Papi rides to Virginia’s rescue against Hokies, hints future growth in his game

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Photo: UVA Athletics

Al McGuire, the colorful coach and TV commentator, used to call ‘em “aircraft carriers,” the 7-footers that graced basketball courts from sea to shining sea. He would name his “All-Airport Team,” meaning players that looked good walking through airports, judging not by talent but more by height.

Virginia broke out its aircraft carrier on Wednesday night and nobody saw it coming. Even visiting Virginia Tech coach Mike Young admitted in his postgame media chat when he said, “I didn’t see Caffaro …,” but interrupted himself and never finished his sentence.

No worries. Who would have predicted or even wildly guessed that 7-foot-1, 245-pound Francisco Caffaro would have a career night in every statistical category? Better known to teammates and the Virginia fan base as simply, “Papi,” a nickname he picked up while playing prep school basketball in Australia, Caffaro posted these highs against the Hokies in a 54-52 win: Points (16), rebounds (9), free throws (6), free-throw attempts (10) and minutes (30:31).

Caffaro, who made 5 of 7 field-goal attempts, also had five of UVA’s nine offensive rebounds (a huge statistic in such a rock fight), and no turnovers.

Many Virginia fans, including many detractors, had maligned Caffaro in the past as a plodding guy who couldn’t score. Even the most vocal of the haters confessed after the win over the Hokies that they had judged Papi too harshly, and that he more than earned his keep in a huge homecourt win over the rivals.

Simply, Caffaro saved the Cavaliers’ bacon.

Only Tech’s Keve Aluma, a surefire pro prospect, scored more than Caffaro, and Caffaro didn’t give Aluma a pass on offense. In fact, on Tech’s last three attempts to win the game prior to the last-seconds missed 3-pointers, clearly Young’s plan was to put the ball in Aluma’s hands and let him attack the basket, hoping to drive past Caffaro or draw a foul.

On those three attacks, Aluma turned the ball over, missed a shot, and slipped and fell on an iso drive against Caffaro.

“[Aluma] is a crafty player,” said the Hulk-ish Caffaro. “He’s talented and uses his footwork pretty well, and his fake. So, I just worked to stay down. I tried to slide with him every time I could and just didn’t get lifted. He’s a little shorter, so I knew I could just stay down and put my hands up.”

Caffaro gained more playing time when Kadin Shedrick drew two early fouls and finished the game with only 17 minutes of playing time. While he was on the floor, Caffaro made it count, and the couple times he came out for a breather, he was hailed for his efforts from an appreciative JPJ Arena crowd.

“Caffaro is a good player,” said VT’s Young. “He’s a big, physical young man and he played a really good ball game.”

Young said that both Caffaro and Shedrick did a good job against Aluma, but that the game was “a little more physical than we’re accustomed to … let’s put it that way.” For the record, the Hokies were awarded only three free throws in the game, compared to 16 by Virginia.

“That’s just how I play,” Caffaro said of his physical style. “That’s normal. That’s what I’m used to.”

Teammate Armaan Franklin could have warned the Hokies ahead of time.

“Papi is very physical,” the Indiana transfer said after the game. “Me and him go at it a lot sometimes, or we used to, because he is very physical and I didn’t like it.”

Some thought Caffaro was a lower-sodium Jack Salt (thanks Mike Ashley), but Papi showed he’s the real thing against Tech.

Tony Bennett fell in love with Caffaro a long time ago. Not only does he love how hard the Argentinian works, but what a fun-loving guy he is on and off the court. Bennett’s affection will grow stronger if Caffaro continues to develop and contribute.

The same people that didn’t appreciate Salt, probably won’t appreciate Caffaro the way Bennett does, but basketball is a team sport that needs role players to play specific roles. That’s what Papi does.

“He’s physical,” Bennett said. “He’s coming and getting extra time and he’s purposeful. [Basketball] is new to him. He has not played a lot, so now he’s getting to play more.”

