Even in modern college basketball where rosters can be reshaped and rebuilt quickly thanks to the transfer portal, no one was certain how Ryan Odom's first season would go with Virginia. The official start of the post-Tony Bennett era, after all, ended up with nearly a complete roster flip as Odom brought in 12 new players for UVA.
Turns out, it has gone very well.
As the first week of February wrapped up, the Hoos checked off their 20th win with a 72-59 victory against Syracuse at the John Paul Jones Arena. At 20-3 (9-2 ACC), Odom has the second most wins for a first-year coach at Virginia behind only Jeff Jones. A frequent observer this season at the JPJ, Jones finished his first season back in 1990-91 at 21-12 with a 6-8 mark in the ACC. The Cavaliers will have numerous chances to move Odom into first place in his first year thanks to the strong start this season.
Odom said that getting to 20 wins while playing in the ACC is not easy and he credited the cast of new players for their focus on team success.
"The character of this group is really strong," Odom said. "Their desire to win and not win for an individual, but to win for their teammates and to win for the university, I think that's the key. If you can capture that in a bottle and continue to cultivate it over the course of season, obviously you have to have success to draw from and certainly you have to be able to learn from your failures as well, but this group has come in every day with a positive attitude regardless of the circumstances and they've come in with a belief that they belong and expect to win."
Saturday's matinee with Syracuse required a stick-to-it or work-like approach to get to the winner's circle. After slowly moving out to a 12-point lead at 28-16, Virginia had to fend off repeated runs by the Orange. The visitors closed the gap initially with a late first-half surge and then chipped away at varying deficits throughout the second half after the Hoos led 38-35 at halftime. UVA finally shook free for good in the final five minutes as it turned a 61-57 lead into the 72-59 final margin.
That final surge featured part of what makes this Virginia team tick. The 11-2 run to close the game included a Sam Lewis jumper, a Dallin Hall layup, a Chance Mallory 3-pointer, and a pair Ugonna Onyenso buckets at the rim. So while the Cavaliers had just two double-digit scorers in the game, the depth of contributors showed up again in force. Eight players had at least 5 points, led by Sam Lewis with 16 points and Onyenso with 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots. Thijs De Ridder posted 9 points and 5 rebounds, while Malik Thomas added 8 points. Dallin Hall had 5 points and 5 assists and Johann Grünloh had 5 points too.
The UVA bench outscored Syracuse's reserves 29-7. In addition to Onyenso's 10, Jacari White put up 8 points with 3 assists and Chance Mallory chipped in 5 points with 5 assists too. Devin Tillis had 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists, while even Martin Carrere got in on the act with 2 points in a brief 2-minute cameo in the first half.
The latter has been a common theme this season for a group that's taken to calling itself the Bench Mob.
"Oh yeah, we call ourselves the Bench Mob. That's something we take pride in every game," Virginia guard Jacari White said. "That's something we take pride in every game. When we come in, we bring the energy, either lift it up or maintain from what the starters bring in. That's something we take pride in and we enjoy doing that."
Here are some additional takeaways from the victory against Syracuse.
Wing Trio Rides Again
Early this season, it wasn't unusual for the trio of Sam Lewis, Malik Thomas, and Jacari White to get going at different times. Against the Orange on Saturday, they each had moments to shine. They combined for 32 points and all three contributed multiple 3-pointers.
Lewis led the team with 16 points on 5-10 shooting. That included a good night from behind the arc where he canned 4 of 8 attempts. That's three big shooting performances in the last four games for Lewis, who knocked down 5 of 8 3's at Notre Dame and 4 of 8 3's against Pittsburgh. He's posted 11 games this season with multiple triples. Saturday's outing included UVA's first points of the day with a 3-pointer in the first two minutes. He also hit a jumper in the paint late in the game that started the final run that put the game away.
Thomas' 8 points included a 2-5 shooting day from 3-point range. He had not made multiple 3's since the UNC game back on Jan. 24, but he also has 11 games with 2 or more triples this season. Against Syracuse, Thomas made a 3 in the first five minutes of each half.
No one may have been as happy to see the ball go through the net, however, than White. Still dealing with a wrist brace, which he said could come off within the next 2 weeks, White endured a tough shooting night against Pittsburgh earlier in the week when he went 0-7 from downtown and 0-8 overall. On Saturday afternoon, however, White had 8 points as he made 2 of 5 3's on 3-8 shooting overall. That's the second time in the last three games that he's made multiple 3-pointers after he made 2 of 3 at Boston College. It was also his second straight game with 3 assists, marking the first time since his wrist injury that he posted multiple helpers in consecutive games.
