Five takeaways from UVA basketball’s loss to Memphis

Despite a strong first half, the Virginia Cavaliers fell to the No. 1 Memphis Tigers. 21 Wednesday evening. The ‘Hoos led 30-21 at halftime, but lost the second half 43-32 as Memphis’ athleticism and shooting caught up with the ‘Hoos. UVA now falls to 6-5 on the season with one game remaining before ACC play begins in earnest.

With the loss, we have five takeaways for the Cavaliers looking forward.

The Wahoo offense struggles due to a lack of identity

Without a career game from Taine Murray, Virginia would have suffered a third loss and a fourth double-digit loss. Entering Wednesday’s game, he had scored 23 points this season. He went on to play 14 on the Tigers in a spirited performance as he attacked the rim hard all night long.

Of course, imagining Virginia’s offensive outing without him is a silly hypothetical. But it does hint at how inconsistent UVA’s offense is. The team doesn’t have an offensive identity beyond being an above-average three-point shooting team.

Elijah Saunders (15 points) led the ‘Hoos in scoring and was an impressive bright spot as an outside shooter. He’s been in a groove recently, shooting 50% from three in the last four games. Outside of his stretch shooting and Murray’s straight line driving, UVA had almost no consistent offense against Memphis.

In his return, Dai Dai Ames was part of the problem for the ‘Hoos. He shot 2-for-11 from the field and finished with eight points and four assists. He provided a spark early in the game and was far less prone to turnovers than his counterpart, point guard Andrew Rohde. It’s worth noting that he did it while potentially still playing through pain after spraining his ankle against SMU on Dec. 7 and missing the Bethune Cookman contest.

Still, Ames’ late game situation play cost the Cavaliers in the final minutes. His indecisiveness on Virginia’s possession with a minute left — failing to hit Saunders open under the basket, sending up an open three off an offensive rebound and then hitting a contested layup with an open man in the corner — essentially iced the game Memphis.

Ames also had a costly technical foul when he appeared to lift his left leg to bring down a Memphis player for a rebound. That helped fuel an 8-0 Tigers run that built the deficit Virginia tried to cut in the remaining 10 minutes of action.

Meanwhile, Memphis reduced Isaac McKneely’s role to purely off-ball. He added just five points on 2-for-7 shooting. McKneely, taking just seven shots and just four triples, is not winning basketball for the Wahoos.

Throw in the bone-chilling turnovers that plagued Virginia in the second half, a limited post presence and a frustrating tendency to miss good shots, and there isn’t much to be optimistic about UVA on offense. Perhaps getting unexpected contributions from someone like Murray is an indicator that Virginia can rely on different players on different nights. But there isn’t the star power the Cavaliers can rely on on a game-to-game basis, nor a team-wide offensive identity to steer the ship.

UVA can’t handle Memphis’ pressure in the second half

Speaking of turnovers, the Tigers’ second-half adjustment to pressure Virginia’s ball carriers was exactly what the doctor ordered for Penny Hardaway’s team. UVA struggled to get the ball up the floor, with Rohde in particular (five turnovers) coughing up the ball by repeatedly trying to make inexplicable lifts across the court that were picked off.

Eventually, Memphis’ athleticism in the open floor caught up with the ‘Hoos. The Tigers scored 12 points in transition, 10 second-chance points and committed 13 turnovers. In a close game like this, where Virginia limited Memphis’ determined offense, allowing those other options is a back-breaker.

UVA does not have enough quality ball handlers who can overcome and exploit the ball pressure. Ames is the only true point guard active for Virginia, and that hurts the Cavaliers against good teams.

Anthony Robinson plays as Virginia’s top defensive center

Redshirt freshman Anthony Robinson was a glimmer of real hope for the Wahoos Wednesday night. With both Blake Buchanan and Jacob Cofie in foul trouble, Ron Sanchez threw Robinson into the game early and he stabilized Virginia’s interior defense against Dain Dainja. He grabbed six rebounds, blocked a pair of shots, grabbed a steal and had a nice finish through contact on his second offensive possession on the floor.

Oddly, after Robinson played the final 8:27 of the first half, Sanchez didn’t go back to Robinson until the 9:13 mark of the second half. Virginia opted to play a four guard lineup with Saunders at the five for a while, then also went back to Cofie and Buchanan here and there.

Robinson was still the best defensive big for the ‘Hoos on Wednesday, and that should warrant more opportunities down the stretch. Virginia will play against teams with interior threats like Dainja, and Robinson’s size and defensive instincts should be valuable against such matchups.

The Cavaliers’ settled team defense gives reason for optimism

Even with this shooting record, Memphis is fourth in the nation in three-point shooting. The Tigers made five triples on 21 attempts (vs. 21.7%) Virginia. Some of it was them going cold, some of it was the UVA perimeter defense looking the most disruptive it has so far this season.

UVA tallied eight steals and seven blocks against the Tigers, scored 21 points off turnovers and at times torched Memphis for its run-and-gun style. Virginia’s rotations were the sharpest they’ve been this year. Unfortunately for the Wahoo faithful, foul trouble in the second half and PJ Haggerty’s 21 points in the final 20 minutes were too much to overcome.

Memphis simply gifted UVA in this game – a lot has happened to Ron Sanchez’s group this season. But the defensive system was fine-tuned in this loss, and that matters.

Virginia’s second-half struggles continue

Maybe it’s because UVA is a young team. Maybe it’s a result of a hall of fame coach retiring three weeks before the season. Maybe it’s just playing good teams early in the season.

But, man, Virginia is not a second half team. The Cavaliers continue to fall apart in the second period of the game. They led Memphis by nine at halftime Wednesday. They held the Tigers to 21 first half points. Then Hardaway’s group put up 43 in the second half.

Second-half collapses have become an unfortunate trend for the ‘Hoos in their games against quality competition. Quality first halves vs. Tennessee, Florida, SMU and Memphis have all given way to head-scratching second halves.

It’s worth noting that UVA didn’t completely fall apart against Memphis, clawing its way back into the game several times to keep things close. However, this dichotomy between first and second half performances isn’t tenable, and it’s something Sanchez and his staff will need to address before Virginia hits the crux of conference play.