The Virginia coach pointed out that his bigs — Caffaro, Shedrick and Jayden Gardner — need to be more physical, and never fails to mention that his team is better, much better, when it displays a ruggedness.

That’s exactly the style of play that fired the win over the Hokies and Clemson. It was exactly what was missing at Carolina.

“I know it’s not sexy or appealing, but you’ve got to be as good of a screener, as good a rebounder, as good of a defender, and then play off of opportunities for scoring,” Bennett said. “As your game improves, then there’ll be some opportunities for scoring. I challenge them to serve the team in that role — and there’s nothing wrong with that. I coached Aron Baynes at Washington State and last I checked, he was pretty special and has some NBA Finals rings and some pretty fat contracts.”

Bennett wants his bigs to embrace those roles and continue to improve.

That’s what Caffaro is doing.

“I’ve seen him understanding more,” Bennett closed. “He moves a little better than you think. He’s a little unorthodox perhaps, but he can move and he is strong.”

The good thing about Papi, a redshirt junior, is that the best is yet to come.

Career night from Caffaro leads Hoos past Hokies, 54-52

By Scott Ratcliffe

Coming off an embarrassing loss over the weekend, Virginia got back in the win column Wednesday night after hanging on in a tightly contested Commonwealth Clash thriller over Virginia Tech, 54-52, at John Paul Jones Arena.

The Cavaliers (10-6, 4-2 ACC) led by two with time winding down, as Tech’s Hunter Cattoor couldn’t connect on a 3-point try with 5 seconds left, then after the rebound caromed to fellow Hokie guard Storm Murphy, he pump-faked to get free for one final attempt from downtown, but his would-be game-winner clanked off the rim and the Hokies fell to 0-4 in conference play (8-7 overall).

Leading by a point as the clock went under 60 seconds, UVA was unable to get a shot off and gave it back to the Hokies with 38 ticks left. Virginia got it right back with 14.2 seconds to play, as Tech’s Keve Aluma was called for a travel as he fell to the floor, and Tech had to foul.

Kihei Clark split a pair from the foul line with 13 ticks showing, leaving the Hokies with one last crack at stealing one, but it wasn’t to be, as the Hoos held Tech scoreless for the final 3:14 of the game.

The bitter in-state rivals were deadlocked at 38-apiece midway through the second half when Reece Beekman put the Wahoos in front, as the second-year guard registered double-figure scoring for the second-straight contest and third time in his last five games.

“I think, the last handful of games, Reece has really taken a step in the right direction, and I like what I’m seeing in that regard …,” said UVA coach Tony Bennett. “He’s being a bit more aggressive offensively, and I think his last five games — four, five or six games or whatever — he’s really trending in a good direction, and I hope he’ll just keep staying assertive and keep working and knowing who he is.”

Clark followed with a long 2-point jumper, but the Hokies converted a pair of buckets to knot it back up at 42-42 with 7:47 to go. The Hokies grabbed a 50-46 advantage as the clock went under 5 minutes and the ACC’s leading scorer, Aluma, went over the 20-point plateau, barely beating the buzzer with a hook shot over Kadin Shedrick.

Jayden Gardner answered on the other end with just his second basket of the night, keeping the Hoos well within striking distance. Later, Gardner drew defenders and dropped one off for Francisco Caffaro, who added to his career night with a basket to trim it to one with just over two minutes to go.

Armaan Franklin drew a foul and knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:31 remaining, giving Virginia a 53-52 lead, setting up the exciting finish.

Caffaro posted career highs, leading the Cavaliers with 16 points (5 for 7; 6 of 10 from the charity stripe) and 9 rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench.

“Francisco, ‘Papi,’ really played well,” Bennett said. “His physicality was significant and he was on the glass, and then got to the free-throw line when we needed it.”

Franklin and Beekman combined for 26 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists on a night when Gardner — who came in averaging a team-best 15 points per game — struggled offensively, finishing 2 of 10 with 4 points and 5 boards.

