Virginia’s emergent big men take the floor Monday night against a busy Coppin State squad in Charlottesville, Va.While the visiting Eagles (0-3) are playing for the fourth time in eight days, the Cavaliers (1-0) opened the season on Wednesday with a 65-56 win over Campbell, fueled by Jacob Cofie and Blake Buchanan.Cofie, a 6-foot-10 freshman, scored a game-high 16 points off the bench on 7-of-8 shooting with two 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds. Buchanan, a 6-foot-11 sophomore starter, contributed 10 points, seven boards, five assists and three blocked shots. They had only one turnover and three fouls between them.”He had a great game,” Buchanan said of Cofie. “I’m super, super happy for him. I’m pretty hard on him in practice, and I get on him, and I try to do my best that I can to kind of mentor him a little bit.”Buchanan scored in double figures for the first time since the second game of his freshman season, an 18-point effort against Florida on Nov. 10, 2023.”I just feel a lot more natural this year,” Buchanan said. “I’m not reactive. I know where to be. I know what to expect. I’ve already done a year of college basketball, so the game’s a lot slower this year than it was last year. I definitely am stronger from last year, so I’m more physical and I can do a little bit more stuff with that.”
Virginia’s big men ready for Coppin State
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