With March basketball on the horizon, fans at John Paul Jones Arena were treated to a top-of-ACC rematch between No. 11 Virginia and NC State — the former having defeated the latter 76-61 in January. After a slow and messy first half, both teams took off in the second, before the Cavaliers (25-3, 13-2 ACC) pulled away from the Wolfpack (19-9, 10-5 ACC), finalizing a 58-point second half and 90-61 win.
Suffocating a strong NC State offense and holding it to under 30 percent from the field, Virginia’s defense dominated the game. Freshman center Johann Grünloh tallied eight blocks on the day, while senior center Ugonna Onyenso added another four. Scoring 24 points in transition, the Cavaliers pushed the pace and extended runs with impactful fastbreak baskets.
“Our guys did a phenomenal job defensively,” Coach Ryan Odom said. “I thought we were pretty good — the offensive rebounding again … was not to the standard we need in terms of cleaning up the glass. But really pleased with the guys, happy for the guys, in what we knew was going to be a tough game.”
The defensive quality was visible from the tip-off, as Virginia started off 15-3, holding their opponents to a 1-9 start from the field. The Wolfpack, a fast and reactive team, stayed in the game with a handful of key steals, scoring eight of their 19 points off of turnovers. At the break, the Cavaliers led 32-19, with graduate guard Jacari White leading the game with nine points.
The second half looked like an entirely different game, as the two sides traded baskets through the first several minutes. A pair of technicals assessed a couple of minutes into the period led to a scuffle at halfcourt and an ejection — giving Virginia a pair of added points from graduate guard Malik Thomas making his technical free throw.
NC State kept the game competitive, staying even on the half with the Cavaliers though never quite able to get the margin down to single digits. The two teams both scored with strong efficiency for most of the half, the Wolfpack nearly doubling their field goal and three-point percentages from the first half.
Virginia broke away in the final eight minutes, a 10-0 run in less than two minutes of play functionally securing the win at around the five-minute mark. Scoring 15 in the second half alone, freshman forward Thijs De Ridder scored at will in transition and on drives. Junior guard Sam Lewis scored 10, going 5-for-5 on two-point attempts, including some tough midrange jumpshots and contested layups at the rim.
Having built and maintained a strong lead heading into the last couple of minutes, Virginia put in its end of the bench with nearly two minutes remaining on the clock. Sophomore guard Elijah Gertrude, in that time, landed a major dunk. A pair of missed free throws from NC State earned the fans in attendance free bacon, to loud cheers.
The home win against the Wolfpack marks another strong victory over a solid conference rival. NC State struggled to score — particularly in the first half — and made a handful of mistakes that curtailed its ability to make a run. Sophomore guard Paul McNeil Jr., who led the game in scoring with 22, shot 6-16, but other major Wolfpack contributors struggled to fill the stat sheet — senior guard Quadir Copeland failed to present a significant scoring threat and committed four fouls, while freshman forward Matt Able and junior guard Terrance Arceneaux shot a combined 2-15 from the field.
Post-game, NC State Coach Will Wade had pessimistic thoughts to share on his team’s performance, lauding Odom and his squad and referring to them, simply, as the better team writ large.
“This is a really, really good team, and they steamrolled us,” Wade said. “They’re better than we are. If we played them 10 times I’m not sure we could beat them. Maybe once if we get lucky on a neutral court. But, I mean, they’re just flat out better than us.”
Shooting a strong 16-18 from the free-throw line, Virginia responded well to the Wolfpack defense, adjusting to their opponents’ switching and turning the ball over less as the game progressed. With five players ultimately reaching double-digit scoring, the Cavaliers moved the ball well and scored opportunistic baskets when available.
Now with three games remaining on the conference slate, Virginia has built a nine-game win streak in a stretch that has included both tough away matchups and competitive home ones. Sitting comfortably at second in the ACC, the Cavaliers have looked like a defensive stalwart of late, relying on a variety of offensive contributors.
Next, for arguably the biggest remaining game of the season, the Cavaliers will travel to Durham, N.C. for a noon tipoff Saturday against No. 1 Duke. Undefeated at home, the Blue Devils (26-2, 14-1 ACC) lead the conference in offensive rebounding, turnovers forced and two-point shot percentage. Led by freshman forward Cameron Boozer with a supporting cast of future NBA talent, Duke holds wins over No. 3 Michigan, No. 7 Florida and No. 13 Michigan State, their lone losses coming against No. 16 Texas Tech at a neutral site and No. 18 North Carolina on the road.
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