Clark also had an off night with just 6 points on 2-of-9 shooting, but coming away with an important conference win — one that keeps the Hoos within a game of first place — was the only thing on the team’s mind when the clock hit triple zeroes.

Beekman, who leads the ACC in takeaways, was one of three Cavaliers with a pair of steals (Gardner, Clark). UVA shot 40 percent on the night (20 for 50), making just 3 of 13 (23 percent) from beyond the arc. The Hoos missed all five of their attempts from long range after halftime, but made 11 of 16 free-throw tries. Virginia outrebounded the Hokies, 31-29, and converted a dozen Tech turnovers into 14 points on the other end. 

Aluma led all scorers with 22 points in the loss, as the Hokies, who shot 42 percent (21 for 50) from the field and 37 percent (7 of 19) from downtown, will seek revenge in Blacksburg on Valentine’s Day.

FIRST HALF

Shedrick picked up two quick fouls in the game’s first three minutes, leaving it up to Caffaro to man the middle for much of the first half, and “Big Papi” filled in admirably.

Beekman nailed a 3-ball from the top of the key to tie it up at 7-7, sparking a mini-Cavalanche. Caffaro gave the Cavaliers their first lead with a hook shot, followed by a VT shot-clock violation, as Papi held Aluma in check in the post and the Hokies failed to get one up in time.

JPJ was electric after a couple of Virginia takeaways, as Clark found Franklin for 3 in transition to make it 17-9 and cap a 10-0 UVA spurt.

Tech countered with 7 unanswered points over the next few minutes before Gardner, who missed 4 of his first 5 attempts, showed up on the scorebook with a jumper at the 7:51 mark.

After the visitors briefly took the lead, Franklin sank a jumper and then Clark added 3 more before another Tech shot-clock violation just before the under-4 media timeout, with the Hoos in front by a point, 24-23.

Gardner couldn’t get one to fall from the corner before the halftime horn, finishing the half 1 for 7, but the Hoos held a 25-23 edge at the break, as the Hokies misfired on their final 7 of 8 from the field.

Caffaro, the only non-starter to score in the opening 20 minutes for either team, had 6 points and 6 rebounds (4 on the offensive glass) in his 15 first-half minutes.

Box Score

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• Virginia improved to 10-6, 4-2 ACC
• UVA is 6-3 at John Paul Jones Arena
• UVA held Virginia Tech scoreless for the last 3:14 of the game
• UVA forced two shot clock violations (20 in 2021-22)
• UVA is 74-17 against teams from Virginia since 1999-00
• UVA is 2-1 against the Commonwealth this season
• UVA has won 27 of its last 32 games against teams from Virginia
• The UVA-VT game is worth a half point in the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash and the Hokies lead this year’s Clash 3-1.5
• UVA outrebounded Virginia Tech 31-29 and is 6-0 when owning an advantage on the glass
• UVA had an 18-2 advantage in bench points
• UVA went on a 10-0 run to gain a 17-9 lead in the first half
• UVA led 25-23 at halftime

Series Notes

• Virginia is 96-57 all-time vs. Virginia Tech, including a 41-13 mark in Charlottesville, in the series that dates back to 1914-15
• The Cavaliers have a three-game winning streak at John Paul Jones Arena
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 17-7 all-time vs. Virginia Tech

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Francisco Caffaro (16), Armaan Franklin (15), Reece Beekman (11)
• Caffaro had career highs in points (16), rebounds (9), free throws (6) and free throw attempts (10)
• Caffaro reached double figures for the first time (2nd career)
• Franklin reached double figures for the 11th time (26th career)
• Beekman reached double figures for the fifth time (8th career)
• Kadin Shedrick (2 blocks) had his 12th multi-block game
• Clark tied a season high with two steals
• ACC steals leader Beekman had two steals
• Jayden Gardner had a season high two steals

UP NEXT

The Hoos host Wake Forest Saturday at 4:30 p.m. (ACCNX).

Virginia must find an answer for Hokies’ Aluma as Tech comes to town tonight

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Photo courtesy UVA Athletics.

