THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11 , 2021. THE WASHINGTON POST EZ M2 D5
that even when we don’t play our
best, we’ve got enough. It’s a g reat
sign to see that our guys didn’t l et
go of the rope. We just kept fight-
ing. It’s not always going to be
easy. That’s just the nature of the
league, so it’s good to see us get
one and earn one on the road.”Free throw success
Cleveland is one of the top
teams in the league at keeping
opponents off the free throw line,
entering Wednesday’s game al-
lowing foes an average of 15.5 free
throw attempts per game. But
largely thanks to Harrell, the Wiz-
ards stepped to the line 17 times
and hit all 17 o f their shots. Harrell
had eight attempts.
Success at the line is part of
what kept Washington competi-
tive for much of the night despitecollege basketball, whether in
Kansas’s Allen Fieldhouse or
Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium,
Bucknell’s Sojka Pavilion or
Howard’s Burr Gymnasium.
All are about noise and bands
and people loving being in the
exact spot where they are sitting
— or, more often standing — at
that moment.
The best and most historic
building in college basketball is
the Palestra, on Penn’s campus in
Philadelphia. There was no
basketball at all there last
season, because the Ivy League
was the only Division I
conference that didn’t play at all.
Basketball will be played in
the Palestra on Tuesday when
Lafayette travels down the Blue
Route to take on Penn. You can
bet I’ll be there, and you can be
just as sure I will pause again to
read the plaque on the concourse
that says: “To win the game is
great... To play the game is
greater... But to love the game
is the greatest of all.”
On Tuesday, we all got that
love back. It felt fantastic.
[email protected]For more by John Feinstein, visit
washingtonpost.com/feinstein.Now, e ven with some holdouts
refusing to get their shots,
enough people are vaccinated to
let the fans — and the pep bands
— come back. Everyone inside
Siegel Center appeared to be
masked Tuesday, and the crowd
of 7,017 was 620 short of a sellout.
That meant VCU’s 10-year-streak
of 166 straight sellouts ended.
Still, that’s a pretty good turnout
for a 6 p.m. start on a Tuesday
with masks required and some
still justifiably nervous about
being in crowds.
Nearly everyone agrees that
playing last season was a good
thing. But the feeling in the
buildings was most often
described by players and coaches
as “surreal” or “eerie.” Hearing
the ball echoing off the court or
coaches talking in their huddles
felt wrong. So did the lack of
handshakes and hugs.
It was a season to remember
for national champion Baylor,
and Gonzaga’s undefeated run to
the national title game shouldn’t
be forgotten. Nor should the
classic semifinal between
Gonzaga and UCLA.
But it couldn’t possibly feel the
same. No sport, college or pro, is
more about atmosphere thanCam Davis, who graduated.
Tr ansfers? The academies don’t
have transfers. They lose them
on occasion, but they can’t just
dip into the transfer portal to
replace them.
Virginia will be a good team.
Bennett is one of the best
coaches in the country, and as his
new players figure out the pack-
line defense, they only will get
better. That’s what Bennett
teams do.
But for the Navy kids, Tuesday
was a forever night — one they
will talk about at reunions years
from now, the same way that ’86
Elite Eight team still talks about
beating up on Syracuse in the
Carrier Dome.
Tuesday though, really wasn’t
about the upsets that bubbled up
or the predictable blowouts that
took place in guarantee games
around the country. It was about
joy returning to the sport.
Other sports began bringing
fans back months ago, but April’s
Final Four was played in
7 0,000-seat Lucas Oil Stadium
with about 8,000 masked fans
roaming around the cavernous
building. There just weren’t
enough people vaccinated then
to open things up.That’s not to mention the
players, who worked all season to
earn postseason bids and found
themselves with no games to
prepare for and no tournament
to play. T here was no madness in
2020, only heartbreak.
