With the holidays all around, the Virginia basketball team delivered a treat for its fans on Monday night. The Hoos rolled past American, 95-51, at the John Paul Jones Arena while never trailing and leading for the final 38 minutes.
That performance matched many familiar storylines this season. UVA scored 80+ points for the 11th time, made 9+ 3-pointers for the 8th time, dished out 20+ assists for the 5th time, and notched 6+ steals for 9th time. The blend of ball movement and shooting with pressure defense has challenged many of the non-conference opponents with the Eagles being the latest to face the test.
"That is a really, really good team," American coach Duane Simpkins said. "This is year three for me and we've played Carolina's and we've played the Villanova's, this is the best team top to bottom that I think we have competed against. We've competed against teams with size and length and everything, but they are together, they're connected, and they can really, really shoot. ... That's a potential National Championship team I think."
Virginia, playing without Jacari White as he undergoes surgery on his wrist, showed how its roster can challenge teams top to bottom against American. Seven different players scored 8+ points in Monday's win. Thijs De Ridder led the way with 27 points, while Malik Thomas, Sam Lewis, and Elijah Gertrude each added 11. Chance Mallory also had double figures with 10, while Johann Grünloh and Ugonna Onyenso both posted 8 points.
A strong shooting night helped propel those totals. UVA shot a season-high 62.3% (38-61) from the floor, including a sizzling 70.0% (21-30) after halftime with the game already lopsided at intermission. The hosts made 9 of 23 3's (39.1%) while dominating the paint with 56 points. The Cavaliers led by double figures for the final 31:15.
On the flipside, the Wahoos' steals 7 steals were only part of the defensive story. American managed just 31.7% shooting (19-60) with 10 turnovers. The Eagles couldn't get much production near the rim with only 16 points and UVA smothered the visitors' preferred 3-point shooting attack as well (8-35/22.9%).
Virginia coach Ryan Odom was pleased with how his team competed from beginning to end in the final non-conference game of 2025 (UVA does face Ohio State on Feb. 14 in Nashville). He said the coaches are pleased with how the team has played through this portion of the season.
"We feel good about it," Odom said. "Certainly, we would have loved to have beaten Butler, but we didn't. I think we've developed some shared experiences, this group has, that can propel it forward. The other night against Maryland clearly helped us today. It opened our guys' eyes to [the fact that] you have to play every play regardless of the opponent or what the score is or where you're at, at that particular moment."
The Cavaliers are now 11-1 while riding a six-game winning streak with conference play looming.
"We're just encouraging our guys overall to be present and in the moment," Odom said. "We realize that the crowds are gonna get bigger, whether it's on the road or at home, the stakes are gonna get higher, the pressure's gonna elevate, and we have to handle it really, really well. And we're not gonna be perfect at that, I understand that, because this is a really good league this year."
Before ACC play begins at Virginia Tech on New Year's Eve, here are some takeaways from the matchup with American.
Belgian Bounce Back
Virginia forward Thijs De Ridder played several strong games during the early season non-conference stretch, but the performance against American was one of his best. He poured in a new career-high 27 points as he made 11 of 15 shots attempts and 2 of 3 free throws. De Ridder secured 8 rebounds with 2 steals as well, all coming in just 23 minutes.
It didn't take long for the Belgium native to get going either. He scored 13 of the team's first 17 points, which pushed the Wahoos out to a 17-8 lead over the first 5:40. That early flurry included a short jumper at the free throw line, two drives with a spin to finish, a 3-pointer, and a steal with an and-one layup. Notably, Malik Thomas helped get De Ridder going with a pair of assists on those baskets.
De Ridder added 2 more 3-pointers to his total within the first 15 minutes of action and finished with 21 points by halftime.
That was a complete reversal from 48 hours earlier at the JPJ. Against Maryland on Saturday, De Ridder made just 1 of 8 shot attempts for 5 points with 4 rebounds and 3 personal fouls. He also had a tougher game against Dayton before the exam break with 7 points on 3-9 shooting with 4 turnover and 3 fouls.
