CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — As much of the ACC has begrudgingly experienced over the past six years, losses against Virginia can be grueling, not merely because of the final result, but the way they are so commonly reached.
The Cavaliers are uncompromisingly and unapologetically slow, logging fewer possessions per game than any Division I team for the past five years. They sap the energy out of their opponents, something that can make a four-point deficit feel like a 40-point one. It’s not just that they beat teams; it’s that their methodical, plodding excellence makes their foes feel the full, agonizing brunt of every second that passes as the game slowly slips away from it.
On Saturday, Pitt saw a different iteration of Virginia — and perhaps a scarier one.
The No. 14 Cavaliers scored 16 unanswered points in a stretch of 3:36 in the second half that turned a tie game into a mounting blowout and ultimately dealt the Panthers a 73-66 loss at John Paul Jones Arena.
In that time, Virginia made all four of its field goals, all of them 3-pointers. Even once Pitt (9-6, 5-5 ACC) began to answer on the other end, that relentless offensive efficiency continued. The Cavaliers went nearly a full eight minutes without missing a shot, a period in which their lead increased from two to 17.
Virginia’s frontcourt of Sam Hauser and Jay Huff embodied that effectiveness. The pair combined for 36 points (23 of which came from Hauser) while making 13 of its 15 shots and six of its eight 3s, igniting its team’s offense on a day in which it had 73 points on 60 possessions and shot 50% from 3, burying 12 of its 24 attempts.
Justin Champagnie had a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds, doing what he could against tight defense from Hauser and an occasional double team. It was his ninth double-double of the season and fourth in the past four games.
The loss was the Panthers’ sixth in a row against Virginia (13-3, 9-1).
Slow starts have doomed Pitt in games against the Cavaliers for the past five years. In 2017, Virginia scored 19 of the game’s first 21 points. The following year, in what would be Kevin Stallings’ final home game, the Cavaliers opened up leads of 14-3 and 30-7 in the first half. Even with a new coach in Jeff Capel, the result was the same in 2019, with a 27-10 first-half deficit, making last year’s 7-2 hole appear remarkably modest.
On Saturday, though, it was the Panthers who delivered the first punch, scoring the game’s first seven points. That advantage eventually shrunk, but they led for nearly 15 of the contest’s first 20 minutes. Virginia countered, though, finishing the first half on an 8-1 run to take a 30-27 lead into halftime.
It was merely a preview of what was to come.
Hauser and Huff combined to score 14 of their team’s 16 points in that decisive spurt when it took control for good. When Pitt fought back, getting within nine after scoring seven straight, others stepped up, as Tomas Woldetensae drained 3s on consecutive possessions to push the Cavaliers’ lead up to 15 with 9:39 remaining.
The Panthers kept fighting, trimming their deficit to single digits, but they never got closer than six points. The damage had already been done.
