Miami bullied Virginia, which we haven’t seen really all season, here in Year 1 of the Ryan Odom Era, where the focus going in is, We’re the bullies.
The ‘Canes owned the boards – 30-23 was the topline number, but diving in, the ‘Hoos, third nationally in offensive-rebound rate coming in, had four offensive boards; Miami had 12, and an 18-2 advantage in second-chance points.
Miami outscored Virginia 40-30 in the paint.
“They’re really tough, really tough to deal with, and they’re even better in person than when you watch them on film. They have big bodies, and so, you have to deal with that,” Odom said after Virginia’s 86-83 win on Saturday.
Yeah, despite getting run up in two of the key Odom Ball stats, Virginia got the dub.
Just looking at the box score, though, not sure how.
UVA (24-3, 12-2 ACC, NET: 16) was able to hold serve with Miami (21-6, 10-4 ACC, NET: 35) at the free-throw line – Miami leads the ACC in conference games in attempts per game, but they were 16-of-17 at the line; Virginia was 16-of-18.
Both teams shot 50 percent from three, but UVA had three more makes (12-of-24, to 9-of-18).
“We wanted to get more stops. Certainly, we wanted to rebound better. It was our first time, you know, losing that battle since the Virginia Tech game. Not really who we are,” Odom said.
Hey, when you can win playing the other guy’s game, that’s a good thing this time of year, no?
ICYMI: UVA vs. Miami
- UVA Basketball: ‘Hoos get last punch, win slugfest with Miami, 86-83
- UVA Basketball: Cavaliers outlast Miami, 86-83, in instant classic on Tony Bennett Day
- UVA Basketball honors Tony Bennett, who, predictably, made it about his guys
- The ACC is back! Battle of heavyweights in Charlottesville is proof
- Preview: What UVA Basketball fans need to know about streaking Miami
Did Virginia miss Devin Tillis?
One thing that jumped out in the box score: Thijs de Ridder went 36 minutes.
That’s the most he’s been on the floor, save the triple-OT loss at Virginia Tech that Odom referenced above.
The reason we saw more TdR: Devin Tillis was out with a knee injury sustained late in the win at Georgia Tech on Wednesday.
Tillis is averaging 17.3 minutes per game this season, 17.5 in ACC games, as an option at the three, and the spell for de Ridder at the four.
“Tillis is an important player for us. I mean, there’s no question about it. He comes in, he spells guys. He’s a really good leader,” said Odom, who praised de Ridder, with the extra run against a rugged Miami front line, “a warrior.”
De Ridder finished with 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting, and blocked a three-point attempt by Tre Donaldson with 1:25 to go, UVA up one, 80-79, igniting a fast break that ended with a Jacari White three that put the ‘Hoos up four.
Word in the media area yesterday was that Tillis is expected back for the NC State game on Tuesday night.
About that Jacari White three
That one was a guy just being in the zone.
White was pretty much all alone there, one-on-Miami, when he decided to pull the trigger in front of the Virginia bench.
“I mean, in times like that, like, you can’t really think about the, you know, what if I miss, so it’s kind of, like, I just went forward, and you see the results,” said White, who had another Jacari White Game – 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting, 5-of-8 from three, in a season-high 28 minutes.
You could almost see Odom on the sideline wanting to put up the stop sign on that last one, but he knows.
“Yeah, a lot of it’s just, when that ball is going in the basket, you know, he fires that first one, and he sees one go in, and then his feet start popping, and he’s moving to find shots, and there’s just an energy, there’s a confidence with him. And you know, I certainly can relate to that. I loved to shoot the ball, too, but he’s a special player,” Odom said.
Endgame
Miami tied the game at 83 on a drive and finish by Malik Reneau with 7.2 seconds to go.
UM coach Jai Lucas told reporters after the game that he tried to call timeout, but couldn’t find an official in the scramble to grant him the TO.
Virginia quickly inbounded the ball to freshman point guard Chance Mallory, which, Odom said afterward, is by design in endgame situations.
“I mean, typically when the game’s on the line like that, you want to get it up as quickly as you can. It’s certainly something that we’ve worked on, and gives us a chance to call the time out if we need it, and so really it’s up to me at that point, but I like to let our guys go. As a coach, you have to trust, and certainly in that moment, we did,” Odom said.
Mallory got the ball into the frontcourt, and pulled up for a three – and was fouled by Donaldson.
“I wasn’t really planning on getting it before they could stop the game. I was just trying to get it out as fast as we can, just to get a chance to get a shot up and maybe get our offensive rebound, which is our strength. So, I was just trying to get out, go, as fast as possible,” Mallory told reporters.
One of the scribes asked if Mallory was just trying to draw a foul, or if he was shooting to make the shot, which, good question – because it was a wild shot, from this observer’s standpoint.
“A little bit of both,” Mallory said. “I saw his hand was, like, out and down, and, I mean, obviously the refs were calling that on me, so I knew they had to call it at that point. But no, yeah, definitely, just, I saw him there, so I tried to draw the foul, but it felt good. I thought it was gonna make it at the time.”
There was a delay from the refs to check if Mallory was attempting a two or a three, which was time to allow thinking about the moment – which you don’t necessarily want in that situation.
Any thought, with Tony Bennett in the building – the school honored the legendary coach by putting his name on the floor in a pregame ceremony – about the three free throws at the end of a game in the 2019 Final Four?
“It didn’t really go across my mind at that point, but definitely after a lot of people said it. But at the moment, I was just trying to focus on making the free throws,” Mallory said.
Honoring TB
Odom had his players and staff on the floor for the pregame ceremony honoring Bennett, which even Bennett had advised against.
“He actually called me to encourage me not to do that, just to focus on the game, in classic TB form,” Odom told reporters after the game. “But I said, No, this is, when we first came here, we talked about the legacy, and when we read that book over the summer, it was all about leaving the jersey in a better place and connecting these guys to this basketball program, most importantly, this university, and they certainly have done that our guys, and I wanted them to witness that part of the history of our program, and for them to see it and be there with all the fans and see just the general appreciation that everybody in the building has for the Bennett family.”
Mallory is one of four guys on the current roster with a tie to Bennett – the others: two other St.-Anne’s-Belfield alums, Desmond Roberts and Carter Lang, and redshirt sophomore Elijah Gertrude.
“It was just a blessing to be obviously recruited by him and being a part of all what he’s done, and it was cool to look at the court and see all the names written down on there,” Mallory said, alluding to a touch to the signature on the court that Bennett insisted on – that it include the names of every player, coach and staffer who worked with the program during his 15-year tenure.
“It was cool to see all the names written down on there, like, I could see, like, even playing, I was looking down and seeing all the past people I was growing up watching. That’s pretty cool,” Mallory said.
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Chris Graham