Tony Bennett and his staff have spent the past few days trying to come up with some answers.

After having no answer for Carolina’s Armondo Bacot last Saturday in a lopsided loss in Chapel Hill (Bacot had 29 points, 22 rebounds), Virginia’s next test comes Wednesday night when the Cavaliers host state rival Virginia Tech and star Keve Aluma.

UVA had no answer for Aluma in January of last season when he scored 29 points and had 10 rebounds in a 65-51 Hokies win over the then-No. 8 ranked Cavaliers in Blacksburg.

_____________

THE GAME

# WHO: Virginia Tech (8-6/0-3) at Virginia (9-6/3-2)

# WHEN: Wednesday, 9 p.m.

# WHERE: John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville

# TV: ESPN2

# NUMBERS: Virginia favored by 1.5 points

_______________

“Last year we didn’t have an answer for [Aluma],” Bennett said during Monday’s ACC coaches teleconference. “He’s really good and having a heck of a year. He will be playing a long time after college.

“I’m sure he saw what Bacot did to us and is saying, ‘hmm,’ because he’s a complete player offensively. He’ll shoot the three, he can score in the post, passes, plays out of a bunch of different spots and is experienced, so he’s really good and he’s having a heck of a year.”

Aluma is 12th in the ACC in scoring with a 15.2 points per game average and seventh in field goal percentage at 50.09. He also averages 6.3 rebounds per game.

In his last two games, Aluma scored 25 in a loss at Duke and 18 in a home loss to NC State.

Meanwhile, Hokies coach Mike Young has his own worries coming into tonight’s game. One of those worries is Virginia forward Jayden Gardner, who transferred over the offseason from East Carolina.

Gardner is third in the ACC in field goal percentage at 57.4 percent and is fifth in the league in rebounds with 7.53 per game.

“He’s a load,” Young said of Gardner. “He does a nice job around the basket, second shots, gets his body into you. I’m really impressed with his ability to shoot from 15. He’s making that shot very consistently. The more I watch, the more I admire him. He’s as good as advertised, a whale of a player.”

Neither coach puts much stock in last year’s meeting in which Virginia seemed to be in command until it went into an inexplicable 7-minute scoring drought, allowing Tech to go on a 19-0 run, an issue that has also impacted UVA in a few games this season.

“I’m not sure [the formula Tech used in last year’s game] how much will carry over,” Young said. “We had some good fortune to be honest. We found two or three things that worked.”

Young is sure that UVA has studied the Hokies’ strategy from last season and has already made correctable adjustments.

“Let’s just take care of the ball and get a good shot every time down, which is easier said than done,” the Tech coach said.

Bennett notes that there’s not much value in studying last year’s game because both squads have new personnel. Only guards Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman had any real playing time in that loss.

“We’re studying more of the things that [Tech] is doing this year,” Bennett said.

While UVA is coming off a three-game road swing, in which it scored victories at Syracuse and Clemson, it is trying to put behind a overwhelming defeat at North Carolina last Saturday, something Bennett blamed partially on poor practice and preparation.

Virginia has won four of the last five meetings against Tech, dropping that last meeting.

Meanwhile, Young has another concern, an 0-3 start in ACC play. The Hokies began the season with a 5-0 record, but has since lost half of its six games, including all three conference starts.

During the teleconference, Young was asked if there is a sense of urgency to get back into the winning column in league play.

“I’m not terribly concerned about that,” Young said. “We understand the situation we are in. It’s not ideal but it’s where we are. We make this better one day at a time, one practice at a time. It has to be a very narrow focus.”

The Tech coach said he wants his team to be more connected over a 40-minute span and do the little things that add up as the game wears on.

Bennett was pleased with how his team bounced back from a 17-point home loss to Clemson on Dec. 22, and responded with back-to-back road wins at Syracuse and Clemson, avenging that home defeat.

“You can always judge it by wins and losses, but it’s about how they come to work,” the UVA coach said. “When you recruit character, you can go through adversity.

