The first conference home game of Coach Ryan Odom’s tenure in Charlottesville ended in a decisive win. No. 23 Virginia hosted an exciting offensive squad in California, coming out on top 84-60.
After a competitive first 10 minutes, the Cavaliers (13-2, 2-1 ACC) broke a stalemate and never looked back, completely negating the Golden Bears’ (13-3, 1-2 ACC) usually-strong offense and maintaining a 20-point lead or higher for the final 13.5 minutes of play.
Even with strong performances from Virginia’s backcourt, the game was ultimately won in the trenches. The Cavaliers outrebounded the smaller California 45-26, scoring 16 points off of offensive rebounds for 34 paint points with an added nine blocks. The Golden Bears went over eight minutes in the second half without making a field goal,
“[I’m] just really proud of the guys in the second half,” Odom said. “How they came out, ready to play, defensively in tune with the game plan and we were able to kind of finish it.”
A pair of excellent performances from the Cavaliers’ two centers defined the game. Freshman Johann Grünloh and senior Ugonna Onyenso both had 12 points, adding a combined 17 rebounds to the box score. Their size and length on drop coverage intimidated smaller Golden Bears, forcing a handful of low-percentage midrange shots that bounced off the rim or missed it altogether. Onyenso tallied four blocks, with Grünloh adding one of his own.
“They were a two-headed monster,” Odom said. “And they both protected the rim really well, and they both were energetic with their play.”
Golden Bears Coach Mark Madsen noted just how valuable those two bigs in drop coverage were for the rest of Virginia’s defense.
“Having that rim protection allows their guards to be very physical and to really get after you on the perimeter,” Madsen said. “Knowing that if they do get beat, they’ve got the extra layer of help on the backside.”
As a testament to that, graduate guard Malik Thomas, who led the game in scoring with 20, put forward one of his best defensive performances to date — blocking two shots and hauling in four defensive rebounds.
“That was his best defensive performance of the year,” Odom said. “He’s really worked hard at that.”
After slowly pulling away in the last few minutes of the first half, Thomas’ three — off of an assist from Grünloh — gave Virginia the double-digit lead, which it did not relinquish for the remainder of the game. California’s backcourt — led by Dai Dai Ames, junior guard and former Cavalier, and Justin Pippen, sophomore guard and son of basketball legend Scottie Pippen — kept the game close at the start, but failed to keep it in hand. The Golden Bears made a miserable seven field goals in the second half on 27 attempts, with none of their 10 three-point attempts falling.
In what is becoming a recurring problem for the Cavaliers, the visitors shot 22 free throws as both freshman forward Thijs De Ridder and graduate guard Dallin Hall fouled out, with Thomas also reaching four personal fouls. Virginia’s press was effective, and Madsen noted just how imposing the team’s physicality was, but against more physical teams than the undersized Golden Bears, that many fouls and free throw attempts could make or break the game.
The Cavaliers will return Saturday afternoon for a 2:15 p.m. game against Stanford. The visiting Cardinal (13-3, 2-1 ACC) boast a strong defense and competitive rebounding, and are coming off a narrow 69-68 win to Virginia Tech. They are led by freshman guard Ebuka Okorie, a lightning-quick and cerebral point guard averaging 22 points per game and three assists, who scored 11 points in the final two and a half minutes to secure the win over the Hokies (12-4, 1-2 ACC) and nailed a step back three to secure the win with seconds left.
With Stanford also ranking No. 33 in Division I in free throw rate, Saturday’s matchup may become one that will test Virginia’s defensive discipline. That game will be streamed on the CW Network.
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