The Virginia Cavaliers claimed their first signature win of Ryan Odom’s tenure in Charlottesville on Wednesday night by absolutely handling the Texas Longhorns 88-69 on the road. Freshman point guard Chance Mallory led the ‘Hoos in scoring with 16 points. Four other Cavaliers also scored in double figures including Johann Gruenloh (15), Thijs de Ridder (13), Malik Thomas (13), and Jacari White (10).
Texas and Virginia went back and forth for the first five minutes of the game, trading blows until UVA unleashed four consecutive three-pointers, including two from White, to turn a 9-8 deficit into a 20-9 advantage. The Wahoos’ barrage of three-pointers overwhelmed the Texas defense and they didn’t look back after taking that 11-point lead. Virginia finished the night hitting 12-for-24 (50%) from beyond the arc.
Mallory was electric, as he has been in nearly each of his eight games at the college level. His strength, skill, and IQ when driving into the paint is impress for a 5-foot-10 guard. His final stat line included 16 points (3-for-3 from the field 2-for-2 from three, 8-for-9 from the line), three rebounds, three assists, a block, and no turnovers. Stats never tell the whole story, but that’s a veteran showing right there!
“I feel like I can compete with anyone in the country,” he said postgame.
Gruenloh took over whenever UVA’s guards weren’t firing away from deep. He scored 12 of his 15 points in the first half, dominating as a rim-runner, a playmaker around the basket, and even with a few nice post ups against Texas’ seven-footer Matas Vokietaitis. Thanks to some foul trouble and the nature of the blowout, the German center only played 17 minutes, but he was awfully efficient nevertheless.
The Virginia offense fired on all cylinders across 40 minutes. Arguably the most encouraging part of the win was UVA’s performance on the other side of the ball. Texas scored 1.08 points per possession, barely edging themselves above the 1.00 PPP mark in the final minutes when Odom emptied his bench. Per Bart Torvik, it’s UVA’s second-best defensive performance (adjusted for competition) this season.
Texas shot 40.7% from the field and just 21.1% from deep. The Virginia defense was especially better guarding on the perimeter than when they lost to Butler a week and a half ago. The Longhorns don’t boast the most talented or athletically-gifted backcourt, but it’s still SEC competition that Virginia managed to lock down for significant stretches of Wednesday night’s matchup.
Virginia has two more true tests in non-conference play: vs. Dayton in Charlotte on Saturday and at Maryland two weeks from then. The ‘Hoos will be favored in both games. If they can come away with a pair of wins in those matchups and take care of business against Maryland Eastern Shore and American as well, they’ll enter ACC play in a darn good position.