Five things to remember from UVA basketball’s lopsided victory over Louisville
The Virginia Cavaliers defeated Louisville in the KFC Yum! Center with a commanding performance to continue their winning streak. The ‘Hoos held Louisville to just four first-half baskets and took a 28-point lead into halftime in a 17-point victory that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score appeared. With a career-high 19 points and six dunks, Ryan Dunn’s high-flying offense stole the show. Jake Groves and Isaac McKinley each made three triples in four attempts as they led their team to a resounding victory. With their fourth straight victory, Virginia’s ACC record increased to 6-3; as a result, they are now only behind Florida State, Duke, and UNC in the standings.
Virginia’s offensive strength has always been ball movement and ball security, even though their shotmaking has been inconsistent this year. They rank seventh in the nation with 63.7% of their made field goals this year and turn the ball over on just 13.7% of their possessions (10th). With their usual lineups on the court in the first half, the ‘Hoos found good looks nearly every time down the floor against a Louisville defense that found it difficult to stay connected in their rotations.
In fact, UVA shot an uncharacteristically low 4-13 from the field and turned the ball over 11 times, but the efficiency numbers were maintained with seven made dunks, including six from Ryan Dunn, and a strong 47% from beyond the arc on 17 attempts. They scored 69 points in the end, but they could have easily scored more if they hadn’t essentially wasted the final ten minutes of the game. Even though Louisville’s defense isn’t among the top 250 in the country in terms of efficiency, performances like this one are still encouraging to see. It should be beneficial going forward for role players like Jake Groves (3–4 from three) to see the ball go through the hoop away from home.
