The final game of the regular season for the Virginia basketball team Saturday unfolded like a microcosm of the entire campaign. UVA started quickly, had a few hiccups at times but nothing too damaging, and then finished strong on the way to a 76-72 victory against Virginia Tech.
That sealed a 27-4 overall record and a 15-3 ACC record in Ryan Odom’s first season. With an entirely new rotation and a different style, that certainly is a successful outcome in year one. The Hoos will take the second place finish in the conference into the ACC Tournament next week before the NCAA Tournament brackets set the stage for March Madness later this month.
For now, though, Virginia was happy to avenge one of its few losses and that was the focus coming in while staying aware of the the big picture.
“I wanted our guys to focus on just the game in itself. How are we going to win the game? Because they’re two different teams than had played in Blacksburg, both are better at this juncture of the season,” Odom said. “So we needed to play well to win and our guys understood that. The biggest thing I wanted them to do is just relax and play. I thought they came out with a really good fire in a relaxed, but aggressive way. We did talk about NCAA Tournament seeding and just painted a picture for them that we are playing for something right now. ... We wanted to do our part here at home and you want to play well going into that anyway. You want to be playing your best basketball down the stretch.”
UVA did indeed start on fire. The hosts made 8 of 12 shots to open the game, while holding the Hokies to a 1-10 start as well. That helped produce a 19-3 lead less than 7 minutes into the action.
The early onslaught got a quick boost from Malik Thomas as he scored the game’s first 6 points with a 3-pointer and a traditional and-one play in the first 1:18. But it wasn’t a one-man show out of the gates. Sam Lewis drained a 3 pointer and Johann Grünloh followed with another and suddenly it was 12-0 in less than 3 minutes.
After another Lewis bucket, Ugonna Onyenso got in on the fun with a 3-pointer across the floor from VT’s bench. By the time he caught an alley-oop from Chance Mallory at the 13:18 mark, Virginia had its 19-3 lead.
“Coach Odom did a great job of preaching us that we had to get a good start to the game to build some momentum,” Thomas said. “These guys started off the game in Blacksburg punking us a little bit so I think the message was to go out there and show whose house it was and I think we did a good job getting off to a great start.”
The balanced scoring carried through to the end as well. Thomas and Onyenso both finished with 16 points, while Lewis added 15. Thijs De Ridder joined that trio in double figures with 13 points as well. Jacari White (7), Grünloh (5), and Devin Tillis (4) rounded out the scoring. Dallin Hall had 9 assists, while Lewis (4) and Mallory (2) also chipped in for that category.
Virginia ended up shooting 44.8% overall for the game with a 36.0% performance from 3-point range. On the other end, the Cavaliers held the Hokies to 41.9% shooting oerall and 25.0% from 3.
UVA will hope to carry the depth and defend model into the postseason, but first here are some takeaways from the finale at the JPJ.
Responding To Finish Halves
After building the big lead out of the gate, the Hoos had to fend off a determined comeback effort from the Hokies in each half.
In the first half, Virginia Tech climbed back into the game and had deficit down to 29-23 with 5:08 remaining. Ben Hammond and Amani Hansberry provided the latter firepower in the run as Hammond made a layup shortly after a Hansberry 3-pointer that cut the lead. Hammond went on to 21 points with 5 assists, while Hansberry added 12 points with 4 rebounds.
Virginia answered to close the half, though.
First, Sam Lewis found Ugonna Onyenso for a shot near the basket. Then Lewis scored on his own to get the lead back to double figures. Thijs De Ridder scored three times in the final 2:22 and assisted on a Johann Grünloh bucket as well as the Hoos headed to the locker room on a 12-2 run.
Unfortunately for UVA, that momentum didn’t carry over. Virginia Tech came back from the break and immediately went to work. A combination of VT 3-point shooting and poor ball security from Virginia fed a surge that tied the game at 51-51 with 10:56 to go. Hansberry, Jailen Bedford, and Tobi Lawal each made 3’s during a 26-10 start to the second half, while the hosts committed 6 turnovers in the first 8 minutes after halftime.
Much like the first half ended, though, the Hoos answered the push. An 8-0 run stopped the momentum and broke the tie and the Cavaliers kept the Hokies at bay from there. UVA maintained a lead between 4 and 9 points into the final minute and Devin Tillis finally sealed the deal officially with a free throw in the final 4 seconds that provided the final margin.
