Rapid Recap: Hoos handle Terriers

After picking up a road win in their season opener, the Hoos did the same at home on Tuesday night with a 72-32 win over St. Francis (NY). Austin Nichols led Virginia with 11 points as Virginia had a balanced scoring attack. Glenn Sanabria led the Terriers with 10 points.

While it wasn’t always pretty, Virginia got the job done and the result was never in doubt. The Cavaliers led 35-13 at the half behind nine points and four rebounds from Jarred Reuter and eight points and an emphatic block from Marial Shayok. Virginia held St. Francis scoreless from the 10:11 mark until the eight second mark in the half when Yunus Hopkinson hit two free throws. If you were looking for the Terriers’ last make from the field, that would be a layup from Gunnar Olafsson with 12:49 left in the half.

Virginia shot 53.8% from the field (0-for-6 on threes) for the first half, while holding St. Francis to 16.7% (1-for-16 from three) from the field.

Both teams picked up where they left off in the second half as Isaiah Wilkins found Jack Salt for a dunk and London Perrantes hit a three as St. Francis missed another shot. A three by Sanabria ended the Terrier’s field goal drought at 18:18 in the second half (that’s just over 14:30 of no field goals if you’re counting at home).

Nichols and Mamadi Diakite made their Virginia debuts after missing the season opener due to team rules and NCAA suspensions, respectively. Both struggled in the first half with foul trouble, but finished for a combined 19 points and seven rebounds (15 points and all seven rebounds in the second half). Nichols showed off his offensive prowess early in the second half as he turned away from the basket and finished a soft jump hook while drawing the foul.

Tony Bennett stuck with the same starting lineup as the opener with Wilkins, Salt, Perrantes, Darius Thompson, and Devon Hall. First years Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome also saw minutes as Virginia played eleven players in the first half. Green Machine players Justice Bartley, Jeff Jones, and Trevon Gross closed out the game for the Hoos. Gross dished an assist and Bartley scored two points in the game.

Since the Hoos held the Terriers under 55 points, it’s officially a Pack Line Pledge game, so pay up!

Next up, the Hoos host Yale on Sunday at 1pm. Yale upset Washington 98-90 in their season opener. The game will be broadcast by ACC Network Extra.