Virginia makes a statement with physical NIT win over Bulldogs

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Reece Beekman (Photo: UVA Athletics)

After getting pounded by North Carolina in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals in Brooklyn last week, Tony Bennett decided to push his Virginia team hard in practice for its opening game with Mississippi State in the NIT.

Bennett didn’t think the Cavaliers gave their best effort against the Tar Heels and didn’t want the season to end on a sour note.

“[Carolina] took it to us and we didn’t play well, credit them,” Bennett said. “So the ability to regroup and build for this year, next year, [the NIT] was important.

“I told them, ‘Whether you win or lose this game [vs. MSU], this to me is a statement game for us, not for anyone else. What are we made of? What kind of fight will we have? This is about us.”

Virginia definitely caught a break by getting to host the game on Wednesday night, where they were technically the visiting team. Mississippi State was a No. 3 seed in the bracket (UVA was a No. 6 seed), but the Bulldogs couldn’t host because of a renovation at their home arena.

Still, with Bennett establishing the ACC-SEC clash as a statement game for his Cavaliers, he still wasn’t sure how they would respond even after hard practices.

His team made a statement by controlling the first half, bouncing back from a 15-5 Bulldogs run (7 for 7 field goals) to open the second half, and held on to win an extremely physical game, 60-57.

It was a particularly heated second half with UVA’s Francisco Caffaro having to be separated from MSU’s Garrison Brooks, a former North Carolina standout, and another Bulldog during intense action under the boards (see related game story, notes, boxscore, updated NIT bracket on this site).

The win, Virginia’s 20th on the season, earned the Cavaliers a second-round matchup against No. 2 seeded North Texas (Sunday at 6 p.m. ET at the Super Pit in Denton, Texas, on ESPN+). The Mean Green are 25-6.

Senior point guard Kihei Clark said he and his teammates readily accepted Bennett’s challenge to keep the season going.

“For me personally, I was excited to get the chance to play more basketball,” said Clark, who scored six of his eight points at the free-throw line and dished out nine assists against two turnovers. “We got lucky to be able to play here. The home crowd (5,278) definitely helps us out when we get stops or shot-clock violations. Their energy fires us up.”

Bulldogs coach Ben Howland, who may have coached his last game after seven seasons at MSU’s helm, said he felt the difference in the game was his team’s 14 turnovers, which Virginia converted into 17 points. The Cavaliers’ defense was solid at times, especially getting key stops down the stretch.

Howland said that after looking at the stat sheet, most of the numbers were fairly even with both teams shooting 50 percent from the field, but the turnovers made a difference.

“Having coached against Tony (Howland was at UCLA, Bennett at Washington State) in the past, this is the kind of game we expected and it’s not anything new for me, but new for my players because [Virginia] is so patient offensively. I think Tony is one of the best three coaches in the country. I think that’s been proven here. You guys are so blessed to have him.”

Bennett again proved worthy of Howland’s comments when making an adjustment at halftime that would get Jayden Gardner more involved offensively. Gardner, UVA’s leading scorer on the season, was only 1 of 4 from the field in the first half. The Cavaliers began to get Gardner the ball more in the high post after the break, finding soft spots in the Bulldogs’ defense.

Gardner made 6 of 9 shots in the second half, including 10 straight points, as UVA went from being down two (36-34) to up 44-38 during a four-minute span. He finished with a team-high 16 points (the 101st time in his career he has scored in double figures, 27th time in his one season at UVA).

Bennett believes that the extra basketball the Cavaliers are playing meant something to Gardner and some of his teammates.

“I think the guys that have never played in the postseason before, Armaan [Franklin] and Jayden, who are getting a lot of minutes, and then those guys who really haven’t played a whole lot, obviously Reece [Beekman] and all those other guys should be like, ‘This is something I haven’t experienced before,’” Bennett said. “No, it’s not the NCAA tournament, but it’s still the NIT. To me, I hope they’re chomping at the bit to continue on and get as ready as we can for our next game.”

Gardner was joined in double figures by Beekman, who has come on strong offensively late in the season. Beekman made 5 of 7 shots as part of his 14 points, while Franklin, who had been in a horrible shooting slump, made two clutch 3-pointers, including a big one with 1:55 to play for a 57-53 lead. It was UVA’s last field goal of the game, having to rely on free throws and defensive stops to sew up the win.

Beekman was equally impressive on the defensive end with four steals, breaking Othell Wilson’s single-season steals record with 70. He also had six assists and only one turnover.

“There’s really no break on the court when [Beekman’s] guarding you,” said MSU point guard Iverson Molinar, first-team All-SEC, who finished with 13 points, four assists and five turnovers.

Virginia made the statement Bennett wanted, but the coach wants more. He wants to be cutting down nets in New York. It wouldn’t be the nets Bennett wanted to cut.

Brooklyn would have been preferable, but Madison Square Garden wouldn’t be too bad.

Updated bracket – click to enlarge

Hoos advance to NIT second round, surviving to defeat Bulldogs, 60-57

By Scott Ratcliffe

Virginia got a stellar second half from senior forward Jayden Gardner and held on in a wild finish to knock off visiting Mississippi State, 60-57, in the opening round of the NIT Wednesday night at John Paul Jones Arena.

The Cavaliers (20-13) fought off a hard-fought effort and a late rally by the Bulldogs (18-16), as Gardner poured in 14 of his team-high 16 points in the second half to lead the charge.

Virginia will now travel to face second-seeded North Texas in the second round Sunday night at 6 p.m. (ESPN+).

Up by a point with under two minutes on the clock, UVA senior Kihei Clark found Armaan Franklin in the corner for a huge 3-pointer that gave his team a four-point cushion, 57-53.

North Carolina grad-transfer forward Garrison Brooks missed an open 3-point attempt on the other end with 1:18 to go, and then after an Iverson Molinar miss with 39.9 ticks showing, Francisco Caffaro secured the defensive rebound and was shoved by the former Tar Heel, causing a long official review. Brooks was charged with a technical foul, and Clark split a pair of free throws to push the lead to five.

Virginia second-year guard Reece Beekman added two more from the line four seconds later, but the Bulldogs trimmed it to three with four seconds remaining, and had one final chance after Gardner missed two free throws on the ensuing possession.

With a foul to give, Clark wrapped up Brooks with 2.5 seconds left to prevent a 3-point attempt to tie, Molinar misfired from the corner, the Hoos controlled the rebound and the UVA fans began to celebrate as the Wahoos survived and advanced to play another day.

Kihei Clark (Photos: UVA Athletics)

After leading by eight points at halftime, the Wahoos gave up the first seven of the second half, and MSU tied the game at 32-apiece on a Molinar basket with just over 16 minutes remaining, prompting a Tony Bennett 30-second timeout.

The Bulldogs grabbed their first lead of the night on the other side of the break, but Clark answered with his first made field goal to tie it back up.

With the score knotted at 36-all, Beekman came away with a steal on the opposing baseline which led to a Gardner basket on the other end to put the Hoos back in front.

Caffaro received a hand to the face from MSU big man Javian Davis soon after, and both players were issued a technical foul as the action began to heat up.

Gardner, who missed three of his four shot attempts in the first half, scored again on back-to-back jumpers to give UVA a 42-36 edge with 10:46 to play, capping a flurry of eight-straight Cavalier points.

After Brooks finally got one to go for the Bulldogs, Gardner buried a stepback J and freshman Taine Murray pushed the lead to eight, 46-38, with a drive to the hole on an assist from Beekman.

Beekman became Virginia’s single-season steals leader moments later, moving past Othell Wilson (1983-84) with his 70th takeaway of the campaign.

Andersson Garcia’s triple with 7:45 to go cut the Cavalier lead to four, but Clark lobbed up an alley-oop for Kadin Shedrick, as the JPJ crowd was rocking. Another Gardner basket made it 50-44 as the clock went under six minutes, but Brooks answered with a 3-pointer, and it was back to a one-possession game with 4:30 left.

