By Jeff White, VirginiaSports.com (Click here for full article)
CHARLOTTESVILLE -- At the Maui Invitational, Michigan scored 73 points against Memphis, 75 against Duke and 79 against UCLA, and John Beilein's basketball team beat two of those perennial powers.
In the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the 14th-ranked Wolverines connected on two bombs in the final minute Tuesday night and still didn't reach 60.
"They haven't seen a defense like ours," forward Mike Scott said after UVa's 70-58 win at John Paul Jones Arena. "That's no disrespect to the teams in Maui, but we watched film, and they didn't go against a defense like ours."
Beilein, who had a successful run as coach at the University of Richmond, saluted his counterpart, Tony Bennett, when asked about the Cavaliers' defense.
"It's always going to be good as long as that man is coaching this team," Beilein said. "They do a tremendous job. I'm not crazy about scoring 58 points, but not a lot of teams may score 58 points against them. Thank goodness we made some 3s to be able to do that. They're tough to get easy baskets against, and when you get them, you can't miss them and we had several of those in the game."
Suffocating defense has become a trademark of this UVa team, which in seven games has yet to allow an opponent to score 60 points.
CHARLOTTESVILLE -- At the Maui Invitational, Michigan scored 73 points against Memphis, 75 against Duke and 79 against UCLA, and John Beilein's basketball team beat two of those perennial powers.
In the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, the 14th-ranked Wolverines connected on two bombs in the final minute Tuesday night and still didn't reach 60.
"They haven't seen a defense like ours," forward Mike Scott said after UVa's 70-58 win at John Paul Jones Arena. "That's no disrespect to the teams in Maui, but we watched film, and they didn't go against a defense like ours."
Beilein, who had a successful run as coach at the University of Richmond, saluted his counterpart, Tony Bennett, when asked about the Cavaliers' defense.
"It's always going to be good as long as that man is coaching this team," Beilein said. "They do a tremendous job. I'm not crazy about scoring 58 points, but not a lot of teams may score 58 points against them. Thank goodness we made some 3s to be able to do that. They're tough to get easy baskets against, and when you get them, you can't miss them and we had several of those in the game."
Suffocating defense has become a trademark of this UVa team, which in seven games has yet to allow an opponent to score 60 points.
Offensively as a team, Virginia had twice as many assists (16) as turnovers (8), a statistic that delighted its third-year coach. Four players scored in double figures for UVa, led by Scott and sophomore swingman Joe Harris with 18 points apiece. Freshman guard Malcolm Brogdon contributed a career-high 16 points and uncanny poise off the bench, and senior guard Sammy Zeglinski, playing on a sore right ankle, added 11 points, 6 assists and only 1 turnover.
"We were getting pretty good looks. We just didn't knock 'em down [in the first half]" Zeglinski said. "But we knew if we stuck to our defensive principles and kept wearing [Michigan] down, shots would eventually fall, and that's exactly what happened in the second half."
"We were getting pretty good looks. We just didn't knock 'em down [in the first half]" Zeglinski said. "But we knew if we stuck to our defensive principles and kept wearing [Michigan] down, shots would eventually fall, and that's exactly what happened in the second half."
"One game doesn't make a season, but it was an opportunity, a great barometer for us. Where are we at? We're playing a team that is good. You watched them in Maui, and they played well against some good teams, so we needed to see where we were at."
Bennett's message to his players at practice Monday: Want to win the game more than you fear losing it. "And then before the game I said, 'It's one thing to want it. You gotta play to win this one. Play it to win.' "
During the game, Bennett challenged his team to play with humility and passion. "I kept repeating that," he said, "and that was our little chant when we came in, and I think that's always going to be the key for our team: understanding how we have to play to be successful, and then having the passion and heart to carry it off."
Bennett's message to his players at practice Monday: Want to win the game more than you fear losing it. "And then before the game I said, 'It's one thing to want it. You gotta play to win this one. Play it to win.' "
During the game, Bennett challenged his team to play with humility and passion. "I kept repeating that," he said, "and that was our little chant when we came in, and I think that's always going to be the key for our team: understanding how we have to play to be successful, and then having the passion and heart to carry it off."
Click the picture above to watch video highlights of the win on VirginiaSportsTV.com
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