CHICAGO – Top-seeded Virginia (29-7, 13-5 Atlantic Coast) lost in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, but still received a No. 1 seed. The Cavaliers have played the part, advancing with relative ease to the Elite Eight, where they’ll face No. 10 seed Syracuse (22-13, 9-9) on Sunday with a spot in the Final Four on the line.

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Here are three things UVA head coach Tony Bennett said at his Saturday press conference.

On Michael Gbinije and an attempted recruitment

Gbinije hails from Richmond, Virginia, but he will be at the forefront of the effort to oust his home-state team from the NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

Bennett lauded Gbnije for his experience and his ability to play off the dribble despite seeing most of this year at point guard. He had a team-high 24 points in SU’s loss to the Cavaliers just over two months ago, and will have another chance to do the same against a team that tried to court him when they vie for the third spot in the Final Four.

“We tried to recruit him real hard, so we know how good he is,” Bennett said, “He’s really been a key and led that team and taken them obviously to this point, which is special.”

On Malachi Richardson

The freshman had his highest-scoring game of the year against Virginia with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field and a 6-of-10 mark from deep. As Syracuse fans have witnessed all year, Richardson is the quickest player on the team off the dribble and may have the highest bounce of any SU player, too.

“As a first year, as a freshman, he was good … off the bounce where he could take a couple dribbles, freeze you, rise up and shoot it,” Bennett said.

The sometimes-mercurial freshman had a team-high 21 points against Dayton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, before plopping four against Middle Tennessee and evening out at 10 against Gonzaga. He hit a crucial 3 late in the second half to keep Syracuse afloat against the Bulldogs, but it may take more than just that on Sunday.

“I think he’s driving better, good size and he’s going to be — he is a very good player,” Bennett said, “and he’s going to be a real, real good one as you can see.”

On Virginia’s recent success against the zone

In the last three games Syracuse has played Virginia, the Orange has lost. SU has also fallen victim to three shooting percentages that often coincide with the team on the right side of the final score.

Two years ago, the Cavaliers shot 50 percent, last year they shot 46.2 percent and this season, a staggering 56.8 percent. So how has Bennett coached his teams to beat the 2-3 so effectively?

“The ball has to move, you have to dent it off the dribble, get on the glass, different kinds of things,” Bennett said. “I just think I have the guys that have the right spacing and the right mindset, and these are the guys (Isaiah Wilkins, Devon Hall, London Perrantes, Anthony Gill and Malcolm Brogdon seated beside him) who have made the shots and made the plays.

“You can’t be un-sound because they get live-ball turnovers and that hurts, but if you are just too hesitant or passive against it, you can have trouble.”

Published on March 26, 2016 at 8:48 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman