Tony Bennett built Virginia from a mediocre program into a dominant team in the ACC before finally breaking all the way through with a national title last season. The Cavaliers have done it, of course, mostly on the strength of their pack-line defense. So what would it look like if a mid-major program followed the Virginia model?<\/p>\n
The answer to that question can be found about an hour south of Charlottesville in Lynchburg, Va., home of the Liberty Flames. They lost, 74-57, at LSU on Sunday but had gotten off to a school-record 14-0 start. They also beat Mississippi State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last March and boast a 33-4 record since beating UCLA last Dec. 29. They do it by playing what coach Ritchie McKay calls a shadow version of Virginia basketball.<\/p>\n
Sure, lots of teams now use the pack-line defense or at least some elements of it. McKay himself was a longtime admirer of Bennetts father, Dick, and incorporated that style of play during... <\/p>\n
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This Week in Mid-Major: Liberty takes a page from UVa's playbook, Bryant's shot-swatter, the top 10 and more - The Athletic<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Tony Bennett built Virginia from a mediocre program into a dominant team in the ACC before finally breaking all the way through with a national title last season. Continue reading