UVA Basketball: Takeaways from thrilling Elite Eight win over Purdue

2. Free throw shooting matters.

I know this might seem extremely obvious but teams cough up victories in March every single year due to poor free throw shooting. When it comes down to crunch time, it is very difficult to hold onto leads without taking advantage of shots at the charity stripe and the Cavaliers were able to do just that throughout the game. Not only did they attempt more freebies than Purdue in this matchup but Virginia also knocked in those attempts at a great rate. Over the course of the game, the Cavaliers shot 17-for-20 (80.0%) from the foul line and that includes an intentional miss in the closing seconds of regulation that helped lead to overtime.

In addition to their quality percentage from the free throw line, Virginia’s stars do the little things needed to win games in crunch time. The most notable example of this was in the closing seconds of the overtime period. After a shot by the Boilermakers caromed off the rim and high into the air, it was one of the shortest Cavaliers on the court, Kyle Guy, who rose up for the rebound. Guy, who is one of the best pure shooters in the country, then stepped up to the line and sunk not only the free throws but also Purdue’s hopes of victory.

Over the course of this season, the UVA basketball roster has shot 74.4% from the free throw, a percentage that ranks 50th in the entire nation. This mark makes the Cavaliers one of the best free throw shooting teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament and that could come back to play a major factor in the final weekend. Only one UVA player that is averaging over 10 minutes per game is shooting below 70% from the foul line; that kind of balance leads to an elite shooting team.