It was senior night for five upperclassmen on the Virginia Cavaliers and despite their time in Charlottesville being short lived, they carried on the program tradition of beating Virginia Tech in Charlottesville. In Saturday’s 76-72 victory, UVA improved to 43-14 in the all-time series at home. The Cavaliers and Hokies have now split their two regular season meetings in each of the last five seasons.
The Wahoos came out of the gate firing, scoring the first 12 points of the game on threes, and nailing
seven total triples in the first ten minutes. Malik Thomas (16 points, 2-4 3PT) and Sam Lewis (15 points, 1-2 3PT) each hitting shots from inside and out was an encouraging sign.
As we have seen before, Virginia cooled down and allowed their opponent claw its way back. The ‘Hoos turned the ball over 12 times, many of which were the direct result of carelessness with the ball, in addition to some schematic adjustments on Virginia Tech’s end. However, in another familiar sense, Ryan Odom’s squad handled the adversity well, hitting timely shots and playing consistent defense. The Cavaliers improved to 8-1 in games decided by five points or fewer.
The clear player of the game was Ugonna Onyenso, who contributed 16 points, his highest scoring total of ACC play. A few of the buckets were the typical run rims and lobs but Onyenso sunk two three-pointers of his own — one of which was during UVA’s early offensive barrage and the other provided cushion with 1:48 left in what was originally a four-point game.
Onyenso also added three blocks, bringing his season total to 77. While accolades have rightfully gone away from a mere box score stats contest, the Kansas State transfer has to be in heavy consideration for the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year. Onyenso has blocked 16.5% of opposing two-point field goals, which leads the conference by 6.6 percentage points and ranks second nationally. His (and Gruenloh’s) elite rim protection has established Odom’s entire defensive scheme and is the major reason that unit ranks among KenPom’s top 15 in efficiency.
Following the Virginia Tech win, the Cavaliers enter the postseason at 27-4, the program’s best regular season showing since the 2018-19 team. ACC Tournament action tips off on Tuesday, with Virginia benefitting from a couple extra days of rest as the conference’s two seed.
While an ACC Championship win over Duke or a bad loss to a Cinderella team may shake things up, the ’Hoos are expected to find their name on the four seed line on Selection Sunday.
