What happened (statisically) versus Longwood and the Week Ahead
Monday, November 16 2009 by Ben
I didn't see the Longwood game, because I don't live in Charlottesville. However, I can provide you with some context for the game from kenpom.com.
Offensively, Virginia put up some excellent numbers. Almost 110 points per possession (PPP) would've pitted them near the top of the heap in the nation last year. They shot an unreal 66% eFG for the game - that's unsustainable against non-Longwood opponents, but it's encouraging nonetheless.
There were also hints of Tony Bennett basketball evident in the stats - namely offensive rebounding percentages. Bennett prides his teams on playing good defense (more on that in a sec) and especially keeping the other team off of the glass. Longwood managed only 2 offensive rebounds on the night.
Offensive rebounds also told a picture on offense as well; they were few and far between for the Wahoos (OR% of 23%). As John Gasaway mentioned in his interview, Bennett discourages offensive rebounding in order to focus on transition defense.
Defensively, however, Bennett must have been discouraged by the performance. Giving up 108 PPP to a rather crummy Longwood team? Yikes - not a good debut for the Cavs on that end of the floor. Last year's Washington State team, for instance, gave up 88 PPP on average and that included a couple of offensive powerhouses in the Pac-10. However, there's hope in that, after this week, Virginia gets back Assane Sene.
In terms of pace, the game was very fast for Bennett team, but still near the middle of the pack, nationally. So, perhaps he will loosen the reins a bit, like he said he would, though as the opponents get tougher, the pace will drop.
Individually, what I noticed is: Farrakhan played very well and Zeglinski and Evans need to hang onto the ball more. The turnovers were not cool at all.
In the week ahead, Virginia will face two opponents: one they should beat and the other is a toss up. Surprisingly, it's the opposite of what you would think; the Big East opponent is the weaker one.
South Florida is well coached, but right now just doesn't have the talent to win.
That's right: beware of Rider, folks. Like I said in the non-conference preview, Rider has Ryan Thompson and he has some serious game. Don't believe me?
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I'm going to be at the USF game, and I'm pretty psyched about the chance to see it live.
However, I am less confident about the game than Ben. USF is a big team and we are not, especially with Sene and Tucker out. Considering Longwood's two big men combined for 31 points on 14-18 from the field, I am seriously concerned about our ability to stop Augustus Gilchrist and Jarrid Famous (great name by the way), both 6-10 or taller.
I did see the Longwood game, because I do live in Charlottesville.
I've just been unsure of what to post about it.
The game was about as I expected. We controlled the game, and it wasn't really as close as the score makes it look like it was.
We clearly were trying to play a system on defense and we were clearly executing some sets on offense (and in-bounds plays!). We just aren't very good or very good at those things yet. So we struggled.
I expect we'll see marked improvement in just about each game as the team truly buys in and sees what Tony's trying to do.
Aside from the above obvious things, here are some more obvious ones:
1) Sly is still good.
2) Jontel Evans is already my 2nd favorite player on the team. Energy and passion seem to be what he's all about. He'll shake those rookie mistakes and be one impressive player. I have no doubt.