Alright sorry for the delay. I’ve been traveling home from a wedding I attended this weekend.
First off let me say this is CTB best coaching job and I don’t say that lightly. In December this team was dead in the water. Now they are captain of their own ship. It’s one of the most impressive turnarounds I’ve ever seen.
I have to give major props to Jay Huff who played the best game of his career. The stat line speaks for itself. The energy he brought to the floor was palpable. He also showed tremendous growth. Last year he came out strong agaisnt Duke but got swept up in the emotions and took himself out the game with foul trouble. This year he showed growth in channeling the emotions into 29 minutes of outstanding play. Now if we can get him to imagine he is playing Duke every night we may finally unlock the mythical Hoonicorn.
Looking at the boxscore a couple things stand out to me. First the Hoos held Duke to 4 assist. Sure it was a low scoring game but that seems outright crazy and shows a total disruption of their offense. This is confirmed by them being held to 32% shooting from the field and 23% from deep. While the results may not always show it, Virginia consistently dirupts Dukes offense and forces them to play Virginia basketball that is a testament to CTB and his staff.
The other stat that jumps out to me is 10. The Hoos only attempted 3 shoots from deep. That feels oddly low for a team that at times a year ago lived by the 3 and even with this years struggles continues to jack them up. The Hoos front court went to work on their Duke counterparts and it paid dividends. Diakite, Huff and Key all scored in the double digits and the Hoos out rebounded the Duikies by 5. Impressive from a unit that I have criticized in the past for not being agressive enough.
For me this was a must win game for the Hoos if they wanted to prove they not only belonged in the Tournament but were also a force to be reckoned with. They passed the test with flying colors. The mental toughness it took to come back from multiple deficits and be able to close out is extraordinary. This year’s team has grown before our eyes. Hopefully Saturday was not the high watermark but rather another step in the journey.
