Virginia took the two-hour drive home from the Greenbrier Tip-Off having split results against its first two high-major opponents of the year. With another pair of high-level adversaries looking on the horizon, the Black Friday matchup against Queens was an opportunity to correct course against a team that only earned Division I status this July.
Coach Ryan Odom and his squad delivered, as the Cavaliers (6-1, 0-0 ACC) defeated the capable but outmatched Royals (3-5, 0-0 ASUN) 94-69, leading for all but 36 seconds with a season-high six scorers reaching double digits in points.
On a day that is often characterized by percentages — 30 percent off one item, 50 percent off another — Virginia left the game with positive results on two major percentage points. The team made 53 percent of its field goal attempts including 45 percent of its three pointers, while holding Queens to 38 percent shooting from the field and 31 percent from distance.
The efficient scoring performance happened against a lesser opponent, but signs of improvement from the last two games were apparent. After single-digit assists against Northwestern and Butler, the Cavaliers made a season-high 24 assists against a defense that tried a variety of different coverages in an attempt to reduce the Virginia scoring output.
Even with a few scoring droughts in the first half, the Cavaliers kept firm control of the game. Freshman forward Thijs De Ridder and junior guard Sam Lewis were the early drivers of the offense, accounting for 16 of the team’s first 18 points. The two finished the game as Virginia’s leading scorers and the game’s first and third top scorers, with De Ridder finishing at 21 points, and Lewis at a season-best 15.
Against a smaller team, Thijs De Ridder continued to bully on the interior while also providing ample spacing for his teammates. Still sporting a black eye from the Cavaliers’ physical and narrow loss to Butler Sunday, De Ridder’s three opened the scoring for the game. He went 4-5 from the field in both halves, only playing 21 minutes total, more than six below his average.
Lewis, an adept shooter and capable driver, played an efficient game of basketball, even tying his college career-high in assists with four. Making three of his five three-pointer attempts, Lewis found success both in the half-court and transition.
“Sam understands that the open guy, a lot of the time, is the go-to guy for us,” Odom said. “The more that we pass the ball to one another, the ball will find you. Certainly we’re going to run plays for specific guys and try to get them shots, but I thought Sam did a nice job of picking his spots tonight and, most importantly, his defense was pretty good too.”
Three more double-digit scoring performances came off the bench — graduate forward Devin Tillis scored 13 while freshman guard Chance Mallory and graduate guard Jacari White each logged 11. Only three games into his campaign after preseason knee surgery, Tillis made two threes, five free throws and a layup, while also hauling in five defensive rebounds.
In Tillis’ 18 minutes, Odom tested him in a variety of lineups, including a jumbo-sized lineup with De Ridder and freshman center Johann Grünloh. Early in the season, Odom has experimented with lineups, including one with the two centers, but Friday offered the first look at a big lineup with Tillis playing on the wing.
“We’re trying to figure out [if] he can sub for other positions as well,” Odom said. “We had the two-big lineup a little bit to see if they could defend a really tough offense that’s spread out, and then also Tillis, Thijs and one of the bigs. I think it’s just something that we’re going to go to and we’re going to need over the season, and we’re going to want to cultivate [it].”
The final double-digit scorer for Virginia, and the only double-double of the game, was Grünloh. The German seven-footer tallied seven offensive rebounds, two three pointers, two blocks and two steals in addition to his efficient 13 points, rarely holding the ball for more than a second.
Other signs of development included holding the Royals’ leading scorer — graduate guard Chris Ashby — to 1-9 shooting. Senior wing Nasir Mann made up for that with 7-11 shooting and 18 points, but Queens struggled to find any efficient scoring beyond that.
There were a few downsides too. Poor free-throw shooting continued to plague the Cavaliers, who only shot 68 percent from the line. The Royals were also able to bring in 18 offensive rebounds, off of which they scored nearly a third of their points.
“The defensive rebounding was not where it needed to be in this particular game,” Odom said. “We had it going in spurts, but it wasn’t a consistent effort overall.”
Virginia only has two more lower-tier opponents before conference play — home matchups Dec. 9 against Maryland Eastern Shore and Dec. 22 against American. Before either of those games, however, the Cavaliers will face a tough pair of opponents, both in the next eight days.
First, on Wednesday, Virginia will travel to Austin, Texas for an ACC/SEC Challenge fixture against Texas. The Longhorns (6-2, 0-0 SEC) are a physical team that holds competitive losses to Duke and Arizona State and a win over NC State. Led by junior wing Dailyn Swain, they will be a tough out in what will likely be another foul-heavy clash.
Afterwards, the Cavaliers have a neutral site game in Charlotte N.C. against Dayton. A midmajor powerhouse, the Flyers (6-1, 0-0 A-10) have wins over Marquette and Georgetown, their one loss coming at the hands of a decent Cincinnati side.
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