By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Virginia faced NC State twice in the regular season and won comfortably each time. The teams' third meeting came Thursday (March 12) in the ACC tournament quarterfinals, and it played out much differently. Once again, though, the Cavaliers walked away victorious, this time by a score of 81-74.
“It’s hard to beat a team three times,” UVA forward Devin Tillis said afterward at Spectrum Center. “We knew they were going to come out with a different energy than they did in the last two.”
The second-seeded Cavaliers (28-4) advance to take on third-seeded Miami (25-7) in the first ACC semifinal, Friday at 7 p.m. Those teams met once in the regular season, at John Paul Jones Arena, where UVA edged Miami in an 86-83 thriller.
In that game, the Wahoos fell behind by 11 points in the first half. Virginia never trailed in either of its regular-season wins over NC State. In their clash Thursday, the Cavaliers took the lead for good at the 16:59 mark of the second half, but the seventh-seeded Wolfpack (20-13) cut its deficit to six points or fewer four times in the final two minutes.
“It's win or go home now,” UVA guard Chance Mallory said, “so I feel like there's a lot more on the line, and teams aren't just going to give up, because they don't really have games left in their season. I feel like NC State in the first two games, they kind of just gave up a little bit. But we didn't see that [Thursday]. They kept fighting until the very end.”
Four players scored in double figures for Virginia, led by guard Malik Thomas (16 points), who in the final 15 seconds grabbed a huge offensive rebound and made two free throws. Forward Thijs De Ridder finished with 15 points, guard Jacari White with 13 and swingman Sam Lewis with 12.
The player of the game, though, was 7-foot senior Ugonna Onyenso, who turned in another extraordinary defensive performance in a season marked by them. Onyenso blocked eight shots—the second-most by a player in tournament history.
“You just don’t attack him,” Ryan Odom said after his first ACC tournament game as Virginia’s head coach.
Tried to tag Ugo in this but he blocked me 🧱🫣
— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) March 12, 2026
Historic performance by @OnyensoUgonna today #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/GPNz2n3gkb
Onyenso recorded his eighth block with about 15 seconds left and UVA leading 78-74. The rebound went to NC State’s Matt Able, and he had a chance to make it a one-possession game. But Able saw Onyenso bearing down on him, and his rushed shot was off the mark.
“He saw I was coming, so he thought about it,” Onyenso said, smiling.
Onyenso, a transfer from Kansas State, comes off the bench for the Cavaliers and usually plays about 20 minutes per game. Johann Grünloh, who blocked eight shots against NC State at JPJ last month, starts at center for Virginia. But the 7-foot freshman picked up two fouls in the first three minutes Thursday, and that meant an expanded role for Onyenso.
“He had to play 16 minutes in the first half,” Odom said. “He hasn't done that all year ... For him to step up and be able to go that long in this game says a lot about his physical fitness, and the impact that he had within the game was huge. We don't win that game without his play overall.”
With Grünloh in early foul trouble Thursday, Onyenso said, “my mindset was to be even more locked in.”
Onyenso played a season-high 30 minutes Thursday and, in addition to rejecting eight shots, contributed eight points and a team-high six rebounds.
It was a day to remember for this gregarious native of Nigeria. In a ceremony at midcourt before the game, Onyenso received the Bob Bradley Spirit and Courage Award. The award, given annually in memory of former Clemson sports information director Bob Bradley, goes to an ACC student-athlete, coach, administrator or staff member in men’s or women’s basketball who has overcome significant hardship to contribute to his or her team or society as a whole.
“It’s an honor,” said Onyenso, who was 12 when his father died.
Odom said it’s “hard for any coach to say they have favorites, but I love Ugo. We all love Ugo. He's an amazing person. He's found a home at the University of Virginia and within our basketball program. I can remember when he first arrived, really quiet, probably unassured, not quite sure what was going to happen next. Confidence a little bit shaken. Just to see him bloom where he's been planted has been really special, not only for our coaching staff but for our players, as well.”
Onyenso missed the only 3-pointer he attempted Thursday, but his teammates were a combined 12 for 24 from beyond the arc. The 12 treys were a program record for Virginia in an ACC tournament game.
Lewis led the Hoos with four 3-pointers (out of five attempts), and White was 3 for 6 from long range in 20-plus minutes off the bench. This was the Cavaliers’ second game this season at Spectrum Center, home of the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets. In the first, an 86-73 win over Dayton, White hit all seven 3-pointers he attempted.
“It’s the Jacari White building,” Mallory said.