This feature is part of VICE Sports’ March Madness coverage.
Even after a nightmare of a first half trying to guard Virginia in a Friday night NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen game in Chicago, Iowa State and its fans had hope. In six minutes, the Cyclones had halved a 14-point halftime deficit to seven.
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Against any other team in the country, that might be encouraging. But against top-seeded Virigina, it’s false hope. And as they have done time and time again, the Cavaliers methodically smothered their opponent. The margin never got to seven points again, as Virginia slowly took the air out of the Iowa State attack, cut by cut, minute by minute.
UVA won by 13, advancing to a Midwest regional final showdown with No. 10 seed Syracuse on Sunday, but it might as well have won by 30, dominating every phase of the game from start to finish.
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Iowa State likes to play fast, so Virginia slowed things down. The Cavs turned the ball over on just 12 percent of their possessions, refusing to give Iowa State any free points. They scored an astonishing 52 points in the paint, with forwards Anthony Gill and Mike Tobey beating Iowa State in that statistic (41-36) by themselves. Point guard London Perrantes carved up the Cyclones with nine assists, taking advantage of the defensive discipline that Iowa State lacks.
“We knew (the offense) would be there,” Perrantes said.
The defense, as always, was there. Iowa State actually shot better than its season average—58.7 percent eFG%, compared to 57.1 percent—but UVA only allowed the Cyclones a measly two offensive rebounds, leading to just three second chance points.
The score might not have been overly impressive—it rarely is when Virginia plays—but this was a dominant performance, Cavs-style. And there’s more to the Cavs’ style than meets the eye.
TFW the offense is there, and then some. Photo by David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Annoying as it might be to casual fans—never mind its opponents—Virginia basketball is beautiful. Every move is made with a purpose. Every second that ticks off the clock is used for a reason. As games progress, Virginia’s foes become more and more anxious, one eye on the sand in the hourglass, knowing that time to steal a win is running out.
Wild basketball might be fun, but that doesn’t make it good basketball. Most teams in this college basketball can’t break a press—see Wisconsin and Northern Iowa during this very tournament—but Virginia turned Iowa State’s press into a half dozen dunks.
That’s thanks to passing so crisp that it can only be described in the most UVA-bro way possible.
“Yeah, it’s that idea of one of our pillars is unity, and there’s an African proverb that says, ‘if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together,’” coach Tony Bennett said. “And we have some very individually talented guys, but they know when they’re in concert with each other, that’s their way to touch greatness, and it’s validated because they’ve done it.”
Like their coach—and apparently an African proverb—preach, Virginia goes slow. Really slow. The Cavaliers are the slowest team in the nation, averaging just 61.6 possessions per game. Iowa State, by contrast, prefers to play 10 more possessions per game.
Fewer possessions mean fewer points, but fewer points don’t mean worse offense. Unfortunately, that memo hasn’t reached everyone.
“Virginia’s not a good offensive team,” professional television talker Charles Barkley said at halftime, after the Cavaliers scored 45 first-half points.
TFW you realize Virigina has a lead, and time is running out. Photo by David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
Contrary to popular opinion, offense isn’t about scoring as many points as possible. It’s about being as efficient as possible with the scoring opportunities you have. Virginia is in no hurry to score points, but it is dead set on taking the best shot it can, whenever that might happen to be in the shot clock.
So the Cavaliers wait … and wait … and wait. And since they’re so efficient—with the seventh-most efficienc offense in the country, according to KenPom.com—it’s almost impossible to come back against Virgina, even when the size of a deficit seems unimposing.
“I think when we win games, it’s because we get other teams to slow down,” said UVA star Malcolm Brogdon, who ranks as the best player in the country in the KenPom ratings. “We make them use their shot clock and we use ours, and that’s the pace we like to play at.”
That’s why, when Iowa State got the margin down to seven points, little did Cyclones fans know they were actually down by something more akin to 15. After the Cavs went up by 10 in the first four minutes of the game, ISU coach Steve Prohm knew it was over.
“When you get behind 10 with them, you’ve almost got to be perfect at times,” he said. “And you know we had a couple shots rim in and out, some free throws to where we could get it to six and put some real pressure on them, but it didn’t happen.”
An elite defense, a dangerously efficient offense, and the ever-increasing loss of hope. It’s a slow, traumatizing death when you play Virginia basketball, but a beautiful one nonetheless.
