CHARLOTTESVILLE — The list of Virginia basketball players who got the sellout crowd at John Paul Jones Arena on its feet Saturday was long and varied. First it was sophomore guard Darius Thompson with two dunks in the first four minutes. Then senior Anthony Gill threw down a one-handed dunk a minute later. Starting point guard London Perrantes earned a standing ovation with a three-pointer late in the first half; Devon Hall got his when he hit a three-pointer to cap a 14-point run with 10 minutes left in the game.
Eighth-ranked Virginia's surprisingly hot offense hit a high point in an 86-75 victory over No. 12 Villanova, the Cavaliers' eighth consecutive victory and their second in a row over a top-15 opponent.
It was also the first time Virginia allowed 75 points in regulation since an 87-52 loss at Tennessee on Dec. 30, 2013, a span of 68 games.
Said Cavaliers Coach Tony Bennett: “I wish we could have held them down more, but we needed all of our offense to beat them today.”
The Cavaliers (9-1) shot 56.5 percent from the field (26 for 46, including 8 for 12 on three-pointers) and made 26 of 30 free throws. Gill scored a team-high 22 points on 8-for-9 shooting. Senior guard Malcolm Brogdon added 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and Perrantes scored 19 points.
Junior forward Kris Jenkins, who played in the District at Gonzaga, led the Wildcats (8-2) with a career-high 23 points.
“Our guys understood this is one of the better four-guard teams that you’ll play against,” Bennett said. “When Jenkins starts shooting the ball, that becomes an issue, and all three or four of their perimeter guys can really attack.”
Bennett started small to combat Villanova’s sharp shooters and grouped three guards with forwards Gill and sophomore Isaiah Wilkins, the latter in his first start of the season. The group of ballhandlers got Virginia’s offense off to a fiery start for the first time in a long time, responding to Villanova’s opening three-pointer with six consecutive points. Five players scored during an 11-0 tear later in the half that gave the Cavaliers a 27-20 lead.
Sophomore guard Marial Shayok and Perrantes each beat the shot clock late in the first half, and Virginia made all eight of its free throws to help maintain a 33-29 edge going into the locker room, despite allowing Villanova to shoot 57 percent from the field. Virginia largely kept pace with 55 percent shooting.
Bennett used 10 players in the first half, as the marquee matchup between the two defending conference champions turned into a shootout.
The Cavaliers allowed an uncharacteristic 46 points in the second half but held the Wildcats to a more manageable 43.8 percent shooting (14 for 32). Meanwhile, Virginia’s offense only got better. The Cavaliers made 14 of 24 shots from the field after intermission and 18 of 22 free throws. Villanova added six three-pointers in the second half, but Virginia responded with seven of its own, two from Perrantes in the final four minutes.
“We knew that they shot a bunch of three-pointers, but that’s our defense. We were going to give up some three-pointers. We just wanted to contest them,” Perrantes said. “And we would live with the contested threes. Just like we said before, we have guards that can shoot the ball just as well as anybody in the country. We just wanted to go out there and prove ourselves, and I feel like we did that tonight.”
The Cavaliers close out their nonconference schedule against visiting California on Tuesday and Oakland on Dec. 30.