“Will we keep making the same mistakes? There’s no issues with these guys. They want to win.”

For more information, see related UVA-Tech game notes posted Friday.

Bennett: “We’re not a great defensive team,” heading into Virginia Tech

By Jerry Ratcliffe

File Photo by Jon Golden

If Virginia fans had been told prior to the Cavaliers’ three-game road swing, that their team would win two out of three, they would have taken it.

Consider that Tony Bennett’s team was coming off a 17-point drubbing at home to Clemson before that road trip. The Tigers had dropped 11 in a row to UVA before ending that streak.

Shaking off that loss, beating Syracuse and avenging Clemson in back-to-back road games, showed signs of progress and that’s what Bennett was looking for. Remember how Jason Williford kept mentioning how this team was “a work in progress?” Well, it still is and may very well be through the entire season.

It has been pointed out that this is not your vintage Virginia basketball team. It is, however, making strides.

Forget the blowout loss at the Dean Dome last Saturday. The Tar Heels were due after having lost seven straight against Virginia. It was an ambush and Carolina was determined to end that streak. The way UNC played Saturday, there’s not many teams in the country that would have survived that assault.

While new Carolina coach Hubert Davis, one of the nice guys in the business, was trying to find something good to say about his vanquished opponent after Saturday’s game, his comment was well-intended but misguided when he said that Virginia was a great defensive team.

“I heard Hubert say that, and he was just trying to be nice, but we’re not a great defensive team,” Bennett said during Monday’s ACC coaches teleconference. “We’ve been inconsistent.”

Wahoo fans are accustomed to seeing the Cavaliers ranked atop the national standings in defensive efficiency. If they’re not No. 1, they’re not far from it.

Get this. Going into the weekend, UVA was ranked around No. 50 in the country. Today, the Cavaliers are No. 97. Yikes.

“You keep working, make adjustments,” Bennett said. “I hope we’re getting better. I thought we showed some life in some of the games. The offense can come and go for us.”

Bennett pointed out UVA’s downfall in Chapel Hill, pointing out that his defense couldn’t get enough stops in addition to giving up too many second chance shots (14 to UVA’s 4).

“I don’t have a letter grade,” Bennett said about his defense. “It takes all your might to be as good as you can. We’re not touching the great defensive unit yet. I know what that looks like.”

Carolina had its way with Virginia, with Armondo Bacot putting up 29 points and 22 rebounds. That might have been enough, but the fact that UNC’s perimeter shooters lit up the Pack-Line defense, made an authoritative statement.

Brady Manek, a stretch 4 who can shoot the 3, kept delivering daggers into the Pack-Line. So did teammate Caleb Love with some deep 3’s.

Certainly that is one of the Pack-Line’s weaknesses, particularly when defenders can’t get out in time to bother the shot. We’ve seen that time and again.

“They were stretching us with Manek,” Bennett said. “Those pick and pop 4-men (wings)… Sometimes we weren’t communicating. Our newness, inexperience shows in that. We have to be a little more stingy in those areas (defending 3’s and defensive rebounding).”

Bennett wasn’t too pleased that Carolina, which pushes the pace, dictated the tempo of the game for the most part.

“When a guy has 21 rebounds, we did not have an A minus in that area. When you don’t, you don’t have much of a chance,” Bennett said. “You have to be able to make them play against a set defense. They had us a little bit on our heels.

“Statistically, in all our years past, our percentage of defensive rebounding, we’ve been pretty good. That hasn’t been the case this year. It’s tough when you’re giving extra possessions.”

UVA hosts Virginia Tech, winless in the ACC, on Wednesday night. On Tuesday, we’ll showcase Bennett’s thoughts on hosting the Hokies and Tech coach Mike Young talking about the upcoming clash.

Virginia has no answer for monstrous performance by Carolina’s Bacot

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Most basketball fans on either side of the state borders suspected Virginia’s long winning streak against North Carolina would come to an end Saturday. Just didn’t figure it would be so lopsided.