Odom said White finding his way back from the injury continues to be an important piece of the puzzle for Virginia.
"He's huge. Jacari, we need him, we told him that a couple of weeks ago as he was beginning to come back," Odom said. "He's an important player. He was an important player in the preseason and non-conference season. If we can really get him playing in a positive way like he did tonight and the last two games, it's going to be really helpful for our team and our overall depth."
Off Balance
Both games this week at the John Paul Jones Arena saw the visitors throw some disruptive defensive strategy at the Hoos.
Pittsburgh used a slow-the-game, lower-the-possessions zone press on Tuesday night and that kept Virginia away some of the offensive explosiveness that can make it a dangerous opponent. The Wahoos shot 44.1% overall (26-59) and 35.5% from 3-point range (11-31), a late trio of long-range shots boosting the numbers in the final six minutes.
Syracuse duplicated the press move at times Saturday, while also mixing up man and zone looks for halfcourt defense. That helped hold the Hoos down to 41.3% shooting overall (26-63) and 33.3% from 3 (10-30). The late 11-2 surge that helped the Hoos win pushed up the percentages as they made 5 of their final 7 attempts.
"They had a good plan coming in. They kept us off balance offensively with the switching of the presses and then the zone a little bit," Odom said." I thought they did a nice job overall and they were very resilient throughout the night. Every time we would stretch it a little bit, they were coming right back."
Whether it's the slowing of the pace (UVA had 65, 59 and 63 possessions the last three games vs. a 70.2 possessions per game season-long rate), effective defensive schemes, the grind of the season, or some combination of things, Virginia has posted shooting percentages of 43.8% (Boston College), 44.1% (Pitt), and 41.3% (Syracuse) over the past three games. That's against teams in the bottom 7 of the 18-team ACC standings.
This recent stretch means the Cavaliers have connected on 44.1% or less of their shots in 7 of 11 conference games. They've been getting to the finish line as winners more often than not anyway, but with the conference race now getting more intense and the NCAA Tournament on the horizon, Virginia would obviously like to make more shots. That could mean more 3's after attempting 61 in two games this week or shots around the paint.
When asked about the heavy rate of 3's for the two games this week, Odom said the coaches are always looking at the quality of shots for the offense.
"I'd like to make them, I think that's the first thing. I think we all do," Odom said. "I think it's all about the quality and what type of shot are we getting, the shot diet. What type of shots are we taking? I thought tonight the guys did a nice job of that."
Onyenso On Point Again
Virginia reserve center Ugonna Onyenso came through with another solid day. He tallied 10 points with 8 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks, and 2 steals.
"Ugo was great. I thought he did a nice job," Odom said.
It's the second time he hit double-digit scoring in ACC games after he had 12 against California last month, but he's been very consistent through league play with at least 5 points in 8 of 11 games. He's also had at least 5 rebounds in 6 of 11 games. Onyenso's 62.5% shooting clip (5-8) Saturday is also part of the theme as he's 50.0% or better in 8 of 11 games, including 5 games of 62.5%+.
Onyenso has spent his entire career in power conferences, first in the SEC at Kentucky and then in the Big 12 at Kansas State, and this is his best season. He had 5+ points just seven times at Kentucky, including only one double-digit scoring game, and just four times at KSU. That's 11 games of 5+ points in 41 conference opportunities or only 27% of the time vs. 72.7% of the time so far at Virginia.
Recently, Virginia has been given Onyenso more post touches vs. simply tossing up alley-oops or having him find his own chances with offensive rebounds. He's been successful with a little right-handed hook in the middle of the paint and Saturday he kissed a short shot off the glass too. With postgame media members, he said that Thijs De Ridder has helped him find more physicality and confidence down low.
"He's really good with his post plays and everything," Onyenso said. "So it's like watching him, how aggressive he is in the post and I know I can do the same thing too, but it's like in situations like that, it's like how physical are you? What I watch the most when Thijs is posting up is like how physical he is whenever he's going to the basket. I know I'm pretty physical, but sometimes it doesn't look like that so watching someone like that, it's like OK, this is what he did and this is how he goes to the basket and I've got to do the same thing in a way."
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