“Our focus right now needs to
be on the players,” Duke Coach
Mike Krzyzewski said on the day
everything shut down. “Coaches
get plenty of chances, and so do
fans and TV people and the
media. The players don’t. In
basketball terms, not life terms,
this is worst for them.”
Krzyzewski, who turns 75 in
February, began his 42 nd and
final season at Duke on Tuesday
with a 79-7 1 win over Kentucky
in front of a roaring Madison
Square Garden crowd of 18, 132 in
the second game of the annual
corporate and television glory-
fest that also included Kansas
beating Michigan State. All four
of those schools’ coaches —
Krzyzewski, Kentucky’s John
Calipari, Kansas’s Bill Self and
Michigan State’s Tom Izzo — are
in the Hall of Fame. Krzyzewski
has won five national titles, the
other three one apiece.
But the game of the night
wasn’t in New York. It was in
Charlottesville, where Navy
waltzed into John Paul Jones
Arena and stunned 25 th-ranked
Virginia, leading most of the way
en route to a 66-58 victory. It was
the Mids’ first victory over a
ranked team since David
Robinson led Navy to a win at
Syracuse in the second round of
the 1986 NCAA tournament.
In many ways, Tuesday’s
victory was more shocking. Yes,
Virginia lost some key players
from last season’s ACC regular
season championship team. But
Tony Bennett has reached the
stage at which he no longer
rebuilds; he reloads. His point
guard is senior Kihei Clark, who
was a starting freshman point
guard and a key player on
Virginia’s 20 19 national
championship team. The
Cavaliers, like most big-time
teams, also have a couple of
experienced transfers.
The Mids have four starters
back from a team that went 15-3
a year ago but not leading scorer
FEINSTEIN FROM D1
JOHN FEINSTEIN
College basketball l ooks and sounds like itself again
RICKY CARIOTI/THE WASHINGTON POST
Students reveled Tuesday at Maryland’s Xfinity Center after a season of covid-related fan restrictions.WIZARDS’ NEXT THREEat Orlando MagicSaturday7NBCSWvs. New Orleans PelicansMonday7NBCSWat Charlotte HornetsWednesday7NBCSWRadio: WTEM (980 AM)to this point, but when he got the
opportunity, you’re pulling for
him. When I got this opportunity,
he reached out right away....
We’re pulling for each other —
obviously not tonight.”
[email protected]its poor shooting. It was one of
many things the Wizards did well
— they also dominated on the
boards, outrebounding Cleveland
49 -40 — in another sign that their
energy, not their play, was the
problem for much of the game.Coach connection
Unseld and Cleveland’s JB
Bickerstaff’s relationship goes far
beyond the usual fraternity of
NBA head coaches.
The pair first got to know each
other as small children playing in
the family room at what was then
called Capital Centre — Bicker-
staff’s father, Bernie, a senior ad-
viser for the Cavaliers, was an
assistant in Washington when
Unseld’s father played. The elder
pair got on so well that when Wes
Unseld became Washington’s
general manager, he hired Bernie
Bickerstaff as coach.
JB Bickerstaff is just a few years
younger than Unseld and had his
first head coaching opportunity
in 20 17 with the Memphis Griz-
zlies. He was one of the first peo-
ple to reach out when the Wizards
hired Unseld during the summer.
“We’ve been close for decades.
To see him get the opportunity a
few years ago is extremely excit-
ing,” U nseld said. “It’s one of those
things — it feels surreal at times
because we have different pathsspecifics of the situation, only
that he was struggling.
Harrell’s way of comforting
Beal was to lead the team in his
stead, with 24 points and 11 re-
bounds. And even though Beal
was distressed, he found forward
Kyle Kuzma to assist on two of
Kuzma’s four three-pointers in
the final six minutes of the game
that lifted the Wizards.
“I just kind of knew he was
dealing with something on a per-
sonal level. Just rallied around
him, man. That’s all you can do at
times like this,” Harrell said. “You
never know what somebody’s go-
ing through in their personal life.
