Virginia Basketball: Cavaliers use huge second half to take down Louisville

Virginia basketball struggled in the first half but dominated Louisville in the second half behind a monster performance from DeAndre Hunter.

There’s something special about the KFC Yum! Center for Virginia star De’Andre Hunter. Last season, the then-No. 1 Cavaliers were dead in the water against Louisville until a late comeback put them in position to steal a win. However, it wasn’t until Hunter’s miracle 3-point shot off an inbounds pass with less than a second left that Virginia pulled off the improbable win.

On Saturday, the third-ranked Cavaliers were once again in trouble at Louisville. Down 37-27 at the half, nothing was going right for Virginia. Guards Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy were struggling to score, Hunter picked up two fouls and sat for a good portion of the first half and Louisville was literally unstoppable from 3-point range. The Cardinals hit 10 threes in the first half alone and only made one basket from inside the arc.

In the first half, every time UVa would make a run, the Cardinals would drill a three. Ryan McMahon was 4-for-4 from beyond the arc in the first half and Jordan Nwora was hot from downtown, too. Nwora banked a three off the glass from over 30 feet just before the half and the building was rocking.

The only two players keeping Virginia in the game in the first half were reserve forward Jay Huff and junior Mamadi Diakite. Both players were tremendous defensively and Huff threw down a pair of impressive dunks.

The second half, though, was a completely different story.

For the Cardinals, the shots weren’t falling and after a red-hot first half, they finished 12-for-33 from beyond the arc. And then there was Hunter. Hunter scored seven points in the first half but completely took over in the second half for the Cavaliers. He scored 19 points in the final 20 minutes, made both of his 3-point attempts, played his usual outstanding defense and was perfect from the free-throw line. He finished with a game-high 26 points.

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The Cavaliers didn’t take their first lead until about 8:30 remaining in the game when they went up 49-47. Louisville coach Chris Mack blew his lid after the Cardinals were called for an offensive foul and he was charged with a technical, sending Hunter to the line, where he made both. Then, the Hoos scored again and just like that they had a seven-point lead.

This is all with Jerome and Guy still struggling from the floor. The starting backcourt for Virginia had arguably their worst individual performances of the season as Jerome scored just four points while Guy scored eight. They combined to go 0-for-11 from beyond the arc.

While Hunter led Virginia in scoring, Diakite finished with 14 points and Huff scored 12. If UVa can continue getting Diakite and Huff this involved in the offense, it’s going to be very hard to beat the Cavaliers in March.

Despite allowing 10 threes in the first half, Virginia’s defense was outstanding overall. The Cavaliers outscored the Cardinals 38-4 in the paint, thanks in large part to Diakite and Huff. The pair also combined for 12 rebounds and five blocked shots. Louisville scored just 15 points in the second half and made only two three-point baskets on 17 attempts after intermission.

Virginia’s (24-2, 12-2) next two games are at home against ACC bottom-feeders Georgia Tech and Pitt. The struggling Cardinals (18-10, 9-6)  hit the road against Boston College. These two schools do meet again in the regular-season finale on March 9 in Charlottesville.