With a pair of less effective outings among the past three games, De Ridder bounced back in a big way against American. He made 6 of his first 8 shots and never looked back.
Odom said he had talked with De Ridder in recent days. It sounded like part of that conversation was about pressing too hard to be effective.
"This was a big step forward for him today," Odom said. "He was frustrated after the game the other day. Not frustrated about winning, of course, but his individual play. ... I think he played with more purpose today. He played not so much on edge. And I think that's really important for his growth going forward. He is a beast, he's a really good player, and when he lets the game come to him, but then attacks when it's there, he's really good."
An Elijah Gertrude Opportunity
With the Jacari White news - Odom said that White suffered a wrist fracture against Maryland and would undergo surgery Tuesday - it opened up a few minutes for other players Monday night. Guard Elijah Gertrude, the lone scholarship holdover from the Tony Bennett era and one of just three returning players on the roster overall, took advantage of the minutes he received.
Gertrude tallied 11 points alongside 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. That came on a night where he missed no shots: he went 4-4 from the field overall, including a pair of triples, and made his only free throw attempt as well. It became Gertrude's first double-digit scoring effort of the season and just the second of his career. He missed all of last season while rehabbing an injury. Gertrude played 16 minutes, his first night with 10+ since the Marshall game back on Nov. 15. He had played 9 total minutes in his previous 4 games prior to the extended run against American.
Like De Ridder, Getrude's first bucket came early in his minutes. As soon as he got his first time on the floor, he drove the baseline and scored a layup while getting fouled for the traditional 3-point play. He also had a nice pocket pass that led to free throws for Johann Grünloh, who did not capitalize at the line. Later in the game, Gertude stepped into a 3-point shot as the trailer in transition and knocked it down. He had another trey in the corner courtesy of a Dallin Hall assist. He also had a nice change of direction drive for a layup in the second half.
The biggest concern may have been some rust and angles on defense. For example, he had trouble navigating a staggered double screen that led to an Eagle 3 in the first half and got whistled for a foul while trying to box out after a defensive switch in the second half. Still, he competed on that end of the floor and walled off a couple of drive attempts as well.
Odom noted that Gertrude has had a positive attitude throughout the season while continuing to work.
"He's athletic," Odom said. "He can shoot. He made some shots tonight, which was great. He was very poised with his ball-handling and took it when it was there, multiple times. He made really nice passes out there tonight. And so I think you saw the beginning of what could become a very confident and important player for us going forward. Not just now, but the future here. So I'm excited for Elijah."
Different Guys On Different Nights
As noted in the introduction, Virginia had 7 players with 8+ points in the win. De Ridder led the way Monday, which is the most common theme - he had the top points total against Rider, North Carolina Central, Marshall, Northwestern, and Queens as well. In the other 6 games, though, UVA has had a different leading scorer. Ugonna Onyenso's 18 led against Hampton, while Malik Thomas had 24 against Butler. Chance Mallory topped the Texas chart with 16 points and Jacari White followed against Dayton with 25. Sam Lewis recorded a team-high 15 against Maryland Eastern Shore and Dallin Hall led against Maryland with 20.
Hall, perhaps, captures the 'different guys on different nights' mantra of this team as much as anyone recently. On Saturday against the Terrapins, he made all 8 shot attempts on the way to 20 points. That wasn't what was needed Monday and he posted 2 points on 3 shot attempts.
The luxury of having multiple scoring options will be important in the coming weeks. With White out for up to 6 weeks following surgery, that's one important piece not in action for the start of conference play when the Hoos open with 6 of 8 games on the road. At this stage in the season, UVA has 6 players averaging 9+ points. White's 10.9 is part of that list, but De Ridder (16.1), Thomas (11.1), Mallory (11.1), Lewis (9.6), and Johann Grünloh (9.0) all have solid averages too. Notice that doesn't include Hall (6.7), Onyenso (6.7), or Devin Tillis (5.9). Tillis missed the start of the season after a brief knee injury.
"We have options, no different than we did when Devin [Tillis] was out to start the year. And so we're confident overall in this group, and we're confident in Jacari getting back," Odom said.
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