By my count, that was the third game Jacari White won on his own; getting a personal dub in an NCAA Tournament game is next level.
White had 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting, 6-of-8 from three, with seven points and an assist in the final 4:07, as #3 seed Virginia closed on a 15-3 run to get past #14 seed Wright State, 82-73, on Friday in Philadelphia.
Our guys advance to play the winner of #6 seed Tennessee (22-11) and #11 seed Miami (32-1) on Sunday.
ICYMI
Props to Wright State (23-12), the champs of the Horizon League, for playing almost a perfect game – connecting on 13 threes (season average: 6.3), and forcing 14 Virginia turnovers.
Michael Imariagbe, a 6’7” senior who had made one three all season – he had attempted a total of six – was 5-of-9 from behind the arc, exploiting the lack of mobility on the perimeter of Virginia seven-footer Ugonna Onyenso, who was on the floor against Imariagbe on four of the five made threes.
Great x’s and o’s there by Wright State coach Clint Sargent, 38-30 in two seasons at the school; not so good on the x’s and o’s by Virginia coach Ryan Odom, who only finally adjusted in the final three minutes, leaving freshman seven-footer Johann Grunloh on the floor to close out the game.
Grunloh, in his 19:54 of game action, had eight points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots, and a team-best +24 plus/minus.
The lithe German teen had two important flushes in the game-ending Virginia run, one on a nice dish from Dallin Hall that gave Virginia a 73-70 lead with 3:14 to go, the next on UVA’s next possession, on an assist from White, that pushed the lead to five with 2:24 on the clock.
After a defensive stop, White put the game toward the out-of-reach mark with a long three that got the lead to 78-70 with 1:24 to go.
The final three of the career day for Imariagbe – 19 points, 10 rebounds – cut the lead back to five, but White closed the door with a drive and bucket with 30 seconds remaining.
Hall made two free throws with 16 seconds left to close out the scoring.
The day belonged to White, who kept Virginia (30-5) in the game in a rough first half that saw Wright State lead most of the way, and go into the break up five, 43-38.
The leader of the Jacarmy was 4-of-5 from the floor, 3-of-4 from three, with 11 points in the first half.
The other games I credit him for getting the dub: Dayton, Dec. 6 in Charlotte, the one where he had 25 points on 9-of-9 shooting, 7-of-7 from three, in an 86-73 win; and the 61-58 win at FSU on Feb. 10, in which White had 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting, 5-of-9 from three, on a night that saw UVA shoot 37.7 percent and commit 14 turnovers.
Sam Lewis had 12 points (4-of-9 FG, 2-of-4 3FG, 2-of-2 FT); Malik Thomas had 11 points (4-of-10 FG, 3-of-6 3FG).
Thijs de Ridder had a barely noticeable 10 points (3-of-8 FG, 1-of-3 3FG, 3-of-4 FT) and six boards.
Hall finished with eight points (1-of-2 FG, 6-of-6 FT) and three assists.
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Chris Graham
