Virginia overcomes slow start to dominate Bradley 82-57

The Virginia Cavaliers won their quarterfinal game of the Charleston Classic, pounding the Bradley Braves 82-57. Anthony Gill led the team with 16 points to help the Hoos recover from their loss to GW and improve to 2-1 on the season. The team has a quick turnaround, as they return to action tomorrow night against Long Beach State in a semifinal matchup.

While the final score reflects the stark talent disparity between the two squads, Virginia did get off to a sluggish start. With under 8 minutes remaining in the first half, Luuk Van Bree nailed consecutive three-pointers (he finished 4-6 from behind the arc) to give Bradley a 22-19 lead. The Hoos had turned the ball over 5 times to that point, mostly of the unforced and careless variety. But UVA regrouped to score the next 14 points to take a double-digit lead for good (and didn't turn the ball over again until 3 minutes remained in the game).

While Bradley is one of the weakest teams UVA will play this season, Virginia righted the ship on both sides of the ball and improved as the game progressed. The offense featured a balanced attack: 11 Wahoos scored and 4 finished in double-digits (Gill, Brogdon, Perrantes, and Shayok). Gill finished 6-8 from the field and made all 4 free-throws he attempted to improve to 81% on the year - as a whole, the team was 16-17 from the line.  UVA made 63% of its 2s and 40% of its threes. That, combined with the team's dominance of the glass and care of the ball, led to a 1.33 PPP effort.

While that offensive explosion implies that lots of good things happened, it was particularly good to see London Perrantes make 2 of the 3 three-pointers he attempted and Marial Shayok, earning his first start of the year in Darius Thompson's place, make 2 of 2 as well. Both have the opportunity to fill a big hole in the 3-point shooting department if they step up this season.  UVA also had 19 assists (63% of FGs were assisted), with 8 coming from Perrantes.

Like against Morgan State, the Hoos dominated the boards, rebounding 35% of their own misses and cleaning up 82% of Bradley's. Jack Salt was responsible for 3 of the team's 8 offensive rebounds in 11 minutes of play, and went 3-4 from the field as well.

Defensively, the team showed flashes of the Virginia defense fans are used to, but showed lapses as well. The Braves attempted 24 free-throws, as the Hoos continue to adjust to the new "freedom of movement" emphasis. With four fouls, Mike Tobey particularly has been struggling to stay in front of his opponents; Darius Thompson and Jack Salt had three apiece.

The Friday night matchup against Long Beach State will tip at 9:30 PM and air on ESPNU.  The 49ers are 3-0 on the season and have a nice home win over BYU. With a win, UVA will advance to the Charleston Classic final Sunday night against Oklahoma State or George Mason. Here's the full tournament bracket: