Cavaliers Roll Into ACC Championship GameCavaliers Roll Into ACC Championship Game

Cavaliers Roll Into ACC Championship Game

In the first ACC semifinal Friday night, No. 2 seed UVA overwhelmed No. 3 seed Miami 84-62 at Spectrum Center at Charlotte, N.C.

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — In their first year under head coach Ryan Odom, the Virginia Cavaliers are on the verge of a momentous accomplishment.

In what was expected to be a close game, No. 2 seed UVA overwhelmed No. 3 seed Miami 84-62 in the first ACC semifinal Friday night (March 13) at Spectrum Center. And now the Wahoos, who are ranked 10th nationally, are a win away from securing the fourth ACC title in program history and first since 2018.

“I feel like all the work that we put in up to this point is paying off," UVA guard Jacari White said, "and this is what we came here to do.”

The final hurdle figures to be the toughest for the Cavaliers to clear. At 8:30 p.m. Saturday, UVA (29-4) takes on No. 1 seed Duke (31-2) in the championship game. The Blue Devils, the nation’s top-ranked team, defeated No. 5 seed Clemson 73-61 in the second semifinal Friday night.

“I think we just have to do what we do,” Odom said of playing for the ACC crown. “The moment can't be too big for us ... There's no reason to change anything at this point. We're however many games into the season, and these guys know how we do things, and there's a process, and we've just got to stick with that.”

The Cavaliers met the Blue Devils once during the regular season, and it was not a pleasant experience for Odom and Co. Duke romped 77-51 that afternoon in front of a frenzied crowd at Cameron Indoor Stadium. The 51 points were a season low for Virginia, as was its field-goal percentage (29.1).

“I felt like we weren't ourselves that game,” White said Friday night. “We learned a lot about ourselves that game.”

The Hoos’ clash with the Hurricanes was a rematch of their Feb. 23 game at John Paul Jones Arena. That one wasn’t decided until the final seconds, when freshman guard Chance Mallory’s three free throws lifted UVA to an 86-83 victory.

There was no such drama Friday night. For the Hurricanes (25-8), it was the most one-sided loss of their first season under head coach Jai Lucas.

“We got punched,” Lucas said, “and this was the first time we didn't punch back and didn't do what we normally respond to do. I thought the adversity kind of hit us, and we let it get the best of us in this moment.”

Guard Malik Thomas (15 points) was one of five Cavaliers to score in double figures Friday night.

“Barely winning at our house, we knew we had to respond,” Thomas said. “I felt like they got a lot of 50/50 balls back in Charlottesville, and we wanted to come out hungry and get this [win].”

With 6:37 to play in the first half, Miami took a 17-15 lead. The Canes (25-8) had little to celebrate the rest of the way. The Hoos closed the half on a 23-6 run capped by Mallory’s last-second 3-pointer.

“That was huge,” UVA forward Thijs De Ridder of Mallory’s trey, which made it 38-23. “We came in the locker room and we knew there was 20 minutes left, but that gave us just a big confidence boost as a group.”

Odom said: “The end of the half obviously was key to the game. Chance makes a huge play with the three. But even going back before that, the stops and scores that we had at the end of the half set us up in a good position.”

The Canes tried their best to mount comebacks in the second half, but the Cavaliers didn’t rattle. After Miami cut its deficit to 11 with 10:37 to play, UVA answered with an 11-4 run. Later came a 16-4 run for Virginia.

“They went on their little runs,” Mallory said, “but we didn't fold, we just kept punching back and got our lead back.”

With UVA’s starting center, freshman Johann Grünloh, in early foul trouble for the second straight game, Ugonna Onyenso played 27 minutes off the bench and, as he had Thursday afternoon over NC State, turned in a dominant performance.

Onyenso, a 7-foot senior, led the Cavaliers with 17 points and added five rebounds and a game-high four blocked shots. He rejected eight shots against the Wolfpack in the quarterfinals.

“He's worked so hard for this moment, so it's super cool to see him finding success,” UVA point guard Dallin Hall of Onyenso, a transfer from Kansas State. “And we're not done yet, so hopefully he makes it so no one ever beats the record tomorrow.”

In their game at JPJ last month, the Hurricanes outrebounded Virginia 30-23. That didn’t sit well with the Hoos.

“Whenever we play a game and the other team outrebounds us, we really talk about it,” Onyenso said, “because that's never the standard for us.”

Virgnia owned the backboards in the rematch, outrebounding Miami 38-26. The Cavaliers dominated defensively, too. Led by forward Malik Reneau (19.2), the Canes came in averaging 82.6 points per game. The Hoos held Reneau to eight points Friday night.

“I thought they really exceeded our physicality and just really put their imprint on the game,” Lucas said.

Thijs De Ridder and Johann Grünloh apply defensive pressureThijs De Ridder and Johann Grünloh apply defensive pressure

After a slow start offensively, UVA ended up shooting 52.5% overall from the floor and 42.3% from 3-point range. Four players made at least two treys apiece for the Cavaliers: swingman Sam Lewis (four), Thomas (two), Mallory (two) and De Ridder (two).

As the Cavaliers’ lead grew, the Canes’ “energy depleted,” Lewis said, “and we feed off that.”

Mallory finished with 12 points, five rebounds, a game-high six assists and no turnovers.

“He's just an amazing player,” De Ridder said. “He's so fun. He can be a point guard that passes and give good passes, and he can be a point guard that scores. And on defense, he’s the dawg, you know? He's everywhere, and it's just really fun.”

Growing up in Charlottesville, Mallory watched more than a few ACC tournaments on TV, “so to be able to play in one is like a dream come true,” he said.

The Cavaliers are back in the ACC championship game for the first time since 2023, when they lost to Duke 59-49 in Greensboro. Odom, whose father, Dave, won two ACC titles at Wake Forest, is looking to join Terry Holland and Tony Bennett as head coaches who have captured ACC championships at UVA.

“I think my job is just to do the best that I can for Virginia,” Odom said. “That's what we tried to instill in these players. We're a part of the history. That's the way we view it. We're just the current stewards of it.

"There's a lot of different ways to win basketball games. Nobody did it better than Tony Bennett, the most humble national championship coach to ever do it. I'm just honored to be the one chosen to follow a guy like that. I want to do my best for UVA and these players. You can see it, they love the place, and they want to do their best for UVA.”

Asked about the Cavaliers’ identity, Hall said, “I think we're a resilient group. We're one that's connected. We love playing for each other, and we're just going to go out and compete every night at our best effort. For the logo on our chest and for each other, that's kind of our identity.”

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