He was dealing with something
that was really heavy on his heart,
and we just wanted to rally
around him and let him know we
was there for him. That’s a ll I kept
telling him every timeout, every
time up the floor, like: ‘I’m with
you. I’m with you. Right here. I’m
with you.’ I wanted him to under-
stand that because that’s all some
people need sometimes.”
Cleveland rookie Evan Mobley
(19 points), guard Darius Garland
(19 points) and 11-year veteran
Ricky Rubio (20 points) carved up
the Wizards as the home fans
grew rowdier by the quarter.
Cleveland shot 46.1 percent from
the field.
Washington was down 10 in the
fourth quarter before Wizards
players started finding Kuzma to
shift momentum, pulling out a
win that Beal dedicated to his
grandmother.
“I’ve never lost anybody close
to me. I don’t know what to do,”
Beal said. “I don’t know how to
feel. I don’t k now who to go t o. But
it’s awesome to have teammates,
an organization, a coach who
loves you and supports you and
who has your back.
“I thought [the game] could be
a distraction. It wasn’t. It wasn’t
at all. Sports is our getaway, and I
didn’t have that tonight. It’s
tough.... Hopefully, she’s p roud.”
Here is what else to know from
the Wizards’ win:Strong start continues
The Wizards have won eight of
their first 11 games for the fourth
time in franchise history and the
first time since the 20 14-15 sea-
son. Washington started 8-3 in
1968 -69 and 9-2 in 197 4-75.
“It’s a character win,” Coach
Wes Unseld Jr. said. “It just provesWIZARDS FROM D1On a night of loss for Beal, Wizards come up big late
TONY DEJAK/ASSOCIATED PRESS
“My teammates won this game,” said Bradley Beal, who learned Tuesday of his grandmother’s death.Wizards 97, Cavaliers 94
Washington ........................ 2420242 9— 97
Cleveland ............................ 2227252 0— 94
WASHINGTON MIN FG FT O-TAPFPTS
Caldwell-Pope 28:29 1-8 3-3 0-1 115
Kuzma 34:47 8-14 0-0 0-5 1222
Gafford 22:06 2-5 0-0 2-6 114
Beal 37:21 4-19 4-4 1-7 7513
Dinwiddie 30:15 4-11 2-21-10 6111
Harrell 25:41 8-12 8-85-11 3224
Neto 17:47 3-5 0-0 1-1 337
Avdija 15:33 0-0 0-0 0-2 010
Kispert 14:26 4-7 0-0 1-4 019
Holiday 13:33 1-3 0-0 1-2 332
TOTALS 240 35-8417-1712-49 2520 97
Percentages: FG .417, FT 1.000. 3-Point Goals: 10-28,
.357 (Kuzma 6-9, Neto 1-1, Kispert 1-3, Beal 1-5,
Dinwiddie 1-5, Caldwell-Pope 0-5). Team Rebounds: 2.
Team Turnovers: None. Blocked Shots: 2 (Caldwell-Pope,
Kuzma). Turnovers: 12 (Beal 4, Kuzma 3, Neto 3,
Dinwiddie 2). Steals: 9 (Caldwell-Pope 2, Gafford 2,
Harrell 2, Avdija, Kuzma, Neto). Technical Fouls: Wiz-
ards, 3:17 second.
