By Jerry Ratcliffe
There was a lot to celebrate at the Odom household in Charlottesville on Sunday evening when Virginia’s basketball team and staff held an NCAA Tournament watch party and loved the outcome.
Ryan Odom’s Cavaliers were awarded a No. 3 seed in the East Region and will open play Friday at 1:50 p.m. against No. 14 seed Wright State in Philadelphia. The game will be televised by TBS (click here for complete schedule, tipoff times and TV coverage).
Should UVA win its opener, the Cavaliers will be matched against the winner of No. 6 seed Tennessee vs. the No. 11 seed, which will be either Miami of Ohio or SMU, which will meet in the First Four to determine who advances.
“We were wondering, are we going to be a three? Are we going to be a four? Where are we going … the whole thing,” Odom said Sunday night on a video conference. “There was an excitement.”
Wright State’s Raiders (22-11) return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years, having beaten Detroit Mercy 66-63 in the Horizon League championship game. Coach Clint Sargent’s Raiders, the top seed in that event, actually trailed by 12 points with 9:52 before storming back to gain the automatic bid.
Wright State was led by tournament MVP T.J. Burch, who scored 19 points in the title game and 57 for the tournament.
The Raiders started the season with a paltry 5-7 record before winning 17 of their last 21 games.
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“[The No. 3 seed and location] are huge, just a testament to the hard work these guys have put in since they got here in June,” Odom said. “We would have been happy with either seed, but you want to be the highest seed you can be. To be the No. 3 seed and be able to stay somewhat close on the East Coast was huge.
“It’s great for our fans that live up in that direction, both north and south of Philly, and a really good opportunity. You get to this time of year, you’re going to play a team that has won a lot of games and believes in itself.”
Virginia, 29-5, pushed No. 1-seeded Duke to the limit in Saturday night’s ACC Tournament championship game in Charlotte, dropping a 74-70 outcome.
Odom believes his team is playing its best basketball of the season at the right time.
“You saw Ugo (Ugonna Onyenso), who was dynamite,” Odom pointed out. “Malik (Thomas) had some great moments. You go through the entire roster and Thijs (De Ridder) had some great moments, Dallin (Hall) had some great moments, Sam Lewis was all-tournament team. Jacari (White) had his moments. Devin (Tillis) was very impactful, Johann (Grünloh) was impactful (until he injured his right hand), which was mind-boggling to me that he was able to play.
“I think our guys feel good about where we’re at right now, but we understand you can get bounced quick and we’ve got to be ready for that first game.”
Onyenso and Lewis made the ACC Tournament first-team, all-tournament squads, with De Ridder and Thomas voted to the second team.
Lewis was red-hot in the event from the 3-point arc, making 11 of 15 shots over the three games.
Onyenso was a force, obliterating Hall of Famer Tim Duncan’s record for most blocked shots in the ACC Tournament with 21. Duncan’s record, established in 1995, was 14. Onyenso’s 9 blocks against Duke in the championship game was also a new record for the finals.
During Saturday night’s postgame interview session, Odom asked Onyenso if he knew he had broken Duncan’s longstanding record, and the 7-foot center was surprised.
“Duncan had 14 in three games. You had 21. That’s pretty impressive because [Duncan] is one of the best shot-blockers ever, and you were doing it against, obviously, big-time players in our conference,” Odom said.
White played only 9 minutes, 48 seconds in the championship game and scored 6 points (2-4 from the arc), leaving fans wondering if he was injured.
Odom said Sunday evening that White is healthy.
“It was just the situation of the game and not something to read into at all,” Odom said of White’s limited minutes. “We have tremendous confidence in Jacari. In this particular game, we shortened [the bench] a little bit in the second half. He’ll be ready for the NCAA Tournament. He doesn’t have any injuries.”
Let’s dance 🪩#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/UzOdhCmTut
— Virginia Men’s Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) March 16, 2026
If you want even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!
