Virginia has been known for its defense ever since Tony Bennett took over.
You couldn’t tell in the first few minutes of Virginia’s 73-70 win over Florida.
Florida was able to dominate the paint early on. The Gators were able to throw the ball to the block. They were able to dribble and get two feet in the paint. Who was this team?
Enter freshman Blake Buchanan.
Buchanan gave the Cavaliers some size in the paint. Buchanan’s activity on defense and the ball pressure that the Virginia guards were putting on the ball helped Virginia erase an early Florida lead.
Buchanan also did things on defense that don’t appear in the box score. He flashed some good footwork when asked to hard-hedge and recover, and he sprinted back on transition defense with the Gators’ rim runners.
Of course, it was Buchanan’s offense that got him the attention.
As soon as Buchanan came in, he hit the Gators with the Dirk step-back fadeaway. He followed that up with a layup when he kept his feet active and hands ready, and Dante Harris hit him with a nice pass.
Bennett saw enough from Buchanan in the first half to give him the second-half start, and he rewarded his coach.
The two baskets he made in the second half came from screen action. The first came on a hard dive for a dunk, and the second came on a shallow cut that ended with an elbow jumper.
Buchanan’s activity earned him 16 free throw attempts in the second half.
One of the things he could look at getting better at is his rebounding numbers, but that’s going to be a game-to-game thing because Virginia’s perimeter defenders generally do an above-average job of boxing out and getting the ball off the rim.
But, all in all, Buchanan performed superbly in his first big game as a college player.
It was a performance that could eventually land him in the starting lineup.
