A Win with Extra Sweetness

A win is a win, but beating Will Wade makes it even sweeter. Wade is a fine coach, but his reputation has been tarnished by his departure from LSU, and in my opinion, he’s left a stain on the ACC. Both Bart Torvik and KenPom had eerily similar predictions for this game, forecasting an 80-77 and 80-76 victory for NC State. However, Virginia managed to pull off the win despite these odds. They started strong, taking a 9-3 and then a 15-9 lead early in the game and never faced any serious threat.

Sam Lewis Shines

Sam Lewis, who had started every game up until the Virginia Tech game, when he was benched and then struggled by missing all his shots, came out firing in this match. He hit the game’s first three-pointer following a great offensive rebound by Malik Thomas. Lewis scored 12 of Virginia’s first 15 points and ended the half with 20 points. (NC State had just 20 points at halftime.) Lewis shot 8/12 from the floor and 5/9 from beyond the arc, matching his career high of 23 points.

Improved Shooting Performance

After a dismal 10/45 performance from beyond the arc against Virginia Tech, the Cavaliers improved significantly, shooting 13/33 (39.4%, which is better than their season average of 37.5%). Devin Tillis was 2/2, and Thomas was 3/8. It’s amazing how making your threes can make everything else easier.

Addressing the Criticism

This leads me to the complaints I read after the Virginia Tech game about the team being soft and lacking grit, and about Odom being out-coached. This is a jump-shooting team, and it will be tough for the Hoos to win when they’re shooting poorly from deep. Another common gripe was that Virginia was outworked on the boards. There were 110 missed shots in that game, and Virginia grabbed 54 rebounds, with 17 offensive rebounds. Depending on the stats, the difference on the offensive glass was either -3 or -1. None of Virginia’s bigs have a post-up game. In this game, Thijs De Ridder had just one post-up. This team needs to make its threes to win.

Malik Thomas Steps Up

Malik Thomas showed his ability to slash to the rim. He played his two best games as a Hoo in the past two matches. At one point, he had 11 of Virginia’s first 33 points. He finished with 13 points and a game-high seven rebounds. He’s a high-volume scorer, meaning he needs a lot of shots to get his points, but he takes hard shots. He also brings something different to the court when he’s on it, and he’s playing better now that the team has advanced to ACC play.

Devin Tillis Contributes Quietly

Devin Tillis had a quiet game, which is typical for him. On this day, he scored 10 points on 4/4 shooting, with two of those coming from beyond the arc. Ball movement tends to stop when Tillis gets the ball, as he prefers to post up. However, this team needs alternatives to the three-point shot.

Struggles Against the Press

Virginia struggled to break NC State’s press. The Wolfpack used an interesting strategy, with four players ahead of half-court to instantly double both ball handlers. Chance Mallory is susceptible to doubles because he can’t go over defenders.

A Strong Second Half

Virginia held a 40-20 lead at halftime and scored the first two points of the second half before NC State made a game of it. The Wolfpack went on an 11-point run, and if I was being snarky, I might suggest that Will Wade paid off the refs at halftime because Virginia was called for five fouls in three minutes, all of them touch fouls. Ryan Odom saw enough and charged onto the court, getting a technical foul. It turned out that Odom’s call was correct. After NC State made four consecutive free throws (the original foul and Odom’s T), the lead was narrowed to 44-35, bringing the fans back into the game. Virginia then went on a 20-6 run, effectively sealing the game.

Darrion Williams’ Performance

NC State’s Darrion Williams, perhaps the prize recruit of last season’s portal and the ACC Pre-season Player of the Year, had a rough couple of games. When a reporter asked about Williams’ “slump,” Wade reacted strongly, suggesting it was a set piece. Most players would say that knowing their coach has their back would help their performance. However, Williams had seven points and five rebounds. While he had some moments of energy during a mini 8-0 run for State in the second half, De Ridder and Tillis mostly shut him down.

Next Game

Virginia heads back home to host Cal on Wednesday, January 7th at 9:00pm. The game will be broadcast on the ACC Network.