Oregon Basketball: 3 keys to beat Virginia in the Sweet 16
By Derek Taylor
1. Make Virginia uncomfortable on offense.
Against Oklahoma, Virginia was cold from behind the arc. But Virginia was still able to manufacture enough scoring because Oklahoma’s defenders didn’t do anything to prevent it from moving the ball comfortably in order to find the best shot. Florida State (in the ACC Tournament) and NC State (at home) proved that it’s possible to disturb Virginia’s rhythm. The Seminoles used their superior length and athleticism to disrupt Virginia’s passing lanes and make dribbling more difficult. As a result, Virginia converted just 41.5% of its field goal attempts and mustered 59 points.
NC State applied tight ball pressure, utilizing a full-court press and engaging Virginia’s guards closely in the half-court. The Wolfpack sped Virginia up and exhausted Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy. Consequently, Guy and Jerome combined for six turnovers. UVA had 16 turnovers as a team and scored 66 points including overtime.
Oregon has the length and athleticism of FSU. It ranks 15th in average height, five spots behind the Seminoles, with two 6-foot-9 forwards and shooting guard Will Richardson at 6-foot-5. Like NC State, the Ducks also love to apply intense ball pressure. Payton Pritchard gets lower than his opponent in order to swipe the ball away and is tough to beat off the dribble. He ranks 101st in steal rate. Richardson ranks 167th in the category by using his long arms to poke at the ball. Ehab Amin ranks fifth in the category particularly by goading opponents into attempting passes that he’s able to intercept.
As a team, Oregon’s defense ranks 44th in forcing turnovers and 20th in accruing steals. If Oregon can disrupt Virginia’s rhythm, it should make the Cavaliers struggle to reach 60 points. It is especially hard for a team to win by scoring so few points, especially in March.