The Cavaliers had strung together an almost unbelievable streak of W’s against the Tar Heels — seven in a row dating back to the middle of February in 2017, six weeks before Carolina would win the national championship. Streaks like that just don’t happen against blue bloods. Heck, it had been 45 years since anyone owned the Heels like Virginia did.

Don’t think that new UNC coach Hubert Davis didn’t take note of it, hammering that streak into his players at every opportunity in preparation for UVA.

The Tar Heels got the message.

North Carolina 74, Virginia 58.

The difference was Carolina unleashed its monster and Virginia didn’t have an answer. Normally, opposing big men have little success against the Cavaliers’ “Pack-Line” defense, which doubles the post to avoid such disasters.

Such strategy was useless against Armando Bacot, who went beast-mode on Virginia with an eye-popping 29 points and 21 rebounds, dominating the paint. Bacot had free reign because teammates Brady Manek (19) and Caleb Love (16) bombed away from Bonusphere, allowing the Cavaliers to choose their own poison.

“He certainly had his way,” Tony Bennett said of Bacot. “If you’re out of position or don’t get a quality body on him or just try to keep him off the glass, he’s going to make you pay. Sometimes it was just because we were covering for a breakdown, trying to block a shot or out of position, but their frontcourt really hurt us.”

Bacot established a beachhead down low early, and the Cavaliers had no answer. Jayden Gardner was outsized, Francisco Caffaro was too plodding and Kadin Shedrick was sent to the bench with a bloody nose with 13 minutes to play and never returned.

“I didn’t know he had that many points and rebounds until I looked at the stat sheet and thought, ‘oh my gosh,’” Davis said. “That’s the best performance I’ve ever seen against Virginia that I can remember.”

Davis has an excellent memory. No one has lit up UVA like that since Wake Forest’s Tim Duncan posted 21 points and 23 rebounds in 1997. Hanging similar numbers against the Pack-Line is unfathomable. Even Bacot found it difficult to wrap his mind around his accomplishment.

“They double team big to big every single time, so I mean, it’s like impossible to really have a great game versus UVA as a big,” Bacot said. “Brady and Caleb, you can’t really help off them so I got a lot of one-on-one looks and that opened up the floor and just allowed us to space out and do better things.”

Bacot was correct. Manek, a stretch-4 transfer from Oklahoma, coupled with Love’s deep 3’s, spread the floor and made the Pack-Line vulnerable as a result.

“He’s a big post player and kind of imposes his will on the offensive glass,” UVA’s Armaan Franklin said. “It’s hard to keep him off the glass, keep him from running around, but better defensive rotations probably could have helped a lot more.”

Davis, who was a longtime assistant to Roy Williams before taking over the program after last season, knew the recipe for beating Virginia. He just wasn’t sure his team would pull it off after losing a close game at Notre Dame earlier in the week.

“The times that we have been successful against Virginia have been times that we’ve been able to shoot the ball from the outside, which gives us that spacing to be able to drive and attack the basket,” Davis said.

Certainly that wasn’t the case during the streak. Carolina hadn’t scored more than 63 points during that skid, and in four of those seven losses, the Tar Heels had more attempted field goals than points.

One of the bright spots for Virginia was that Reece Beekman put up 13 points (6 for 12, including a 3-pointer), which could be a good sign for the Cavaliers, while Franklin added 12 and Gardner 10.

The Cavaliers, now 9-6 overall and 3-2 in the ACC, can’t feel too bad after winning twice on their three-game road swing. They hope to get back on the winning track on Wednesday when rival Virginia Tech comes to town.

Bacot unstoppable as Carolina trounces Virginia, 74-58

By Scott Ratcliffe

Photo: UVA Athletics

Virginia saw its two-game ACC road winning streak come to an end Saturday at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, as North Carolina junior center Armando Bacot went wild in a 74-58 blowout.

Bacot notched a monster double-double — his sixth in a row and 11th of the season — posting career highs of 29 points (12 of 18 FG) and 21 rebounds, as the Tar Heels (11-4, 3-1 ACC) took the Cavaliers (9-6, 3-2) behind the woodshed.