Jayden Gardner

Gardner stayed hot, making his sixth bucket of the half — in seven attempts — and Virginia led by five heading into the final media timeout. Brooks responded with two more 3-pointers (with a Beekman drive sandwiched in between), and UVA led by just one, 54-53, with the two-minute mark approaching, setting up the tight finish.

Each team shot an identical 50 percent (23 for 46), with the Bulldogs making 4 of 13 from long range (31 percent). UVA, which assisted on 17 of its 23 made baskets, was just 2 for 12 from deep (17 percent), knocking down 12 of 17 (71 percent) from the foul line and scoring 17 points on 14 MSU turnovers. The Bulldogs prevailed in the rebounding category, 27-24.

In addition to Gardner’s big night, Beekman also finished in double figures with 14 points (5 for 7 FG) to go with his 6 assists and 3 rebounds. Clark had 8 points and a game-high 9 assists in what could be his final game at JPJ, making 6 of 8 from the charity stripe.

Caffaro had 8 points and a team-high 5 rebounds, while Franklin (6 points) was the only Cavalier to connect from downtown on the evening (2 for 5).

Tolu Smith led the Bulldogs with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Brooks and Molinar each added 13 points.

FIRST HALF

Virginia used a 6-0 run to lead 10-4 in the opening minutes, and did it with defense. The Hoos forced six Bulldog turnovers in the first six minutes of the contest, getting contributions from Caffaro and senior Kody Stattmann early on.

Virginia stretched its lead to 23-14 by the five-minute mark after a pair of Beekman free throws, and he followed those up with a stepback jumper and a dish to Caffaro for an open dunk, and the Hoos took a 27-19 advantage into the locker room.

Virginia shot 43 percent from the field (10 for 23) and 88 percent from the stripe (7 of 8) in the first half, scoring 11 points off of nine MSU giveaways. The Hoos got a dozen first-half points from their bench, with Caffaro scoring 8 and Stattmann adding 4.

Box Score

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• The Cavaliers improved to 20-13
• UVA forced one shot clock violation (35 in 2021-22)
• UVA led 27-19 at the half, holding its opponent to fewer than 20 points in the first half for the fifth time
• MSU started the second half on a 15-5 run (7-7 FGs), including an 8-0 run, to gain a 34-32 lead
• UVA answered with a 12-2 run to gain a 46-38 lead
• UVA has won 20 or more games for the 10th time under Tony Bennett
• The Cavaliers have 11 home wins for the 12th time in 13 seasons under Bennett
• UVA is 8-5 in nonconference action

NIT Notes

• The Cavaliers are 18-11 all-time in 14 NIT appearances, including a pair of championships in 1980 and 1992
• UVA is 8-4 all-time in the NIT first round
• The Cavaliers are 11-3 at home in the NIT, including a 3-1 mark at John Paul Jones Arena
• The Cavaliers are 16-8 in NCAA/NIT postseason play under Bennett, including a 3-1 mark in the NIT
• Bennett is 3-2 all-time in the NIT, including a 68-57 loss at St. Mary’s as head coach at Washington State in 2009

Series Notes

• The Cavaliers are 2-2 all-time vs. Mississippi State in a series that dates back to Feb. 25, 1928

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Jayden Gardner (16), Reece Beekman (14)
• Gardner reached double figures for the 27th time (101st career)
• Beekman reached double figures for the 11th time (14th career)
• Beekman (4 steals) surpassed Othell Wilson for first on UVA’s single-season steals list with 70
• Beekman has at least one steal in 30 of 33 games
• Kihei Clark had a game-high nine assists

Updated bracket – click to enlarge

Virginia vs. Mississippi State in NIT: It’s gonna be a football game

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Jayden Gardner (Photo: theacc.com)

It has been a while since Ben Howland faced the Bennetts of Washington State, but he has vivid memories of what those games were like in the old Pac-10. Now, perhaps in his last season with Mississippi State, Howland knows exactly what to expect when the Bulldogs play at Virginia on Wednesday night in a first-round NIT game at John Paul Jones Arena (7 p.m., ESPN2).

