Takeaways From Virginia's Win Over Florida
By Josh Burton
Buchanan Dazzles
Virginia first year Blake Buchanan made the biggest impact of his short Cavalier career Friday night, and the Hoos needed every bit of it. After falling behind 14-7 in the first 5 minutes on Florida baskets scored exclusively in the paint while running the same starting lineup from Monday's home opener, the 6”11” first year subbed into the game and his size and style of play immediately paid dividends for the Hoos. Blake immediately picked up an offensive rebound followed by a nice assist to Ryan Dunn on his first possession in the game, and continued to make a major impact the rest of the game. Blake went on to lead all scorers with 18 points, and also finished with 7 rebounds and the one 1 assists.
Blake Buchanan. Buy Stock Now. https://t.co/w7oeRG9JSW
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) November 11, 2023
Blake played 27 minutes, while also earning the “second half start” thanks to his impressive play in the first half. As the game went on he was continually aggressive on both ends, especially the offensive end, where his attacking style of play got him to the line for 16 free throw attempts. It was great to see him have such a huge impact, as this team will need his size and physicality plenty this year as the only player over 6’9” on the active playing roster. His defensive ability and footwork also stood out in this one, as he committed only 2 fouls in the game. Foul trouble is usually one of the biggest issues for first year bigs, so if he can continue to slide his feet and stay out of trouble he will continue to see major minutes for this year's team.
Rotation Cuts
Although only the second game of the season, it seems as though the 8 man rotation is shaping up quickly. Coach Bennett typically prefers to run an 8 man rotation as the season goes, and this year looks to be no different. Aside from the starting lineup of Reece Beekman, Isaac Mckneely, Andrew Rohde, Ryan Dunn and Jake Groves, the only players who subbed into the tightly contested matchup were Dante Harris, Leon Bond III and the aforementioned Blake Buchanan. Although it is still very early and things can certainly change, I believe it was very telling that these were the only players to check in to tonight's game.
Active Defense
One of the brighter spots for the team overall was how active they were disrupting Florida's offensive flow. Jumping passing lanes all night and playing heads up defense all game, the team racked up 15 total steals, led by Ryan Dunn’s six. Being this active will help the team with playing smaller than their opponents as they will be able to deny the opposing bigs opportunities. This will also help with stopping scoring droughts as a lot of steals from passing lanes tend to lead to fast break opportunities. Hopefully this continues for the Hoos.
Rebounding
Maybe the biggest concern to draw from this game was the total team rebounding. In our first matchup with an opponent on level ground, the Hoos were outrebounded by a 47 to 30 margin while allowing a staggering 21 offensive rebounds to Florida. This is something that will undoubtedly need to be worked on and corrected as the competition level rises as the season goes on, and I have no doubt this will be addressed by the staff quickly.
Conclusion
This was a great early season matchup to give us a gauge of where the team currently is. I believe Florida is better than the preseason prognostications have indicated, and as I mentioned in my game preview, I believe this win will only continue to look better as the season progresses.
The Hoos will have a pair of home games this week as they play North Carolina A&T (Tuesday 11/14) and Texas Southern (Thursday 11/16) before heading to the Fort Myers Tip-Off tournament where they will face Wisconsin in the opener (Monday, 11/20). Locker Room Access will have you covered for it all!
(Featured Image Credit: Getty)