Johnson’s clutch three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining — and double-double performance alongside graduate forward Caitlin Weimar — stamped Virginia’s ticket to secure its first seed in the NCAA Tournament after an eight-year drought.
The end result may not be what the No. 2-ranked team in the nation hoped — and certainly not ideal after a second consecutive sixth-place finish. However, the Cavaliers still have ample time to build off the elite tsunami of a round they displayed Wednesday, especially given their proven dominance all season long.
“This is by far, one of the best lineups that I’ve been a part of,” Weatherspoon said. “Being able to be in the nine hole with [Becker] and [Gracia] behind me, [it] gives me confidence that I don’t have to put too much pressure on myself.”
Nerve-racking as they may be for the Virginia faithful, such tight contests equipped Odom with a much-needed toolkit for tournament basketball.
Of the Virginia omissions, Denkins and Roller perhaps had the most compelling cases for consideration.
The Cavaliers face Arizona State Thursday for the chance to earn a No. 10 seed and play No. 7 Georgia Saturday.
“Blocking shots is what I do,” Onyenso said. “And I'm really good at it.”
Virginia has the ‘it’ factor, and the narratives of three signature victories this season, contrasted with their failings in 2025, demonstrate it.
As a member of the coaching staff, he is returning the favor to the program and the people that helped shape his identity and career.
“It was really a surprise to tell you the truth,” Tiffany said. “As I was running out of LaValle Stadium, somebody from the Stony Brook administration said something … that was a special moment.”
“When we fall behind, we are really good at having a quick answer, and we did that again today,” Pollard said. “That’s what good teams do.”
“I told the team, ‘Fellas, it's so much easier to point towards a win when we turn the season around, but we're going to remember this through the pain and hurt of this losing locker room right now — this is when we turned the season around,” Tiffany said. “We took a huge step today.”
“We just gave them some free offense,” Pollard said. “We spotted a couple of runners, and you can't do that. Paone will learn and grow from that. But I thought [his] stuff was good. I thought he might have fatigued a little bit there around 60 to 70 pitches.”
The Cavaliers will look to carry Sunday's momentum forward as they push deeper into a demanding stretch of conference matchups.
The Cavaliers will next face No. 20 NC State and No. 4 Wake Forest on the road.
“We've got to put four quarters together,” LaMonica said. “I think this was the first time we saw a higher-pressure defense... I think we allowed it to take us out of our abilities a little bit too much."
“Everybody wants to compete for national championships and being in that field is just a blessing,” Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton said. “I'm just really happy for our players that we were able to do enough to get there.”
The 14-seed Raiders (23-11, 15-5 Horizon), coming off a Horizon League title win over Detroit Mercy, will face Virginia having won seven of their last eight games. Led by second-year Coach Clint Sergent, they are a team that thrives at getting to the rim — attempting 43.1 percent of their shots there and making over 60 percent of them.
No. 21 Virginia defeated No. 59 Georgia Tech 4-1 Saturday afternoon at the Ken Byers Tennis Complex, in Atlanta Ga.
For the first time, the entire roster — including the new freshmen — is fully integrated into Coach Wesley Ng's system.
