Virginia hits defensive low in 88-65 collapse at Stanford

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia’s trip to the West Coast went about as smoothly as a Griswold family vacation on Saturday when the Cavaliers were soundly beaten at Stanford, 88-65. At least the Griswold’s had a Hollywood-scripted happy ending.

UVA had to chew on back-to-back, lopsided losses to the ACC’s westward expansion teams in its cross-country flight home, not expecting to return to the East Coast until around 2 a.m. Sunday. The Cavaliers dropped to 8-8 overall and 1-4 in the conference, the program’s worst start since Dave Leitao’s final season in 2008-09.

Saturday was Virginia’s fourth 20-plus point loss of the season and its seventh double-figures defeat, which doesn’t bode well for this young team. Ken Pomeroy’s latest projection has the Cavaliers finishing 13-18, which puts them in jeopardy of not making the ACC Tournament (only the top 15 out of 18 make the field, and KenPom projects UVA as 16th).

While Virginia struggled to score against one of the nation’s worst defensive teams as it sleepwalked to a 75-61 loss at Cal Wednesday (in a game that didn’t end until after 1 a.m. Eastern time), offense wasn’t the problem down on The Farm on Saturday afternoon.

The Cavaliers actually shot the ball well, connecting on 46.7 percent of their field goals and 47.6 percent of their 3-point attempts.

UVA’s problem was a familiar one, poor rebounding and putrid defense, the latter a paradox considering the blueprint of the Cavaliers’ history.

Virginia’s defense gave up 80-plus points for the third time this season, something that hasn’t happened since that ill-fated Leitao final season. In fact, Stanford’s 88 points were the most scored against Virginia since Gonzaga shredded the Cavaliers with 98 in 2020. The 88 was also the most in a regulation ACC game against UVA since 2013.

“I think for us, it just comes down to having a little more defensive pride and a little more pride and toughness on the glass,” said interim coach Ron Sanchez. “I think that failed us today.”

Virginia was outscored 40-12 in the paint and the Cardinal (11-5, 3-2 ACC) also scored 22 points off turnovers to only 4 for the Cavaliers.

Part of the problem was starting point guard Andrew Rohde being limited due to a flu-like illness (21 minutes, mostly in the first half) and throwing up at halftime. Sanchez tried everything, starting freshman guard Ishan Sharma, using Dai Dai Ames in the backcourt, emphasizing to sharpshooter Isaac McKneely to hunt shots (he was 7 of 14 and 5 of 11 from the arc for a team-high 22 points).

A portion of Virginia’s defensive game plan was the typical trap the post, a staple of the “Pack-Line” defense (Never let an opposing big man beat you), but that failed miserably against the talented 7-foot-1 Maxime Raynaud (24 points, 10 rebounds). The Cavaliers’ post-trap was too soft and allowed the big Frenchman to kick the ball to the perimeter to effective 3-point shooters.

Virginia got off to a fast start and led 19-16 with 12 minutes to go in the first half, but Stanford took control by halftime, 40-30. The Cardinal steadily built a lead, 68-50 halfway through the second half before the Cavaliers rallied to cut it to 73-63, thanks to a 7-0 run, with 5:04 to play.

“Our goal was to cut it to 10, and we said, OK, let’s try to get it to five, score and get a stop, score and get a stop,” Sanchez said, reflecting on the moment.

Maybe the Cavaliers were spent after getting to 10, because from that point, Stanford reeled off 11 unanswered points for an 84-63 lead with only two minutes remaining.

It was another — actually third straight — second-half collapse by the Cavaliers, who have been outscored 126-87 in the second half of their last three games (Stanford, Cal and Louisville). Stanford put up 48 points after the break.

This would lead one to believe that opposing coaching staffs are making offensive adjustments at halftime that the Cavaliers are not countering.

Virginia has a couple of days to collect itself before hosting SMU on Wednesday night (9 p.m. start), a team that defeated the Cavaliers, 63-51, in Dallas on Dec. 7.

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• Virginia fell to 8-8 overall, 1-4 ACC
• UVA is 1-6 away from home and 0-4 in true road contests
• UVA went on a 7-0 run to cut the margin to 72-62 at 6:11 second half
• Stanford led 40-30 at the half
• UVA has trailed in all five of its ACC games
• UVA started 7 of 11 from the field, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range to gain a 19-16 lead
• UVA shot 46.7 percent from the field, including 47.6 percent from 3-point range (10 of 21)
• The Cavaliers have made six or more 3-pointers in 16 games
• UVA has given up 80 or more points in three games for the first time since 2008-09 (8 times)
• UVA was outscored 40-12 in the paint
• The 88 points allowed marked a season-high for UVA

Series Notes

• Virginia is 1-8 all-time vs. Stanford in a series that dates to 1991-92
• Stanford has a seven-game win streak in the series and is 5-0 vs. Virginia at home
• Stanford has scored 72 or more points in six of the nine meetings
• Stanford’s 88 points marked a high in its series vs. UVA

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Isaac McKneely (22), Jacob Cofie (11)
• McKneely recorded his seventh 20-point effort
• McKneely has a 33-game 3-point streak dating back to last season
• McKneely (5 3-pointers) has made multiple 3-pointers in 11 games
• McKneely scored in double figures for the 12th time (38 career)
• Cofie reached double figures for the seventh time
• Ishan Sharma (2 3-pointers) made his first career start
• Sharma has made two or more 3-pointers in five games