The Result: The third-ranked Cavaliers blew Wake Forest off the floor in the first few minutes last night, leading 25-3 going into the under-12 media timeout and cruising to a 68-45 win to move the team to 17-1 (5-1 ACC). Virginia put five players in double-figures.
The Turning Point: It feels mean to say "at the tip" but that's not too far off. Mamadi Diakite had an and-1 with 19:32 left and scored his next bucket on an assist from Kyle Guy the next time down. The Demon Deacons, who made just one of their first 15 shots, didn't score their fourth and fifth points until there was 8:46 to go in the first half. The rout, as they say, was on.
The Stat That Tells the Story: In a game where UVa came in as a 21.5-point favorite, the Wahoos went into that under-12 timeout with three players all having outscored Wake Forest on their own and another tied with them. You don't see that very often.
Wahoo of the Game: It's De'Andre Hunter. While Diakite's energy was critical and Jay Huff was big off the bench, Hunter scored 11 points on just five shots from the floor while also grabbing seven rebounds (tying for a team-high with Diakite and Braxton Key) along with dishing out a game-high five assists (tied with Ty Jerome). His continued assertiveness is critical for both him and UVa as the season wears on.
Why did the Cavaliers win it?
The simplest answer is that Virginia is just a much better basketball team and showed it Tuesday night. If there was any hangover from the 72-70 loss in Durham this past weekend, the Wahoos didn't show any signs of it. They defended well early, they ran their offense hard, and they looked like the winner of this game within just a couple of possessions. While the Deacs made a run or two here or there, they never seriously challenged and that's exactly what one would have expected from this matchup. Status quo isn't always a bad thing.
And what does this mean for UVa going forward?
Not too much honestly. This was a game where Virginia was expected to win easily and did so. There are plenty of nits to pick, as the sloppy play in spots, the gunning-style offense later in the first half, and the general malaise at times in the second seemed pretty unlike the Cavaliers. But Huff's continued production—and the way he's able to turn the game around in a hurry—is a very good sign as was Hunter's aggressiveness and the overall way the team responded to the Duke loss by being so plugged in from the jump. UVa improved on its 3-point shooting, hitting on 33.3 percent (7-for-21) from deep after going for just 17.6 percent at Duke, but needs to continue to be more consistent. Lastly, the Hoos had a season-high eight blocks and also had 12 second-chance points off of 12 offensive rebounds which isn't exactly a way they score a lot of their points regularly. All in all, it was an ACC game the Hoos needed to win and they again led by at least 20 points. Mission accomplished.
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