The Virginia men’s basketball team worked through a disjointed performance Monday night at the John Paul Jones Arena, but eventually dispatched Coppin State as expected. UVA led by as many as 28 points before settling for a 62-45 win that moved its record to 2-0 on the season.
With five newcomers playing significant minutes in the rotation, the early season games figured to be an up-and-down process. Throw in the fact that Andrew Rohde, one of the two most experienced players in a Virginia uniform, sat to rest an injury and the Eagles frequently played a matchup zone Monday? The Hoos simply had a hard time finding an initial groove and sustaining it despite the mostly comfortable outcome.
“I didn’t know what to expect from Coppin. They’ve shown a lot of different things,” Virginia interim coach Ron Sanchez said. They’ve had games where they played a lot more man. It’s not just a zone, it’s more of a matchup zone so you come off a ball screen and the five man leaves the lane and now he’s impacting the ball screen so it’s a little different than a typical zone. I do believe we got better as the game went on and we threw some high-low passes and things we wanted to see. … As a whole, I do think that they got better and they understood it. We’ll watch it. This is fantastic for us right now to watch it, to learn, to grow, and to get better for the next time we see something like that.”
The process of figuring it out took some time Monday. UVA still led just 20-14 late in the first half after Jonathan Dunn slammed home a dunk for Coppin State.
The Hoos were having trouble breaking into the interior of the zone or forcing it to collapse away from shooters. At that point in the action, they hadn’t knocked down many jumpers either with a 3-12 start from 3-point range adding to the sluggish start. Virginia only had 3 assists in the first 15 minutes.
A flurry of 3-pointers quickly flipped the script, though. First, Dai Dai Ames knocked down a triple on an Isaac McKneely assist. Then McKneely moved to the receiving end of some passes with a trio of 3’s across four possessions courtesy of passes from Jacob Cofie, Elijah Saunders, and Ames. That 12-point surge quickly turned a close game into a double-up situation on the scoreboard as the hosts jumped ahead 32-16.
McKneely’s ability to get hot from behind the arc is an important part of the puzzle for this year’s team.
“It’s really important for us to get I-Mac to shoot the ball when he’s open. I actually think he passed up way too many shots early on in that first half. He wants to be a team player, he really does,” Sanchez said. “He impacts the game in so many different ways as you said, but the one part about his game is defensively, he really helps this team. I-Mac is one of our best defenders right now. We just need him to take the combination of being one of our better defenders and also playing the role of being the guy that if he has a window, he has the green light to shoot the ball.”
By the end of the night, the Hoos posted 14 assists on 21 made baskets. The end of the first half set the tone in that sense. Virginia made 21 of 52 shots (40.4%) overall, 9 of 27 triples (33.3%), and 11 of 12 free throws (91.7%) to get to its final tally.
McKneely had 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 1 blocked shot to play a big role in that. Ames, who got the start at point guard, added 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocked shots as well. UVA also picked up another strong performance from its contingent of forwards and centers. Saunders led the way with 15 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 blocked shot. He made 5 of 9 shots and 4 of 4 free throws.
The eye-catching line may have belonged to Cofie again, though, as he continued to impress as a true freshman. He followed up his 16-point debut with 11 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, and 3 blocked shots in another versatile outing. He made 3 of 5 shots and 4 of 4 free throws as he showed off his touch again in this matchup. While that has come against two undersized and overmatched opponents, it’s still a good sign for the 6’10” forward.
“Jacob, honestly has been a bright spot in a lot of different ways last game to this game,” Sanchez said. “It doesn’t matter the opponent. We’re talking about the ability to see things, to keep a guy in front [defensively], to play unselfish, just to have those instincts that allow you to make plays that stand out. … I think there’s still more to him.”
Defensively, the Cavaliers’ 7 steals and 11 blocked shots show a little bit of the disruptive nature their length can cause even as the new pieces learn the Pack Line nuances more instinctively. Coppin State made just 14 of 50 shots (28.0%) and 4 of 19 3’s (21.1%). The Hoos had the Eagles sitting in the 30’s until 9 points in the final 1:33 dressed up the final margin a little bit.
All in all, it was a night where Virginia showed some perseverance as it worked through the ups and downs. Saunders said that’s been a bit of the theme so far in this young season.
The Wahoos have saw long-time coach Tony Bennett retire a few weeks before the season, an unexpected late transfer in Jalen Warley, and some injuries to guys like Rohde and Christian Bliss before Thanksgiving even appears on the radar. Villanova is up next on Friday in Baltimore at 5 p.m. for the season’s biggest test yet.
“Big picture, I would say we’ve been resilient. We’ve been through a lot in this past month,” Saunders said. “Not having Rohde tonight was a perfect example of that. But Coach Sanchez does a good job of saying we’re all we’ve got. Just battling through the blows and keep pushing on forward.”
