The Result: Second-ranked UVa turned it over eight times in the first half and trailed by two at the break Monday night before its offense went nuclear—the Wahoos hit 10 of 13 attempts from deep—and its defense clamped down hard—Syracuse only scored 10 points over the final 15 minutes—in the second half of a 79-53 blowout. Virginia is now 27-2 on the year with a 15-2 record in the league.
The Turning Point: After Tyus Battle hit a 3-pointer to put the Orange back up by one with 15:05 left to play, the Cavaliers went on a run for the ages. De'Andre Hunter hit a 3 with 14:39 left, igniting an 11-0 run which eventually ballooned into a 25-3 drubbing that helped turn a game with 19 lead changes into a near 30-point rout.
The Stat That Tells the Story: It's impossible to not point to UVa's historic 3-point shooting here. The Wahoos finished the game 18-for-25 (72 percent) from deep, matching a school record for made 3s in a game and putting up more than the Orange have ever allowed in the Carrier Dome.
Wahoo of the Game: It's the Big Three. Look, this is partly a copout yes but it's also just a fact. Between Hunter, Kyle Guy, and Ty Jerome, it's really difficult to say who had the better game. Guy probably deserves it most, as he hit eight of his 10 attempts from deep to score 25 points while posting a team-high seven boards. Hunter, meanwhile, scored 21 and hit five 3s while grabbing six rebounds and blocking three shots. And Jerome finished with 16 points including a 5-for-6 night beyond the arc while grabbing three boards, snagging four steals, and dishing out a school-record tying 14 assists.
Why did the Cavaliers win it?
That second-half barrage will be the thing most people remember about this game but the one thing the Hoos had going for them in the first was the 3-point shooting: They made eight of their 12 attempts from deep in that period. But on this night, it was the overall play of the Big Three that carried the team. Guy made a career-high eight 3s, Hunter had career highs in 3s made and blocks, and in racking up his third career double-double Jerome nearly posted twice as many dimes as Syracuse had as a team (eight). On their own, the Big Three scored a combined 62 points, enough to beat the Orange by nine. It was just a masterful performance made all the more startling because the Cavaliers trailed shortly before the first media timeout of the second half and still nearly won by 30. Lost in the offensive numbers, though, was the defensive flex. Syracuse shot 33 percent from the field in the game and only made 25 percent of its 3-point attempts in the second half. Once the Hoos cut down on turnovers and allowing second-chance points, it was a wrap.
What does this mean for UVa going forward?
The big picture is that the win last night locks UVa into a top-two finish in the ACC regular season and keeps the path to the No. 1 seed in next week's ACC Tournament fully on the radar. Win Saturday at home and the Hoos go to Charlotte as the top seed while also keeping the potential for a No. 1 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament—and potential games in Washington, D.C.—alive as well. There probably won't be many nights where UVa shoots this well from beyond the arc but this one certainly gives the team a lot of confidence. In a game when the offense was clunky early and the defense wasn't as sharp, the Cavaliers still found a way to make it look easy. And after all, 26-point wins on the road in the ACC aren't something you see every day. Lastly, you want to peak at the right time and after hitting their stride in January, last month was rough in spots for the Hoos. As March gets going it appears that they're right where they need to be.
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