Virginia 69, NC State 58

Box Score

The noteworthy thing about Virginia coming into this game was their bizarre 2FG%/3FG% split. Tonight was an extreme example of what they're all about. Or not all about. The Cavaliers made 48% of their three-point attempts and just 34% of their twos.

With the exception of the early run that allowed NC State back into the game, Virginia's defense was fantastic. They frustrated Tracy Smith with double teams and limited him to four field goal attempts in 18 minutes. When they doubled, their defensive rotation was so good that it seemed as though they had six men on the floor. That's great coaching. Javi Gonzalez finished the night with the team-high in shot attempts, and while that backfired on UVA in that Javi had the best game of his season, it's exactly the outcome that the Hoos were looking for. They made a bunch of threes. They denied State's best players. It was enough.

Tracy's frustration led to an uncharacteristic five turnovers, which in turn led to an uncharacteristically high turnover rate for the team. Virginia saw to the defensive glass, as they have for the entire season, and without those legs, there was nothing for State's offense to stand on.

But the real embarrassment was at the defensive end, where the Wolfpack allowed over 1.1 points per trip for the fourth consecutive game. This was different, far more embarrassing than usual, because Virginia's offense is terrible. It's a joke that such a skill-less collection of role players could be so effective. Effort, fundamentals, a dash of IQ--that's all it takes it stop a team like this. There's nothing more to it than that. They weren't exploiting shit, they were just exploiting shit.