Virginia Basketball: Keys to beating Oregon in Sweet 16 matchup

1. Take care of the ball.

Virginia is the clear favorite to take the victory in this matchup. With this said, the Cavaliers mainly need to focus on “playing their game” in order to walk away victorious. And, in my opinion, this starts with taking care of the ball offensively. Avoiding careless mistakes can be the difference between controlling the game (both from a pace and scoreboard standpoint) and needing to work from behind so this is a vital part of the game. Thankfully, though, Virginia is one of the best teams in the nation when it comes to valuing possessions.

For the year, the Cavaliers rank 14th in the entire nation in turnover rate (14.9%) and I mention this specific statistic because it is possession-based and therefore not biased based to their pace of play. Of course, their deliberation on offense does help lead to fewer mistakes but it also leads to the vast majority of their possessions ending in high-quality looks. This is evident in the fact that UVA also ranked in the top-75 nationally in assists per field goal made (55.5%).

Oregon, though, is one of the better defensive teams in the country and they do a great job forcing mistakes. They are ranked in the 42nd in overall defensive turnover rate (21.0%) and in the top-20 in both block and steal rates. These numbers show that the Ducks are extremely opportunistic on the defensive end of the floor and they have the ability to get out and score in transition on occasion. In Oregon’s first-round game, they were able to force a 20.6% turnover rate out of a Wisconsin team that only exhibited a season-long rate of 14.6%.

Virginia cannot allow Oregon to consistently force turnovers and that will start with the backcourt stars. As long as Ty Jerome and Kihei Clark remain diligent with their ball movement, the Cavaliers should be just fine.