CLEVELAND MIN FG FT O-TAPFPTS
Mobley 25:29 7-15 4-5 0-7 2319
Wade 27:39 1-2 0-0 0-2 323
Allen 38:00 6-10 1-45-10 4313
Garland 36:12 8-16 0-0 0-1 4219
Okoro 28:01 1-4 0-0 1-6 132
Osman 28:32 3-6 2-3 0-6 139
Rubio 27:39 6-15 7-8 0-5 5120
Stevens 15:19 2-5 1-1 0-0 016
Windler 13:01 1-3 0-0 0-3 103
Fall 0:03 0-0 0-0 0-0 000
Pangos 0:00 0-0 0-0 0-0 000
TOTALS 240 35-7615-216-40 2118 94
Percentages: FG .461, FT .714. 3-Point Goals: 9-31, .290
(Garland 3-10, Stevens 1-2, Wade 1-2, Mobley 1-3,
Windler 1-3, Osman 1-4, Rubio 1-5, Okoro 0-2). Team
Rebounds: 5. Team Turnovers: 1. Blocked Shots: 4 (Allen
2, Mobley, Stevens). Turnovers: 14 (Allen 4, Garland 4,
Rubio 3, Mobley 2, Okoro). Steals: 7 (Allen 2, Osman 2,
Rubio 2, Garland). Technical Fouls: None.
A: 18,056 (19,432).ASSOCIATED PRESSP at Connaughton scored a
s eason-high 23 points, making
three late three-pointers to swing
a wild second half b ack i n Milwau-
kee’s favor, and the Bucks blew a
2 4-point lead before beating the
New York Knicks, 112 -100, on
Wednesday night at Madison
Square Garden.
Less than a week after the
Knicks came from 21 down to win
at Milwaukee, the Bucks opened a
70 -46 cushion midway through
the third quarter. But the Knicks’
reserves wiped that away, and the
score was tied at 89 with five min-
utes to play.
Jrue Holiday scored 18 points
and Giannis Antetokounmpo had
15 points, 15 rebounds and eight
assists for the B ucks, who had just
enough to win for the second
straight n ight.
Derrick R ose h ad 22 points and
seven assists for the Knicks.
l (^) NETS 123, MAGIC 90: Kevin
Durant scored 30 points and
James Harden had h is 59th career
triple-double to propel Brooklyn
to victory in Orlando.
They gave most of the credit to
LaMarcus A ldridge.
Durant, the NBA’s leading scor-
er at 29.5 points, made 11 of
12 shots to help Brooklyn win for
the sixth time in seven games.
Harden had 17 p oints, 11 rebounds
and 11 assists.
The two stars sat out the fourth
quarter, putting the game in the
hands of a bench that produced
59 points, 2 1 of them b y Aldridge.
“I was glad he was able to come
out and extend the l ead f or us and
win the game for us basically,”
Durant said about of the 36-year-
old Aldridge, who also had eight
rebounds.
l (^) CELTICS 104, RAPTORS
88: Jayson Tatum had 22 points,
12 rebounds and seven assists to
propel h ost Boston p ast Toronto.
Scottie B arnes led Toronto with
21 points.
l (^) PISTONS 112, ROCKETS
104: Jerami Grant scored a
s eason-high 35 points to help v isit-
ing Detroit upend Houston in a
matchup of two of the worst teams
in the N BA.
The meeting was the first be-
tween the top two picks in the J uly
draft. Cade Cunningham, De-
troit’s c hoice as the No. 1 pick, had
20 points on 8 -for- 18 shooting.
Houston’s Jalen Green, the No. 2
pick, had 23 points on 8 -for-20
shooting.
l (^) BULLS 117, MAVERICKS
107: Zach L aVine scored 23 points
and Lonzo Ball made seven of
Chicago’s 15 three-pointers, help-
ing the B ulls t op visiting Dallas.
Kristaps Porzingis had
22 points for the Mavericks.
l (^) HORNETS 118, GRIZZLIES
108: In Memphis, Kelly Oubre Jr.
scored a season-best 37 points on
13-for-17 shooting to help Char-
lotte snap a five-game s kid.
Oubre matched his career high
with seven three-pointers on nine
attempts and broke the franchise
record f or points off the b ench.
Ja Morant led Memphis with
32 points.
l (^) THUNDER 108, PELICANS
100: Lu Dort scored 27 points,
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added
24 points, and visiting Oklahoma
City topped reeling New Orleans
for i ts third straight victory.
