full display as the Cavaliers silenced Texas Southern 62-33

Virginia suppressed Texas Southern to the tune of a 62-33 victory on Thursday night at John Paul Jones Arena, improving to 4-0 on the season. Val has the Plus/Minus to break down what we saw from the Cavaliers in the win.

Plus

A win is a win is a win. On a night when the offense wasn’t clicking, the defense looked impressive against an overmatched Texas Southern team. Ryan Dunn and Reece Beekman combined for seven blocks and seven steals while Leon Bond III had three steals and Blake Buchanan recorded a trio of blocks. The Tigers were toothless shooting the ball, 26% from the floor and 19% from deep.

Minus

This is the bleak midwinter of the basketball season as buy-in games proliferate. Lots of commentators were quick to mention this week that Texas Southern was an NCAA tourney team from a year ago. Yeah, they were. The Tigers had a magical run through the Southwest Athletic Conference tournament, but the record shows that they finished eighth in the SWAC with a 7-11 record. This team was just another cupcake and this game was nothing more than a glorified scrimmage game.

Minus

Isaac McKneely, who hurt his ankle two days ago versus NC A&T, did not play and was courtside wearing a sandal. Coach Tony Bennett did not address Isaac’s status post game, which has me thinking that McKneely’s return is not going to be by next game.

Minus

With McKneely out, the Cavaliers struggled to shoot the three. Dunn, Beekman and Jake Groves combined to go 1/10 from deep. Dante Harris, who had taken only one three in the Hoos’ first three games (and missed,) was the only bright spot as he canned both threes he attempted. Oh, and Andrew Rohde, 3/11 from deep on the season, converted his one three.

Minus

I can’t see a future for Jordan Minor on this team. He played seven minutes. I don’t know what kind of matchup Bennett sees as favorable for him. He didn’t play against a very tall Florida team, but he’s only been getting garbage minutes against smaller teams. The Cavalier faithful seem to appreciate his predicament as he got the second-loudest cheer on the night when he scored his one bucket.

Plus

This got the biggest cheer on the night.

🖼️ 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙪𝙫𝙧𝙚 pic.twitter.com/ao88kvgFfF

— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) November 17, 2023

Plus

This isn’t a running team by any stretch of the imagination, but the team is exploding out of steals, like Dunn above, more than any Tony Bennett team I’ve seen. Dunn, Bond, and Beekman are getting the stops and pushing the ball immediately.

Minus

This team is going to struggle on the boards this year. Through 30 minutes, while the game was still “relatively” competitive, Texas Southern held a 28-18 rebounding advantage. As Virginia pulled away, these numbers equalized, but on the night, the Tigers held a 13-10 advantage on the offensive boards.

Plus

The emergence of Buchanan has largely put a dent in the Groves-as-a-5 lineup. He is not a force on the boards. But he is working very hard in the block and he had two great box outs that directly led to Virginia rebounds.

Plus

Blake Buchanan had a quiet night by the lofty standards he set against Florida. But he is especially mobile for a big man. It took Mamadi Diakite and Jack Salt and Jay Huff two, three years before they got as comfortable in the high hedge as BB looks now. Plus, he hasn’t committed a foul yet on the hedge and he has very nifty hands. He’s recorded steals in three straight games.

Plus

This was the farthest out I’ve seen the Pack Line extended in quite a while. Texas Southern was especially shaky with the ball as three turnovers early in the first half looked like the kind middle schoolers would make. It was something of a chicken and egg conundrum: did Virginia’s on-ball pressure make Texas Southern look bad or did Texas Southern’s poor ballhandling make Virginia look good. If it’s the the former, this is going to be a very good Virginia team. If it’s the latter, the next two games should be much more interesting.

Matt’s Take

Matt’s got player and coach reaction, as well as a detailed game report here.

Next Up: Virginia takes on Wisconsin, a familiar foe, at the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Monday, November 22nd. Game time is early for this one, 6pm, and the game will be on FS1.

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