The Plus/Minus: Virginia’s Road Woes Continue in Loss at Wake Forest

Tony Bennett went back to the drawing board, but the result was the same: a none-too-competitive 66-47 loss

Virginia suffered another lopsided road loss on Saturday, falling at Wake Forest 66-47 in Winston-Salem. Val has the Plus/Minus to break down what was another disappointing performance for the Cavaliers on the road. 

Minus

Coach Tony Bennett had a week to prepare for this game. He said that the week of practice was especially good. Bennett gave Jordan Minor his first start, and pretty much his first competitive minutes, of the season. Virginia was competitive for about 14 minutes of the game – it was 14-14 with five minutes left in the first half – but from that point on, Wake Forest outscored Virginia 52-33 to win going away.

Minus

Virginia vs. Wake Forest Team Shooting Statistics / Stat Broadcast

This says it all. No one is going to win many games shooting 28% / 33% / 73%.

A player who shoots 50 / 48 / 86 for a career in probably in the Hall of Fame. For a team to put up those kinds of numbers, well, Virginia was never going to win this game.

Plus

Jordan Minor started. That was certainly not on my Wake/Virginia Bingo card, but Bennett wanted to change things up. Minor acquitted himself well. On Wake’s first three possessions, Minor tapped a rebound to Jake Groves, grabbed a rebound of his own, and bodied up Wake’s Efton Reid on his own and forced a bad shot. He also, for the first time this season, gave Virginia a presence on the offensive glass as the Cavaliers won that particular battle. Minor had five boards and scored a season-high nine points. Minor brings a physical presence to the post that Blake Buchanan and Groves do not. Minor’s got really bad hands, though. Every entry pass is an adventure.

Minus

Looking at the box score is hazardous to the eyes. The “best” shooting night belonged to Andrew Rohde who went 3/7, but missed all three of his long-range attempts.

When the game was still close, I noted that Isaac McKneely was doing a better job moving off ball. If you think back to the days of Kyle Guy or Armaan Franklin, they were constantly curling around screens, Kyle ending up beyond the arc and Franklin at the elbow. I don’t know if it is by design or if McKneely doesn’t have the engine that Guy has (I mean, who does?) but McKneely is usually far more static off ball. As Virginia fell behind, McKneely pretty much stood still. The word is out on McKneely; he’s an elite long-range shooter and he’s gathering a lot of attention from opposing defenders. He doesn’t have the space anymore; all his threes are contested. McKneely is adjusting, though, by trying to drive to the basket and shoot a pull-up jumper. But this is bad basketball. McKneely is trading contested three-pointers for contested long twos, which is the worst shot in basketball. The most efficient shot in basketball is the corner three. Bennett has to find a way to get more of those because this team needs help.

Plus

Bennett is at the stage of the season where he’s throwing anything at the wall to see what sticks. He started Minor. Late in the first half, a two-point deficit ballooned quickly into a 10-point hole. Reece Beekman had been sitting because he had two fouls and Bennett’s two-fouls-in-the-first-half rule had taken him out of the game. Beekman quickly came in, righted the ship and Virginia ended with a mild run. One of the challenges that quality coaches face is what to do when the plan stops working. Bennett has succeeded precisely because he has stuck to his guns before, when the chips are down. Well, the chips are down now, and it’s going to take some creativity to salvage this season.

Minus

And I say this, because Virginia has played the easiest ACC schedule to date. The Cavaliers haven’t played Clemson or Miami or Duke or UNC yet. Virginia is struggling against the also-rans. This is going to be a long season.

Minus

Sometimes a single play perfectly encapsulates the game. This play does it for me this game. Virginia was down and needed a break. Beekman got the steal and Groves had leaked out for what should have been an easy bucket…

Oh they LOVED that one, Cam 🚫@CSH_02 #GoDeacs 🎩🏀 pic.twitter.com/swgA3kOI7c

— Wake Forest Men's Basketball (@WakeMBB) January 13, 2024

Minus

Wake Forest is one of the smaller teams in the ACC and they are 11th in rebounding margin. And the Deacons still outrebounded the Cavaliers by 13, 40 to 27.

Next Up: Virginia hosts Virginia Tech on Wednesday, January 17th. Gametime is 7pm and the game is on ESPNU.

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