The Virginia Cavaliers won the ACC's regular-season title and tournament last season, and that success hasn’t stopped in 2014-15. Undefeated just a couple of months from the NCAA tournament, Tony Bennett’s team is 19-0 and No. 2 in the country behind only Kentucky.
This is a team and program that know who they are and how they win. The Cavaliers have tremendous trust in their coach, each other and their system. Bennett and his staff know the type of players to recruit who best fit their system and culture. Although some coaches are seduced primarily by a prospect’s potential, Virginia looks more at character, toughness, skills, work ethic and the type of teammate he will be.
Virginia does not beat itself; you have to beat the Cavaliers. They are in the top five in adjusted offensive (117.9) and defensive (83.9) efficiency. In essence, they are able to get the shot they want while severely limiting opponents’ ability to score. Bennett’s team controls the pace of the game with its offense and disrupts the rhythm with its “pack-line” defense. Teams take on average more than 20 seconds each possession to get a shot off, which ranks sixth in the country and is tops among major-conference teams.
How exactly do the Cavaliers do this? What makes them so difficult to beat? Let’s take a closer look.
To me, Virginia’s success comes down to three key areas:
1. Virginia does not turn the ball over. It is No. 8 in the country in turnover percentage (15.3).
2. Virginia does not give up second shots, ranking No. 3 in the country in defensive rebounding percentage (23.3).
3. Virginia does not give up transition baskets. This is a byproduct of Bennett's philosophy of having two players back as well as a testament to the team's offensive efficiency. When you run good offense and take good shots, you have good floor balance. This forces the opponent to play against the very difficult set pack-line defense. And when a team is running on the Cavaliers, they are extremely good at not allowing baskets (the nation’s lowest adjusted field goal percentage defense in transition at 30.1).
What is the pack-line defense?
The concept of the pack-line defense is to put pressure on the ball and have the off-ball defenders fill in gaps behind the ball. It is predicated on "shrinking" the court inside an imaginary 16-foot "pack line" in relation to the ball and their man. When the man a player is guarding is about to receive, the defender must “close out” to his man with high hands and pressure the ball. The remaining four defenders playing off the ball must move in relation to the ball on the pack line. They are essentially taking away driving lanes. Being in gaps forces the offense to pass the ball on the perimeter and eventually take a contested shot.
Virginia is long and athletic, which enables the Cavaliers to be on the pack line and still take away the room-and-rhythm shot if the ball is kicked out to their man.
Another key to this defensive system is to discourage the ball into the post by defending down low early and not allowing the ball into the post from the top. The ball pressure buys time, but the off-ball defenders in the gaps make it hard to punch it into the post. The post defender will three-quarter the post and, on the post entry pass, will move his feet to seal the basket.
He should stay between the offensive low-post player and the basket. This is one reason Virginia is such a good defensive rebounding team -- it is always in position to block out.
If the post player catches the ball, Virginia double-teams the post "big-to-big." The Cavaliers are physical in their doubles and do a terrific job cutting out the “dive” man (the offensive player whose man went to double-team). This will be a big part of their game play versus Duke's Jahlil Okafor. Okafor is an excellent passer, but Duke’s off-ball post action has not been great this season. The Duke dive man, Amile Jefferson, must get to the front of the rim, be physical and fight for position. The perimeter players must move to open windows in Okafor’s vision and give him passing lanes.
With that said, Duke is capable of giving Virginia its first loss of the season. Here’s how.
1. Duke must be able to play through adversity.
In losses to NC State and Miami, the Blue Devils did not fight through the adversity. They lost their competitive spirit and did not compete. This past weekend against St. John’s, they met the adversity head on and competed on the offensive and defensive ends. As important, they stayed together. They did not try to make a 10-point play but did it one possession at a time. That attitude will be imperative to deal with what should be an electric atmosphere.
2. Duke must be disciplined defensively, an area Virginia will test.
The Cavaliers will make the Blue Devils guard and will dictate the shot selection. The Duke defense must be connected and communicate. It must be tough on the ball and not take shortcuts. A key matchup to watch will be with Malcolm Brogdon, who will use his size and strength on curl screens. On ball reversal, he has the ability to attack and get to the rim.
3. Offensively, Duke must move the ball and the defense.
If the Blue Devils just play off spacing, the defense will be in the gaps and take away driving lanes to distort post feeding angles. If Duke moves bodies as well as the ball, it will be able to feed the post and drive the ball. This puts more pressure on the pack-line defense because the off-ball defender needs to move in relation to the ball and the action. Purposeful movement will create driving lanes and better post feeding opportunities.
4. On-ball reversal and dribble penetration.
Duke’s perimeter players must be down and shot-ready. One of the weaknesses of the pack-line is that you can get open perimeter shots, but Virginia is long and closes out with high hands, so you are open for only a short period. If you are not shot-ready, the closeout will force you into a contested shot. The Duke perimeter players must know where their shots are coming from and be ready to shoot.
5. I look for Duke to set "drag" ball screens in transition.
The Virginia defense is so committed to defending inside-out that the Cavaliers are susceptible to being screened in transition. This will give the ball handler an opportunity to get into the lane and make a basketball play. Virginia does an excellent job in the half court at defending ball screens. The Cavaliers arrive with the screen and hedge hard and early, and the pack-line is behind them shrinking the court and helping on the roll. But in transition, that is more difficult.