Jonas Valanciunas had
25 points and 15 rebounds for the
Pelicans, who lost their eighth
straight w hile falling to 1-11.
l (^) SPURS 136, KINGS 117: De-
jounte Murray had 26 points, and
host San Antonio never trailed,
overcoming De’Aaron Fox’s sea-
son-high 37 points to roll past
Sacramento.
San Antonio hit a season-high
18 three-pointers and snapped a
three-game skid a t home.
l (^) SUNS 119, TRAIL BLAZERS
109: Frank Kaminsky scored a ca-
reer-high 31 points, Chris Paul
added 21, and host Phoenix han-
dled Portland for its sixth straight
victory.
Damian Lillard led Portland
with 28 points.
l (^) NUGGETS 101, PACERS 98:
Will Barton scored a season-high
30 points, helping to make up for
the absence of suspended star
Nikola Jokic as host Denver held
on to beat Indiana.
Malcolm Brogdon had
25 points to lead the Pacers. Do-
mantas Sabonis added 20 points
and 1 9 rebounds.
NBA ROUNDUP
Milwaukee holds steady
after blowing huge lead
BUCKS 112,
KNICKS 100
CARLOS OSORIO/ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former DeMatha standout Hunter Dickinson, right, contributed
27 points as No. 6 Michigan opened with a victory over Buffalo.
FROM NEWS SERVICES
AND STAFF REPORTS
Hunter Dickinson scored
27 points to help No. 6 Michigan
open the season with an 88 -76 win
over Buffalo on Wednesday night
in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Led by the former DeMatha
star, the Wolverines started
strong, leading by 21 points in the
first half and going ahead 51-36 at
halftime before coming out flat in
the s econd half.
The Bulls cut their deficit to five
points with five-plus minutes left.
Caleb Houstan helped Michigan
pull away, making a three-pointer
to give the Wolverines a 15-point
lead with 3:12 left. The freshman
had 1 1 points and six rebounds.
Terrance Williams scored
15 points for the Wolverines. Buf-
falo’s Jeenathan Williams finished
with 32 points.
l FLORIDA STATE 105,
PENN 70: In Tallahassee, Malik
Osborne had 18 points and 13 re-
bounds as the No. 20 Seminoles
won their seventh straight home
opener.
Jordan D ingle had 2 3 points for
the Quakers, who played for the
first time since March 7, 2 02 0,
after the Ivy League canceled the
202 0-21 winter sports season.
l HOWARD 118, REGENT 54:
At Burr Gymnasium, the Bison
racked up 67 first-half points and
finished w ith six players in double
figures during a lopsided victory
over an opponent from the Na-
tional Christian College Athletic
Association.
Bryce Harris had 26 points and
nine rebounds to lead Howard
(2-0), which opened the season
Tuesday with an 87-59 w in over t he
University of the District of Co-
lumbia. Tre Holland led the Vir-
ginia Beach-based Royals (1-2)
with 12 points.
l JAMES MADISON 135,
CARLOW 40: In Harrisonburg,
Va., the Dukes had no problem in
their season opener against an
NAIA opponent.
Jalen Hodge led the way with
21 points, and Justin Amadi had
15 points and 15 rebounds for JMU.
The Celtics (1-3), of Pittsburgh, got
17 p oints from Marcus Millien.
Indiana women open strong
Nicole Cardaño-Hillary scored
29 points to lead the N o. 8 Indiana
women to an 86 -63 victory over
host Butler i n Indianapolis.
Cardaño-Hillary, who began
her college career at George Ma-
son, shot 11 for 12 from the field,
including 7 for 8 on three-point-
ers, and added five rebounds and
five assists to lead the Hoosiers,
who s hot 5 2 percent.
Alex Richard scored 20 points
for B utler.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL ROUNDUP
Dickinson’s Wolverines
get started with a victory
MICHIGAN 88,
BUFFALO 76