Wahoos brace for another physical contest at No. 13 Florida

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Ron Sanchez is hoping that lessons learned in back-to-back losses in the Bahamas will help his young Virginia team when it faces another imposing SEC opponent on Wednesday night.

UVA (5-2) plays its first true road game at No. 13 Florida (8-0) in the SEC/ACC Challenge (7:15 p.m. on ESPN2).

The Cavaliers were roughed up in lopsided defeats to nationally ranked Tennessee and St. John’s in tournament play in the Bahamas against more experienced and physical opponents. They bounced back upon their return to Charlottesville, having gone to a three-guard lineup in order to establish more offensive flow and to cut down on turnovers.

Florida fits in the same mold as Tennessee — big, physical, athletic — and enters the game ranked No. 6 in the NET and in KenPom’s top 10. The Gators have obliterated most everything in their way, including a pair of ACC opponents in Wake Forest and Florida State.

Having been exposed to that kind of opponent in Nassau, Sanchez is hoping his team will be better prepared to face a similar foe in Gainesville, where the Gators have won 18 of their last 19 home games.

“I think every game will afford us the opportunity to get more prepared for the next opponent,” Sanchez said after Virginia dismantled Holy Cross a few days ago. “We have to remember this group is just kind of starting to gel.

“So I do think that the Bahamas trip is going to be one that will afford us the opportunity to step back into a previous experience, playing against an SEC opponent that’s right in the top 25, knowing the physicality, the athleticism we’re going to face. I think that if we lock into that and that understanding, we’ll be much more prepared than we were for the Bahamas trip.”

Sanchez has gone with a pair of point guards, something that predecessor Tony Bennett was known to do, in Andrew Rohde and Dai Dai Ames, along with shooting guard Isaac McKneely, a 3-point threat. Rohde, who worked hard on his shooting skills in the offseason, is the most improved player on the team and Ames is the most aggressive player in the lineup, someone who can create his own shot and create for others as well.

UVA has greatly reduced its turnovers — albeit against lesser competition — from its Bahamas trip, committing only six in the Holy Cross win.

The Cavaliers will be tested by the Gators’ three-guard lineup as well, featuring Walter Clayton, who runs the point. All three Gator guards are averaging double figures, so it will be a challenge for UVA’s backcourt to keep pace.

“Good teams are going to scout you … they’re going to figure out what you do,” Sanchez said. “We’ve got to be able to execute well, regardless. Right now, for us, the secret to good offense is passing and catching, so we can’t talk about anything else … we just talking about catching and pass, catch the ball, take care of the ball, set quality screens, know where your shots are and know what shots you’re capable of making, and play to those strengths.”

That’s exactly what Virginia did against Holy Cross, with the three guards combining for 42 of the team’s 67 points (Ames 16, Rohde and McKneely with 13 each). The trio also made 15 of 28 field-goal attempts and 8 of 16 shots from beyond the arc.

Meanwhile, up front, Elijah Saunders contributed 9 points and 6 rebounds, while big man Blake Buchanan added 6 points and 6 boards. It was Buchanan who was the difference when Virginia beat Florida last year, scoring 18 points and pulling down 7 rebounds. He made it to the free-throw line 16 times in that game.

“He had a really good game against us last year,” Florida coach Todd Golden said this week. “He was a big reason as to why we were not able to beat them. And we’ve got to be prepared for his physicality. He definitely anchors them in the middle with his strength and size.”

While Buchanan is 6-foot-11, Sanchez has spoken about how the big man needs to add more strength and aggression to be able to handle the more experienced and physical post players he will face.

“Blake’s a second-year with 35 college basketball games,” Sanchez said. “He’s very young as a player. Blake still has to figure some things out. He still has to get in the weight room and get stronger. But right now, we’re asking him to make some plays from the elbows, to make some passes.”

Buchanan is more involved in the offense, getting more freedom to make plays than last season.

Golden was complimentary of Virginia’s program, realizing Sanchez had the job thrust upon him with the surprise announcement that Bennett was stepping away from the game, just weeks before the start of the season.

“Ron’s done a really good job,” Golden said. “I think they’re really so well-coached. They’re maybe playing a little bit differently offensively, not much differently defensively.

“Obviously coach Sanchez had been with [Bennett] for quite a while before getting the Charlotte job. I don’t think his plan when he got the opportunity a couple months ago was to come in and change a whole lot. I think he was probably trying to build off what they had done together. But this is a team that plays like a Virginia team of the past decade or so.”