By Jerry Ratcliffe
Malik Thomas’ offensive numbers aren’t where he’d like them to be, although he’s averaged right at 20 points over the last three games. The San Francisco transfer led Virginia with a game-high 20 points in Wednesday night’s 84-60 rout of visiting California, but it was Thomas’ defensive performance that drew raves from Coach Ryan Odom.
“Malik is wired to score,” Odom said after watching his No. 23 Cavaliers improve to 13-2, 2-1. “He can score with his eyes closed. But I think the biggest thing with Malik is on defense and this was his best defensive performance of the year.”
Virginia flexed its defensive muscles after trailing the visiting Golden Bears (13-3, 1-2) 22-20 midway through the first half, steadily pulling away for a 10-point Wahoo lead (43-33) at the break, thanks in part to a big Thomas 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer.
After making some adjustments, the Cavaliers slammed the door on Cal coming out of the locker room, played lockdown defense, holding the Bears scoreless over an 8-minute stretch to establish a 57-35 cushion before cruising to the win.
“We got some things that we had targeted and it worked early,” said California coach Mark Madsen. “[Virginia] made some adjustments and then we weren’t able to execute our adjustments later in the game. I think that Virginia just was one step ahead on the adjustments tonight.”
Thomas, who has scored 59 points in UVA’s last three games, was 7 of 12 from the field against Cal, including 4 of 8 from the arc over 25 minutes of playing time. He continued to be effective with a mid-range jumper that the Bears couldn’t stop. Between his offense — he was one of five, nearly six Cavaliers in double figures — and his defense, Thomas was easily the player of the game.
“He’s really worked hard on [defense] and the coaches have done a great job of watching film with him and really helping,” Odom said. “The way they played defense in San Francisco was just a little bit different than the way we do it here, so there’s been some growing pains with that, but offensively, he plays like us. He’s really good on offense but the key is we want him to be a well-rounded player and he’s getting there.”
Thomas had plenty of help. Four other Cavaliers each had a dozen points: Thijs De Ridder, Johann Grünloh, Sam Lewis and Ugonna Onyenso, who came close to a double-double with 9 rebounds to go with 4 blocked shots. Freshman guard Chance Mallory nearly hit double digits, putting up 8 points while posting 7 assists and 3 steals.
Virginia pounded the Bears on the boards, 45-26, and had 16 second-chance points to only 4 for Cal. UVA, one of the top shot-blocking teams in the nation, registered 9 blocks.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers’ defense handcuffed the West Coasters, who shot only 35 percent for the game — 26 percent in the second half when UVA outscored the Bears 41-27 — and held them to 16 percent from the 3-point arc (3 of 19).
Former UVA player Dai Dai Ames, who transferred to Cal after last season, led the Bears with 18 points (he’s averaging 17.5 per game), but was a mere 4 for 10 from the field and 0 for 3 from the arc, making all 10 of his free-throw attempts.
Thomas talked about his defensive improvement after the game.
“The coaches have been doing a great job of just staying on me on the defensive end, just knowing that I’ve got to stay engaged,” Thomas said. “Offense will come, but yeah, it’s been a great process, honestly, because when I first got here I had a lot to work on and I’m grateful to see it’s finally paying off. It’s going to get better from here.”
Meanwhile, his offense has been lights-out.
“I know my percentages aren’t great right now, which is going to even out, but [opponents] have to respect my 3-pointers, and they have to respect me getting to the rim and they have to respect me going to the foul line,” Thomas said. “I think that sweet spot (his mid-range jumper) is where I’ve found some comfortability. I work on that shot every day. I rip that shot countlessly, so it’s good to see that go down.”
Virginia hosts Stanford (a 69-68 winner over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Wednesday night) on Saturday at 2:15 p.m.
Team Notes
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
- Virginia improved to 13-2, 2-1 ACC
- Virginia is 9-0 at home and has a 10-game win streak at JPJ
- UVA is 12-1 when scoring 80 or more points
- UVA’s 18-4 run to start the second stanza included a 10-0 run
- UVA’s 43-33 halftime lead was highlighted by a 22-12 rebound advantage
- UVA won the rebound battle 45-26
- UVA had 23 assists on 30 made field goals
Series Notes
- Virginia is 3-1 all-time (1-1 ACC) vs. Cal in a series that dates to 2015-16
- The 84 points by UVA marked its season high in the four-game series
- Former Cavalier Dai Dai Ames scored 18 points for Cal
- UVA recognized former Cavalier player and assistant coach Isaiah Wilkins before the game
Player Notes
- Double Figure Scorers: Malik Thomas (20), Thijs De Ridder (12), Johann Grünloh (12), Ugonna Onyenso (12), Sam Lewis (12)
- Thomas reached double figures for the 10th time (65th career)
- Thomas had a career-high two blocks
- De Ridder reached double figures for the 12th time
- Grünloh reached double figures for the fifth time
- Lewis reached double figures for the eighth time (41st career)
- Onyenso reached double figures for the third time (5th career)
- Onyenso (4 blocks) has eight multi-block games
- Chance Mallory had a career-high seven assists
- UVA started Dallin Hall, De Ridder, Grünloh, Thomas and Lewis for the 14th time
- Jacari White missed his fourth consecutive game with a wrist injury
