By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — It’s been more than a decade since a 20-win season qualified as an unexpected development for a University of Virginia men’s basketball team. In 14-plus seasons under head coach Tony Bennett, the Cavaliers have posted a 361-131 record, and they’ve won 20 or more games 12 times.
Never, however, have the Wahoos reached the 20-win mark with a victory that followed a less conventional script than the one they secured Saturday afternoon before a capacity crowd at John Paul Jones Arena.
In their rematch with ACC foe Wake Forest, which defeated them by 19 points last month in Winston-Salem, N.C., the No. 21 Hoos missed 10 of 11 free throws. They shot 40.7 percent overall and made only four 3-pointers. Moreover, they gave away two points when Bennett was called for only the second technical foul of his UVA tenure, and the first since the final regular-season game of his first season (2009-10).
And yet when the final horn sounded, the scoreboard read: Virginia 49, Wake Forest 47.
“Obviously to do that, with that kind of free-throw shooting, I think we leaned into our defense,” Bennett said, “and the crowd was into it as well, and we needed it all.”
Broadcast highlights from today’s win vs. Wake Forest!#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/0qAFO5qWoe
— Virginia Men’s Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) February 17, 2024
The Demon Deacons, who came in averaging 80.3 points per game, ran into a UVA team that had struggled defensively against Florida State and Pittsburgh, its two most recent opponents. The Cavaliers had no such problems at that end of the court Saturday. They blocked a season-high 13 shots and held Wake guard Hunter Sallis, who’d torched them at Lawrence Joel Coliseum, to 12 points. The Deacons (16-9 overall, 8-6 ACC) shot 34.5 percent from the floor and were 5 for 21 from 3-point range.
“I know Pitt, they hit a lot of shots on us, but today we got back into our defensive mindset,” senior guard Reece Beekman said.
“It was better,” Bennett said of his team’s defense, “and it needed to be.”
The Hoos, playing their first Saturday game at JPJ since Dec. 16, improved to 20-6 overall and 11-4 in the ACC. They’re assured of finishing with a winning record in ACC play for the 13th consecutive season. It all starts with Bennett, said his Wake counterpart.
“He’s a Hall of Fame coach,” Steve Forbes said, “and Virginia is very fortunate to have him…