“So many great plays out there, it’s hard to recount all of them on both sides,” Odom said. “It made for a great college basketball game. It’s one of those that you hate [that] anyone ends up losing.”
“Key to the game for us, certainly, was every time that we missed a shot…our transition defense was not where it needed to be throughout the entire night,” Odom said. “The defensive intensity was not where we needed it to be. The communication was lacking, and a poor defensive performance overall.”
“Every win on the road is like gold,” Odom said. “This particular group understands that. If you want to compete at the highest level of the ACC and compete for a championship, you have to win games on the road. The eventual champion will do that.”
“For me, [Virginia] was the best basketball environment I've been in in my life,” Salt said. “A lot of lessons I learned [were] at Virginia.”
With ACC play looming, three beat writers assess Virginia’s performance and prospects for the rest of the season.
"I'm a fan of young men receiving some compensation. But I think it's so unmonitored and not regulated. And I think until it becomes more regulated, a level playing field, and there's more control, [there will be issues]."
The Cavaliers will have that chance to rebound soon, but Thursday night belonged to UMBC, another chapter in a historical matchup Virginia desperately wishes it didn’t recognize so well.
“Competitive, together, and relentless,” Agugua-Hamilton said
The 6-foot-4 centerback is studying computer science while pushing his team to new heights.
