Virginia basketball got blown out 88-65 by Stanford. The Cavaliers have now lost three straight games for the first time since the 2020-21 season. Here are three takeaways from the game.
Takeaway #1: Stanford destroys the packline defense
Virginia rose to dominance on the strength of its defense. For years the packline defense made even some of the best offensive teams struggle. ESPN analyst Jay Bilas once described it as “a Rubik’s Cube that you have to solve in the dark.” Even when the Cavs would struggle offensively, their defense would keep them in games.
Stanford annihilated Virginia’s defense, so much so that the Cavaliers actually switched to a zone in the second half. Everything the Cardinal wanted, they got. Their constant motion and cutting resulted in wide-open shots and baskets nearly every time down the court. In the second half, Stanford scored an eye-popping 1.6 points per possession, which feels something more out of a video game than a Power 4 conference matchup.
Senior forward Maxime Raynaud led all players with 24 points and 10 rebounds. The Cavaliers had no answer for anything the Cardinal did. He effectively passed out of the high post-double team when the Cavs brought it, eventually resulting in an open shot. When the Cavaliers didn’t bring it, the 7-foot-1 Frenchman would score over the top of whoever was guarding him.
This was the third time this season tthat he Cavaliers gave up 80 points in a game. In the 11-year, 371-game span from 2013-14 to 2023-24, Virginia gave up 80 points just eight times. It’s been a startling step back for a program that made its name on the defensive end of the court.
Takeaway #2: Isaac McKneely bounces back
After having one of the worst games of his career against Cal, junior guard Isaac McKneely played much better against Stanford. He scored 22 points and was shooting with confidence from all over the court. He even drove the ball and tried to either finish at the rim or get fouled, something we don’t see often with McKneely.
The problem with McKneely isn’t his skill or talent. It’s his consistency. He can have one game where he shoots with confidence and scores 15-plus, but then he’ll have games like he did against Cal and Memphis where he takes wild, contested shots and misses badly.
Virginia just doesn’t have the scoring to help McKneely. The only other Cav in double digits against Stanford was freshman forward Jacob Cofie. Outside of McKneely, there really isn’t somebody the Cavs are comfortably giving the ball to get a bucket. And with the tempo Virginia likes to play at, it can’t keep up in high-scoring affairs like against Stanford.
Takeaway #3: Virginia’s rotation is still in flux
Freshman guard Ishan Sharma became the ninth Cav to start a game this year when he was in the opening five against Stanford. McKneely and junior forward Elijah Saunders are the only two Cavs who have started every game for Virginia. The rotation has been an issue all season, and it doesn’t look like it’ll fix itself anytime soon.
Interim head coach Ron Sanchez subs a lot, especially when things aren’t going great. It seems like he’s throwing every five-man combination possible at the wall and hoping something sticks. It’s incredibly hard to find a rhythm and consistency when changes are constantly being made to who’s in the starting lineup and on the court during the game.
The minutes certain players get is particularly odd. Sophomore forward T.J. Power has been a disappointment since transferring from Duke. However, he’s averaging more minutes (11.4) than redshirt freshman forward/center Anthony Robinson (4.3), who’s shown some flashes of potential in his limited playing time.
Sophomore guard Dai Dai Ames was the starting point guard and played over 20 minutes as recently as the NC State game on New Year’s Eve, but has since fallen out of the starting lineup, playing only four minutes against Cal and 14 vs. Stanford. An inconsistent rotation is almost never good, especially for a team like Virginia that’s struggled to get it going all season.
Next up for Virginia basketball (8-8): vs. SMU (12-4) – Jan. 15 at 9 p.m. EST
Next up for Stanford (11-5): vs. Virginia Tech (12-4) – Jan. 15 at 6:30 p.m. EST
[…] trip to the Pacific Coast. Virginia got blown out twice, losing 75-61 to Cal on Jan. 8 and 88-65 to Stanford on Saturday. Add on the 70-50 loss to Louisville on Jan. 4, Virginia has lost three straight for the first time […]