UVA had won seven in a row and 10 of the last 11 regular-season matchups against UNC, and was gunning for a third-straight victory at the Dean Dome, but Bacot and the Heels had other ideas.

Leading by six at the half, Carolina extended its lead to double digits with a Brady Manek 3-pointer and a Bacot two-hand flush to make it 36-25, and Tony Bennett called for time to regroup not even two minutes into the second half.

“Defensively, we could not stop them,” Bennett admitted afterwards. “And if we did get a decent [defensive] possession, it was an end-of-the-shot-clock make, or certainly an offensive rebound, they just sort of had their way.”

Jayden Gardner, Reece Beekman and Kody Stattmann did all they could to keep the Cavaliers within striking distance — each putting in multiple baskets over the next few minutes — but every time Virginia crept closer, the Heels had a response, despite the Hoos connecting on 6 of 7 shots over one stretch of just over four minutes. Stattmann nailed a pair of 3s, but it only pulled his team to within 16 points, 62-46, with 7 minutes to play. 

Bacot, who leads the conference in rebounding and field-goal percentage, was extremely productive on the glass, as referenced by his 9 offensive boards — 6 of which came after halftime alone — which helped lead to a 14-4 UNC advantage in second-chance points.

When all was said and done, the Heels led by as many as 25 points and denied the Cavaliers of what would’ve been just the 10th win in Chapel Hill in program history.

“We just didn’t get the run that we needed,” said Beekman, who added that he and his teammates will not dwell on the loss.

UVA shot 45 percent (25 for 56) on the afternoon, including 6 of 12 (50 percent) from downtown. Beekman led the Hoos with 13 points, 4 assists and 3 steals, while Gardner added 10 points and 7 rebounds. Kihei Clark chipped in with 9 points and 7 boards.

In addition to Bacot’s incredible performance, Manek poured in 19 points and Caleb Love added 16, as those two combined for 9 triples on the day. Carolina shot 47 percent (28 for 59), with 11 3-pointers in 25 attempts (44 percent). The Heels won the rebounding battle, 36-28.

FIRST HALF

The Heels grabbed an early 6-2 lead before a Clark triple just before the first media timeout trimmed it to one. Gardner briefly gave the Hoos a 7-6 lead on a jumper out of the break, but Carolina went back in front and held a cushion behind the strength of Bacot, who racked up 12 points and 8 boards by halftime.

Beekman, who earlier scored on a strong take and then sank a 3-ball, converted his second steal of the day into a layup on the other end, trimming it to three, 19-16, with 8:40 on the clock.

Later, Gardner snuck around his man and scored with ease, then Carson McCorkle stuck a jumper from the free-throw stripe, making it a one-point affair, 21-20, at the five-minute mark.

Love then rattled off five straight — a long-distance 3-pointer followed by a steal and score — and Bennett called a 30-second timeout to settle things down.

A Bacot jam extended the lead to 28-22 before another Love long ball gave UNC its largest lead of the half, 31-24, with 1:16 remaining.

Clark was able to draw a foul with 6.2 ticks left and split a pair of freebies, and the Hoos trailed, 31-25, at the break.

Box Score

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• Virginia fell to 9-6, 3-2 ACC
• UVA is 2-3 on the road and 4-3 away from John Paul Jones Arena
• UVA forced two shot clock violations (18 in 2021-22)
• UNC outrebounded Virginia 36-28 and owned a 14-4 advantage in second chance points
• UVA trailed 31-25 at halftime
• Armando Bacot (29 points, 21 rebounds) recorded the first 20-point, 20-rebound game vs. Virginia since Wake Forest’s Tim Duncan had 21 points and 23 rebounds vs. the Cavaliers on Feb. 22, 1997
• The double-double by Bacot was the first of the season vs. the Cavaliers
• UNC’s 16-point win was its first win in the series since a 65-41 victory over UVA on Feb. 18, 2017

