Save for the first several minutes of the second half, the No. 21 Virginia Cavaliers dominated NC State on Saturday afternoon to pick up their first ACC win of the year, 76-61. Sam Lewis led all scorers with 23 points, 20 of which came in the first half as he alone matched NC State’s first-half output.
A 40-20 halftime lead gave the Cavaliers the cushion they needed to handle a big NC State run to begin the second half. The ’Hoos allowed the lead to slip to just nine points, but they responded with
a run of their own that restored the lead to 22 points. The Wolfpack were unable to respond again, and the Cavaliers cruised to victory down the stretch.
From the first ACC win of the year, here are five takeaways:
This was a much-needed win for Virginia.
The Cavaliers were on the road again for their second straight game to begin ACC play. After an underwhelming performance in Blacksburg on Wednesday resulted in a triple overtime loss, getting a win in Raleigh was a must. Doing so in a largely dominant fashion was the cherry on top.
The Cavaliers jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead and looked to be headed for a comfortable win. The Wolfpack responded with a 15-4 run to begin the second half, far from what Ryan Odom would have liked to see from his team. However, the ‘Hoos promptly responded with a 20-6 run that restored the 20-point lead.
Thijs De Ridder was the catalyst in that stretch, scoring a few tough buckets in the paint and drilling a three-pointer. The Belgian big man totaled 12 points and six rebounds in the second half.
Sam Lewis bounced back from a poor shooting performance vs. Virginia Tech.
For the first time all season, Ryan Odom started Devin Tillis over Sam Lewis against the Hokies on Wednesday. Neither player shot the ball well – Tillis went 3-of-12 from the floor, Lewis was 0-for-5 – and the Cavaliers suffered a triple overtime loss to their rival.
Odom went back to the lineup he’s used most of the year, starting Lewis against NC State. The move paid off as Lewis caught fire in the first half, scoring 20 points to match NC State’s team total in the first half. The Toledo transfer scored the first six points of the game and 12 of Virginia’s first 15 points. He drilled 4-of-5 from three in the first half alone.
Lewis finished the game with 23 points on 8-of-12 from the field and 5-of-9 from three.
Quick ball movement remains the key to UVA’s offensive success.
Duh, every basketball coach at every level will tell you that. But the quick ball movement Virginia operated with extensively in the first half proved as much, causing the NC State defense major problems. The ‘Hoos were getting open looks from the outside, both by whipping the ball around the perimeter and from kicking it out on drives into the paint. NC State couldn’t keep up.
The offense went a little stagnant to start the second half, and the Wolfpack took advantage, cutting Virginia’s lead to nine points. When the Cavaliers got back to quick passing and stopped getting stuck with one guy dribbling too much, they went on a big run of their own, regained their 20-plus point lead, and allowed the home crowd to leave early to beat the traffic.
Virginia’s defense was stout.
The 61 points scored by NC State in this game were the fewest scored by the Wolfpack this season. The Cavaliers held them to just 20 points and three assists in the first half, while the Wolfpack turned it over seven times.
Will Wade’s group found more success in the second half, scoring 41 points after the break, but it was still far from enough. The Wolfpack offense would have benefited from more of the quick ball movement that the Virginia offense utilized so effectively. Instead, UVA held NC State to only seven assists in the game and a lowly 36.0% from the field and 25.0% from three-point range.
Virginia returns home without needing to hit the panic button.
The Cavaliers sorely missed Jacari White in the loss against Virginia Tech on Wednesday, but his absence was far less noticeable against NC State. Virginia shot 50.0% from the field and 39.4% from three while recording 14 assists. For comparison, against the Hokies, Virginia shot 36.0% from the field and 22.2% from three and notched only 15 assists in the triple overtime affair.
The Cavaliers certainly would like to get White back as soon as possible, but Saturday afternoon’s performance proved it isn’t time to panic about this team’s ability to shoot well against ACC opponents without the spark White has provided off the bench.
Virginia can now return home with renewed confidence for a pair of tough games against California and Stanford ahead of a big road game at No. 16 Louisville. Notably, Cal defeated then-No. 18 UCLA earlier in the year, while Stanford knocked off Louisville on Friday in Palo Alto.
