There isn’t a ton to say about our win over Georgia Tech. It went down almost exactly as I predicted: we let Georgia Tech hang around for a half while we got comfortable in our new surroundings, and then once we were, we slowly tightened our grip until the game was secure.
Malcolm was Malcolm, which is to say he was great: he scored 26 on just 15 shots (including continuing his recent pattern of setting the tone in what was a lackluster first half on offense for most everyone else) and kept Marcus Georges-Hunt under wraps (the GT star scored three points on 1-8 shooting and went 2-14 against us this season). Watching Brogdon guard MGH was like watching Michael Jordan toy with his kids in this VHS I had when I was 10: MGH would juke, crossover, and hesitate, desperately attempting to find daylight, and Malcolm would just be waiting for him at the end of his move, stifling a trademark yawn. It was a trademark performance. The Jackets couldn’t get looks inside the three point line (they shot 38.9% on twos), couldn’t/wouldn’t draw contact thanks to Brian Gregory’s love of the midrange (they took seven free throws), and they horked up 14 turnovers in a 58 possession game. London (eight points, eight assists) awoke in the second half, AG (12 points, eight boards) turned in a workmanlike effort in bringing a bigger dog with more fight than Charles Mitchell (four points, six boards), and both Mike Tobey (nine points, though he added just one board in 19 minutes) and Evan (six points) chipped in in a big way. This was fun.
Miami beat Virginia Tech in the nightcap, so a rubber match with the Hurricanes is the next stop on the Virginia DC Revenge Tour.
In the first game with Miami, we used a balanced offensive effort (four guys in double figures) and a great game (15 and 8) from Anthony Gill to beat the ‘Canes. We struggled against Angel Rodriguez (a common theme from both games) as Miami shot 54% on twos, but we dared the ‘Canes to fire threes and it worked, as they hit six of 22.
Miami took advantage of a Virginia defense that felt a little rusty after a weeklong break in the last meeting, running Angel Rodriguez to the rim over and over to the tune of 1.19 points per Miami possession and a 64-61 win. We chose to trap the post off of Davon Reed in that game, and he led a 10-19 three point shooting effort by hitting five of six, starting what has become a 12-22 run from deep and probably ensuring that we won’t pick him to double off of again. The ‘Canes bolstered their offense by grabbing 33% of their offensive boards. On offense, only Malcolm (28, a ridiculous 8-9 second half) showed up.
The ‘Canes are fun and tricky on offense. Jim Larrañaga loves high pick and rolls with Rodriguez, who is shifty enough at (realistically) 5’8” to shake his way into the lane and create for himself (54.7% on twos), a teammate (28.7% assist rate) like Sheldon McLellan (15.8 ppg, 50.2% overall, 39.5% on threes) or Reed cutting, or a pick and pop opportunity for a big (when asked why Ivan Cruz Uceda didn’t play last night, Larrañaga laughed, mentioned matchups, and said he’d be playing tonight). They’re adept at getting to the rim and finishing there (50.2% on twos) and conservative with the ball (15.8% turnover rate), which makes up for so-so three point shooting as a team (32.6%) and a lack of offensive rebounding (31%).
Miami allowed ACC foes 1.04 points per possession on D, a solid number supported by a lineup of athletic wings that contest — they give up just 47.7% on twos and 33.8% on threes, marks that are both good for sixth in the league — without fouling (they give up 25.9 FTs/100 shots, second best in the ACC). Their skill at denying the ball to the wings and our pindowns frustrated us in the first meeting and has bothered their opponents all year (they have a 48.2% opposing assist rate). Tonye Jekiri anchors things underneath and is a good rebounder (23.7% of DREBS this year), but he’s not enough: Miami is generally not a great defensive rebounding team (67.2%), especially when they surround Jekiri with guards or Uceda instead of Kamari Murphy.
We have to keep Angel Rodriguez out of the lane. He drives the bus — his 13 point outburst separated them from Virginia Tech last night in what had been a slog — and their offense doesn’t get started if he’s not working the high pick and roll to perfection. If we can do that, continue to frustrate McLellan with Malcolm, close out to at least contest the three point shooters (especially Reed, who has given Miami an extra dimension with his emergent shooting), and rebound like we mean it (especially AG and Tobey, who combined for five defensive boards in 44 minutes in the first meeting), we’ll be in better shape. Offensively, I’d like us to try to establish AG — even against Jekiri — to try to get Malcolm some help earlier in the game and keep him fresh for what will hopefully be three games in three days. As always, I’m hoping for contributions from Devon and Marial and early aggressiveness from London.
Verdict:
We’re playing defense at a very high level right now, and with last night providing an opportunity to shake off any jitters and dip our toe into postseason play, I think we’re ready. Miami’s as dangerous an opponent as we see — they’ve got a lot of tricks on offense off of those high screens — but it’s close to impossible as a fan to pick against us given how close the last meeting was in spite of pretty iffy performances on both ends. If the defense is sound, I think we pull off a five point win and head for the ACC Championship for the second time in three seasons.