Howland took over the UCLA program the same year Dick Bennett became head coach at Washington State. Dick Bennett was followed by son, Tony, as the Cougars’ head coach. Howland earned the distinction of becoming the first coach in UCLA basketball history to lose home games at Pauley Pavillion to Washington State, something he hasn’t forgotten.

“I would say when you play Dick Bennett and then Tony Bennett, it’s like getting a root canal,” Howland said in a Zoom presser on Tuesday. “It’s not fun.”

Howland isn’t the only person in the Mississippi State program who knows what it’s like to face a Bennett team. Two former ACC players are now on the Bulldogs’ roster, one of them being graduate transfer Garrison Brooks, who was the ACC preseason Player of the Year his senior season at North Carolina.

Howland joked that when Brooks saw Virginia pop up as the Bulldogs’ first-round opponent in the NIT, Brooks put on the team thread, “It’s gonna be a football game.”

“I mean, it’s gonna be very physical,” Howland said of the matchup with the Cavaliers. “[Brooks] played against them for four years and has great respect for Virginia. He knows how physically tough they are, how they fight for everything.

“Shaq (Moore, former NC State player) actually had a good game against Virginia last year in his freshman year, so they both know Virginia was the standard-bearer the last seven, eight years in the ACC.”

Bennett mentioned in his chat with media on Monday that Howland’s teams are traditionally physically tough as well, so this could be another battle that Bennett classifies as a “knuckle-buster.”

Because the Mississippi State arena is undergoing a renovation, the third-seeded Bulldogs couldn’t host, meaning that UVA, essentially a No. 6 seed, was designated the game site.

“I think we have the toughest draw in the NIT, because we’re supposed to be hosting as a No. 3 seed,” Howland said. “Now, we have to go on the road to play the hardest team you could possibly play to be on the road against.”

Mississippi State (18-15) was only 1-9 in road games this past season.

While Howland has already studied the Cavaliers, he doesn’t see a lot of difference between UVA and what he faced at UCLA against the Washington State teams coached by the Bennetts.

“They’re so packed in (on defense) and they’re so reactive toward any drives, they’re in constant help that you are really required to make some jump shots to beat a Bennett team,” Howland said. “They’re going to get a hand up to contest the level of release. They double the post in order to try to keep you out of the post as much as possible.

“They often have three guys back on defense, and so they give you nothing in transition. They’re making it a half-court game.”

That’s just on the defensive side of the ball. Offense also demands focus from the opponents.

“Virginia’s tempo is No. 357 out of 357,” Howland said. “It’s always right there every year. So it’s a very patient control game where they’re going to have the ball a lot in their hands. They don’t turn it over, they’re always one of the top teams in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio, so they’ve got a lot of things go their way, and you’ve got to shoot the ball against them.”

Wednesday night’s game could be Howland’s last as Bulldogs’ coach. Should Virginia prevail, Howland is clearly on the chopping block. In fact, some publications reported Howland had already been fired, requiring the school’s AD to clarify that Howland would coach the team in the NIT.

“We’re just focused on the game,” Howland said. “I’m not sitting there talking to our players about that at all. We’re focused on being the very best team we can be and compete against a great program against a great team that just won the national championship in the last few years (2019) and has been the dominant team in the ACC over the last eight-to-10 years. So it’s a real thrill from my standpoint to be playing in this game.”

Howland said he really wanted to be back for an eighth season at the helm of MSU next season because he has several players returning and has his best recruiting class in the last three years coming in. 

“If that doesn’t happen, I would be disappointed to not have a chance to coach this team, but we’ll just worry about that later,” Howland said.

(See related story on Tony Bennett’s NIT philosophy: “In it to Win it;” check out our game-preview podcast; also statistical breakdown, starting lineups and NIT brackets appear below with updated results).

Click to enlarge

Podcast: ‘Jerry Ratcliffe Show’ previews Virginia-Mississippi State

Virginia (19-13) faces Mississippi State (18-15) in the first round of the 2022 NIT on Wednesday. Jerry Ratcliffe and Chris Graham break down the matchup from all angles.