Coach Bennett Quotes - Virginia
Postgame Quotes
Virginia head coach Tony Bennett
Feb. 4, 2017 | Carrier Dome
What happened defensively in the second half?
“We played a really good first half, obviously. We made threes, we moved the ball. We didn’t need to attack it off the dribble, defensively. They were setting a lot of ball screens.
“In the second half, they spread us out and they attacked. Those wings are good. They’re physical and tough. They can create their own. A couple of times, I was disappointed. I thought we let (Andrew) White or a couple of guys get a rhythm look. Some of those turnovers or missed bunnies at the rim, which aren’t always easy shots – all fed into it. The ability to guard White and obviously (Tyus) Battle, we did a good job on (John) Gillon and certainly (Tyler) Lydon, but we had a hard time keeping them in front.
“Maybe I’ll look at the tape and we were too stretched. When you got in there, they were able to lower the shoulder and bounce up and get the shot at the rim. That, I thought, really hurt us. We had some turnovers that led to some points.”
On paper, this game was similar to the game last year in Chicago in the NCAA Tournament. Was that addressed at any point?
“We talked about how good they are in spurts with what they did against NC State. They’ve got guys. But they’re a different team and we’re a different team. It was a different kind of situation. Definitely leading up to it, we said let’s learn from last year. You can be going and all of sudden they can get things going.
“It was different, though. We have a lot of young guys. When their guards can go get a bucket or get in the paint, that’s the troubling thing. Then, I thought we got tentative. That zone kept lifting up because we weren’t scoring on the backside of it and we shot it so well early so we just kept passing. We said, ‘Can we be a little more assertive and punch it and find some gaps and be more aggressive?’ We did at times. That’s easier said than done. That’s a smart zone that grows and reads stuff. You watch enough games and you see leads come and go, and you’ve seen that this year with this team.”
Virginia head coach Tony Bennett
Feb. 4, 2017 | Carrier Dome
What happened defensively in the second half?
“We played a really good first half, obviously. We made threes, we moved the ball. We didn’t need to attack it off the dribble, defensively. They were setting a lot of ball screens.
“In the second half, they spread us out and they attacked. Those wings are good. They’re physical and tough. They can create their own. A couple of times, I was disappointed. I thought we let (Andrew) White or a couple of guys get a rhythm look. Some of those turnovers or missed bunnies at the rim, which aren’t always easy shots – all fed into it. The ability to guard White and obviously (Tyus) Battle, we did a good job on (John) Gillon and certainly (Tyler) Lydon, but we had a hard time keeping them in front.
“Maybe I’ll look at the tape and we were too stretched. When you got in there, they were able to lower the shoulder and bounce up and get the shot at the rim. That, I thought, really hurt us. We had some turnovers that led to some points.”
On paper, this game was similar to the game last year in Chicago in the NCAA Tournament. Was that addressed at any point?
“We talked about how good they are in spurts with what they did against NC State. They’ve got guys. But they’re a different team and we’re a different team. It was a different kind of situation. Definitely leading up to it, we said let’s learn from last year. You can be going and all of sudden they can get things going.
“It was different, though. We have a lot of young guys. When their guards can go get a bucket or get in the paint, that’s the troubling thing. Then, I thought we got tentative. That zone kept lifting up because we weren’t scoring on the backside of it and we shot it so well early so we just kept passing. We said, ‘Can we be a little more assertive and punch it and find some gaps and be more aggressive?’ We did at times. That’s easier said than done. That’s a smart zone that grows and reads stuff. You watch enough games and you see leads come and go, and you’ve seen that this year with this team.”
