Final Four 2019: Virginia preview – Tony Bennett, Cavs get redemption

After getting past Carsen Edwards and the Purdue Boilermakers the Virginia Cavaliers find themselves in their first Final Four since 1984.

The Virginia Cavaliers are a year removed from being the first one seed to lose to a 16-seed. They played that game without potential lottery-pick Deandre Hunter who was out due to a broken wrist. They have him back this year, and he’s been integral to their success all season.

After that loss head coach Tony Bennett told his team that they have to own it. He told them that, that loss was a part of their legacy now. After their heart-pounding Elite Eight victory over Purdue Kyle Guy said that last year they didn’t make good history, but this time around they’re making the right kind of history.

Their trip to the Final Four hasn’t been the easiest one. They had to go down to the wire with the Oregon Ducks in the Sweet 16. A game in which they only got 12 minutes total from their bench, talk about exhausting. If you thought that was exhausting then try being Ty Jerome who played all 45 minutes in their overtime win against Purdue in the Elite Eight.

We know how they want to win games. They use their packline defense to force you to take outside jumpers and refuse to get beat in the paint. It almost cost them when Carsen Edwards lit them up for 42 points, but they managed to prevail. The unfortunate part is that they are going up against an Auburn team that shoots a ton of threes, and they’ve been knocking them down at a high rate all tournament long.

Jerome, Guy and Mamadi Diakite are going to need every minute of these six days off to get their legs back under them because Auburn plays at a frenetic pace that Virginia is going to have a tough time slowing down. Virginia needed every bucket to beat Purdue and they’ll need every bucket to beat Auburn.

Strengths

Virginia’s strengths are pretty cut and dry. They’re going to play good defense, they’re not going to beat themselves and they’re going to hit shots. People talked a lot about the 42 points Carsen Edwards scored in the Elite 8, but check out this stat. Edwards was the only Boilermaker to score in double-figures. They’re next highest scorer was Ryan Cline and Nojel Eastern who both had seven points.

Edwards hit some ridiculous shots, but by and large, they did their job. It’s hard for any team to win games when only one person is scoring in double-figures.

This might not be a strength, but it has to be noted. Virginia is very well conditioned. Four of their starters played 37 or more minutes against Purdue, and Jerome never left the floor once. Fatigue won’t be an issue, and that could come into play against Auburn.

Auburn likes to run up and down the floor, and soon enough you’ll wear down by the end of the game. Even if Virginia isn’t able to control the pace the way they want to they’re not going to be worn down.

One of the Cavaliers strengths is controlling the pace, and they do that better than just about anyone in the country. They can execute in late-clock situations, and they execute down the stretch when it matters most. They have to stick to what they do best on Saturday night.

Weaknesses

Virginia doesn’t have a lot of weaknesses. If you wanted to get picky then you could say that their slow pace is somewhat of a weakness. It’s hard for a team that plays at the slowest pace in the country to score in bunches.

They’re not going to go on 9-0 or 12-0 runs by getting out in transition. They have to get defensive stops obviously enough, but their points are more often than not scored in the halfcourt. Should Auburn gain a sizable lead then it could force the Cavaliers out of their comfort zone.

Another weakness they have is their shooting outside of Jerome and Guy. Guy shoots over 40 percent from three for his career,  and Jerome shot 40 percent from three as well, but outside of that perimeter shooting isn’t their strong suit. Should Guy enter another slump like he was at the beginning of the tournament then that could cause trouble for the Cavaliers.

Virginia is solid in every facet of the game, but in a game like this, their strengths could prove to be weaknesses as well.

Player to watch – Kihei Clark

The player to watch is this game isn’t Guy or Jerome, although they’re pretty fun to watch. The player to watch is a freshman named Kihei Clark. If there’s one word you could use to describe him it would be calm.

He registered the assist on the game-tying bucket against Purdue. Presence of mind and knowledge of the situation helped him make that play. Normally in a situation like that, a player would shoot the half-court shot without being aware that they had extra time on the clock. Instead, he chased it down, pushed the ball ahead to Clark and the rest was history.

Clark’s numbers aren’t eye-popping or anything, but he does all the little things right for Virginia. Freshmen normally don’t get a ton of minutes, because of the intricacies of the team’s system. Clark, on the other hand, knows what he has to do, and Bennett trusts him enough to get the job done.

Watch for Clark on Saturday, he’s not flashy and he’s not going to put up the big number, but he’s going to do the little things that could prove to be crucial in a potential victory.

The biggest key to victory vs. Auburn

The biggest key to victory for the Cavaliers is to control the pace of the game. Auburn is going to push the pace because that’s what they do best, but that doesn’t mean that Virginia has to get out of their gameplan.

They want to slow the tempo down, take their time on offense and for Auburn to make the mistakes down the stretch. If they dig themselves an early hole it’ll make it harder for them to control the pace.

Jerome and Guy will be the main keys to them controlling the pace. They are the floor generals for Virginia, and they make sure everything stays on schedule. Make shots, keep Auburn from running up and down the floor and get timely stops and they’ll be headed to the National Championship game.