Five takeaways from UVA basketball’s loss to Tennessee

The Virginia Cavaliers were run out of the gym by Tennessee Volunteers at the Bahamas Thursday night (and late Friday morning), 64-42. After pulling within a point at halftime, the ‘Hoos collapsed in the second half, going down by 22 points.

The ‘Hoos’ are now 3-1 this season and tip against St. John’s Friday night at 7 p.m. ET. With the loss, we have five takeaways for Virginia moving on.

UVA needs more answers on offense

Isaac McKneely can only do so much to create offense for the ‘Hoos. After his 23-point performance vs Villanova last Friday, he recorded just four on 1-for-6 shooting against Tennessee.

The Volunteers dialed in on McKneely and gave him almost no room off screen. They forced the rest of the Cavaliers to beat them, and the strategy paid off. McKneely had a couple of nice assists despite the close coverage. But without consistent open looks for the junior shooting guard, the Wahoo offense sputtered.

Elijah Saunders was a non-factor at the position as Tennessee overwhelmed him with height and physicality. Wahoo point guards Andrew Rohde (eight points) and Dai Dai Ames (12) led the team in scoring. They also combined for eight turnovers. Another starter, TJ Power, continues to have no noticeable effect on the Wahoo offense.

Right now, it’s hard to find answers on this Virginia offense. The system has been updated, it is more a result of the staff lacking players who can create offense.

After the Cavaliers lit up Villanova from deep, they shot 6-for-20 (30%) from three against Tennessee. They struggled to threaten the Vols inside the arc and the shooting from long range reflected that with far too many contested shots.

Tennessee boasts one of the best defenses in the country, so that’s worth keeping in mind. Still, after how last season went on offense, this was a disappointing performance.

Virginia has a defensive rebounding problem

Tennessee finished the game with a whopping 18 offensive rebounds and 19 second-chance points. After a commendable defensive performance in the first half, the ‘Hoos folded in the second as the Vols crashed the boards and took advantage of Virginia’s lack of strength and experience in the paint.

Some of the questions were a matter of technique and focus. Repeatedly, UVA failed to block and Tennessee punished the Wahoo guards for looking at the ball. Other times, the Vols overwhelmed them physically en route to back-breaking second chances.

Virginia plays a true center in its rotation in Blake Buchanan. Buchanan had a great first half before Tennessee put him in a blender at times in the second. Next to him, forwards Saunders and Jacob Cofie couldn’t handle what Rick Barnes and company threw at them.

How much of that is Tennessee being an above-average athletic team and how much is a sign of struggles to come is uncertain. But this result was certainly not pretty.

The ‘Hoos shrink their rotation to seven

Unlike Villanova, Ron Sanchez cut his rotation from nine players to eight with Taine Murray on the outside looking in. Against Tennessee, that eight was cut to just seven players who logged double-digit minutes.

Murray played nine minutes in the second half. But for most of the game, while competitive, Sanchez stuck with Ames, McKneely, Power, Saunders, Buchanan, Rohde and Cofie.

Virginia traditionally shrinks its rotation against better teams. But seeing it happen in this game, where the ‘Hoos had so few guys playing and so many struggling to get things going, underscored that there aren’t a ton of switches that Sanchez can turn.

Power, Murray and Ishan Sharma need to make an impact as shooters when they are on the floor. Otherwise, they all risk losing minutes. Right now, they’re around the seventh, eighth and ninth spots in the rotation, so it’s unlikely that all three won’t get some minutes. They simply cannot continue to be non-factors. In the front court, if the rebounding issues continue, Anthony Robinson could be an option to provide additional size in the paint. He has only played in garbage time so far.

Bottom line, the ‘Hoos need more out of their personnel than they got in this game. Unfortunately for them, it’s hard to imagine how exactly that will happen at this moment.

Virginia’s stout defense gives cause for optimism

There is rarely much positive to take away from a 22-point defeat.

However, UVA’s determined defense – especially in the first half – was one. The rebounding issues masked how the Cavaliers forced Tennessee to take tough shots. The Vols shot 37.9% from the floor and 36% from three. Star point guard Zakai Zeigler finished 1-for-9 for two points — though he did add six assists to two turnovers.

Tennessee, whose offense is rated the 19th most efficient in the nation per KenPom, scored just 1.05 points per possession against the ‘Hoos’. The Cavaliers rotated well for most of the game and blocked five shots. Second chance points (19) and points off turnovers (30) were simply too much to overcome.

St. John’s game is a crucial opportunity for a turnaround

Perhaps it is foolish to place much importance on the fifth game of the season, which comes against the top-25 team in the country. However, for the morale of this young team and its cohesion as we look forward, it will be crucial to shake off this result and deliver a more competitive performance.

Expecting this young Cavaliers group to upset a team like Tennessee that is loaded with veterans and is one of the more complete teams in the country would have been unreasonable. Virginia will have to play the long game this season and hope to have more guys clicking and contributing in February and March. Still, it would have been encouraging to see them go the distance and avoid the second half knockout they recorded on Thursday.

Alas, now Virginia gets another chance to test itself against a top-25 opponent with legitimate talent. Bouncing back and giving Rick Pitino’s team a run for their money would be evidence of legitimate mental resilience after a late night blowout. Another result like this would certainly be a tough pill for this team – which has already dealt with so much this fall – to swallow this early in the season.