Oneynso said that the Hoos stayed dialed in after the run from the Hokies and just kept playing.
“We didn’t let the missed buckets get into our heads. We didn’t let their offensive execution get into our head,” Onyenso said. “Like I said, it’s all about how mentally tough you are in that kind of moment.”
Hall, Onyenso Play Big Role Down Stretch
While Dallin Hall didn’t score in the game, his role in the win was clear, especially during the critical response midway through the second half. Once the score hit 51-51, Hall made multiple plays to steady the ship.
First, when Sam Lewis drove and had his shot blocked, it was Hall that came up with the offensive rebound. He then turned that extra possession into second-chance points when he drove the baseline late in the shot clock and left a perfectly placed pass by the rim for a dunk by Ugonna Onyenso.
On the team’s next possession, Hall again played the helper part. This time, he hit Sam Lewis slicing into the paint for a layup. Moments later, he was at it again. This time, he found Malik Thomas for a bucket with another solid pass. That was Thomas’ second straight basket and the lead was moved back to 8 points at 59-51.
Hall finished the game with 9 assists, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal with only 2 turnovers.
Onyenso impacted the final outcome in a big way too. In addition to the dunk assisted by Hall, Onyenso had 4 free throws a 3-pointer in the game’s final 10:11. That left him with 16 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocked shots, and 1 steal in the boxscore.
Perhaps nothing was as demoralizing for the Hokies’ hopes of a comeback than the 3-pointer, though. Virginia led 67-63 when Onyenso stepped into a jumper right in front of UVA’s bench with 1:47 remaining. That 3-pointer didn’t put the game away, but Onyenso’s shooting left Tech coach Mike Young with his head in his hands after the game in a clip that went viral around the internet.
Onyenso was 7-29 shooting on 3-pointers this season coming into the game. He had not made one since the Pittsburgh game more than a month ago in Charlottesville and had only a trio of 3’s in conference play before his double dip Saturday. Onyenso credited Odom and the coaches for trusting him with taking 3’s and he had the mindset of letting it fly on Senior Day.
“He practices it every day” Odom said. “... He’s worked at it every single day. I thought today he stepped right in and let it go. He’s had some hesitant moments over the last couple of weeks with the 3-point shot and he did it exactly like he practices. Just stepped right in and fired it.”
“I’ve had my streaky shooting and everything, but coming into this game I said to myself don’t think about it,” Onyenso said. “Do not think about it. Like if you catch the ball, let it fly. That was my mindset coming into today’s game. Let it fly. I don’t care what they say, let it fly. Turned out to be a good thing.”
Defense Holds The Line
As the calendar turned from January to February, Virginia hit a little bit of slump with its defense.
Beginning with the North Carolina game on Jan. 24 through the Syracuse game on Feb. 7, UVA allowed 47.1% shooting or better in four of five games. The Tar Heels shot 49.2%, while Notre Dame (47.5%), Boston College (47.1%), Pittsburgh (37.0%), and Syracuse (49.0%) followed on the schedule.
For those five games combined, opponents hit 46.3% of their attempts with the Panthers dragging the number down a little bit. If that were a season-long average, it would rank outside the top 250 nationally for opponent shooting percentage allowed.
Since then, though, the Hoos found their footing again for the most part. Only two of eight opponents shot above 47.0% again the rest of the regular season with one of those being No. 1 ranked Duke. Miami landed at 47.5% on Feb. 21 and Duke shot 49.1% on Feb. 28. Virginia Tech managed 41.9% shooting Saturday, becoming the fifth opponent in the last eight games to fall below 42.0% shooting.
Over the final eight games, opponents have made 194 of 492 shots for 39.4% shooting. If that were a season-long average, it would rank No. 8 nationally. The good news for the Hoos? Their season-long average is right on that mark at 39.6% shooting allowed, which currently ranks No. 9 in the country.
“Defense is our identity. It’s something that we preach every day. Defensive rebound is our identity,” Virginia guard Malik Thomas said. “Making sure that we have each other’s back, forcing it in to Ugo [Onyenso] and Jo[hann Grünloh], the two best shot blockers in the country. It’s been amazing just to see our growth over the year and us guards fighting over screens, being pesky, getting a couple of steals. We as guards to a great job of that and just trying to be the best we can at keeping our chest in front and just to know that it’s going to take defense and it’s going to take offense to win these big games coming up.”
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