Wisconsin Hands Virginia First Loss in Blowout Fashion, 65-41

The Badgers ran the newly-ranked Cavaliers off the floor in the opening game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off

Virginia's time in the AP Top 25 will be short-lived. 

A few hours after the Cavaliers made their season debut in the Associated Press Top 25 at No. 24, they proceeded to deliver one of their worst performances in recent memory and suffered their first loss in blowout fashion, as Wisconsin (3-2) dominated Virginia (4-1) 65-41 in the opening game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Monday evening. 

After missing the previous game with an ankle injury, sharpshooting guard Isaac McKneely returned to the starting lineup. But his presence did not result in a high level of offensive execution for the Cavaliers, who made just five shots in the first half, shooting 23.8% from the floor. 

On the other side, Wisconsin center Steven Crawl proved to be a matchup nightmare for Virginia, as he was able to score fairly easily over either Blake Buchanan or Jake Groves. And when UVA tried to double team him in the post, Crawl showed off his passing skills, leading to open threes for a usually poor three-point shooting Wisconsin team. Crawl was also a problem on the glass and had nine points and six rebounds in the first half, including four offensive rebounds. Wisconsin outrebounded Virginia 24-16 in the first half with ten offensive rebounds and eight second-chance points. 

Things could have been a lot worse for UVA, who only trailed 28-18 at halftime thanks to a decent defensive effort. Virginia blocked seven shots in the first half, four of which were by Ryan Dunn, but as Tony Bennett identified after the Texas Southern game, a lot of those blocks were the Cavaliers covering for their own defensive breakdowns. Wisconsin has been getting a lot of decent looks and Virginia was lucky to only be down ten points at halftime.

Virginia finally started to get into an offensive rhythm in the second half and it started with Reece Beekman, who scored 12 of his game-high 17 points after halftime. Isaac McKneely hit a heavily contested pull-up three to spark a run during which the Cavaliers made five-consecutive field goals. Beekman swished an open three, came up with a steal and dunk, and then scored a tough and-one off the glass to get Virginia back within five at 40-35 at the 13-minute mark at the second half. 

At that point, it appeared to be game on with the Cavaliers having successfully worked themselves back into the game. Not so fast. 

Virginia made just three shots over the final 13 minutes of the game, while Wisconsin's offense continued to click at a high level by operating through Steven Crawl. After UVA drew within five, Wisconsin went on an 11-0 run, eliciting a timeout from Tony Bennett. But the Cavaliers went back to being ice cold on the offensive end and still had no consistent answer in the front court on defense. UVA went the final five minutes and 26 seconds without scoring and lost 65-41. 

Wisconsin shot 51.7% from the floor in the second half, including five three-pointers. For the game, the Badgers shot 40.3% from the floor and 44.4% from three, despite shooting just 29.0% from beyond the arc coming into the game. Steven Crawl finished with a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double and three other Badgers scored at least nine points. 

Virginia, meanwhile, got little offensive production beyond Reece Beekman, who had 17 points, seven assists, and four rebounds, and Isaac McKneely, who had nine points and made his only three-point attempt in his return from injury. Beekman and McKneely were responsible for nine of Virginia's 15 made baskets, while the rest of the team went 6/27 from the field. 

The most concerning aspect of the loss for UVA was the rebounding battle, which the Cavaliers lost decidedly by a margin of 48-21. Wisconsin had a 20-3 advantage in offensive rebounds, leading to 12 second chance points. Wisconsin outscored Virginia 30-14 in the paint and the Badger bench outscored the Cavalier bench 22-4. 

After suffering its first loss of the season in a disturbingly lopsided manner, Virginia will go back to the drawing board and look to bounce back in the consolation game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off against West Virginia on Wednesday at 6pm on FS1. 

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