Series Notes

• UVA is 60-132 all-time vs. North Carolina in the series that began in 1910-11
• UVA is 9-67 all-time against the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, including a 7-25 mark at Smith Center
• UVA’s seven-game winning streak in the series ended with the loss
• Tony Bennett is 12-9 all-time vs. North Carolina

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Reece Beekman (13), Armaan Franklin (12), Jayden Gardner (10)
• Beekman reached double figures for the fourth time (7th career)
• Franklin reached double figures for the 10th time (25th career)
• Gardner reached double figures for the 12th time (86th career)
• ACC steals leader Beekman recorded three steals
• Kadin Shedrick (2 blocks) had his 11th multi-block game

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers return home for a Commonwealth Clash matchup Wednesday against Virginia Tech (9 p.m., ESPN2).

Is Kihei the key to extending Virginia’s winning streak over Tar Heels?

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Photo: UVA Athletics

No program in the ACC has dominated North Carolina the way Virginia has over the past several years.

The Cavaliers have won seven straight over the Tar Heels and 9 of the last 10 regular season matchups. Nobody has done that to Carolina since NC State, which won nine in a row in that series from 1972-75.

If UVA is to extend its winning streak today down at the Dean Dome, then some certain things are going to have to happen.

Virginia at North Carolina

• When: Saturday, 1 p.m.
• Where: Dean Smith Center, Chapel Hill
• TV: ESPN
• Records: UVA 9-5/3-1; UNC 10-4/2-1

Senior point guard Kihei Clark must deliver on both ends of the floor, something he has done well during Virginia’s two-game road winning streak (the last time UVA won three straight road games was last season against Notre Dame, Boston College and Clemson).

Clark’s numbers don’t have to be eye-popping, but rather come when Virginia needs them most, like his two huge 3-pointers at Syracuse and at Clemson, giving the Cavaliers enough separation at key junctures to pull away and win.

Clark is Virginia’s most productive 3-point shooter at 42 percent (24 of 57), which ranks him sixth in the ACC among players with more than 50 attempts. ESPN’s Seth Greenberg recently wrote that teams that can spread the floor with skilled outside shooters, creating space for the big men inside, have a significant edge. If Clark can continue to give UVA that edge, it’s a huge advantage.

The fact that Clark has also protected the ball better is a key as well. When Clark posts a positive assist-to-turnover ratio, the Cavaliers own a 9-2 record.

There is a lot on the point guard’s plate. He has to run the offense as well. On the other side of the floor, Clark’s on-ball defense is important because it is his job to disrupt the opposing point guard in running his offense.

“No matter what the boxscore says, Kihei Clark is our most valuable player,” said Virginia’s Jayden Gardner after the recent win at Clemson.

Tony Bennett was quick to point out that Clark is the only player on the team that has more than a year of experience in terms of being on Virginia’s roster, so the team looks to its point guard as a calming effect of confidence and leadership.

This is Kihei’s team and it often goes as he goes.

“When it gets to be that time, moments for big plays to be made, and it does come down to making plays, [Kihei] was very good again tonight,” Bennett said after Clemson.

If Clark can deliver another solid performance, it will be up to Virginia’s bigs to take advantage. Gardner has been fairly consistent this season, and he along with Kadin Shedrick and Francisco Caffaro need to match Carolina’s physicality down in the paint, just as they did at Clemson.

Gardner scored 23 points against the Tigers and also got Clemson in foul trouble, drawing eight fouls (he went 9 of 10 from the free-throw line). Shedrick and Caffaro each added eight points and UVA outrebounded the Tigers, 28-23, plus outscored them in the paint.

UNC coach Hubert Davis reported that the Heels will be without the services of Dawson Garcia and Kerwin Walton, meaning former UVA reserve Justin McKoy, who transferred to Carolina last offseason, could face his old teammates.

It has been 1,785 days since the Tar Heels last tasted victory over the Cavaliers. Bennett, who is 12-7 vs. UNC in ACC play, wouldn’t mind seeing that streak extended.