By Scott Ratcliffe
In the penultimate contest of the regular season, Virginia got a challenge from visiting Wake Forest Tuesday night, but fought off a comeback attempt and escaped with a 75-70 win.
With the victory, the 13th-ranked Cavaliers (26-4, 14-3 ACC) secured the 2-seed in next week’s conference tournament in Charlotte.
The struggling Demon Deacons (15-15, 6-11) hung around all evening and got within four points on multiple occasions, then cut it to three, 73-70, with 6.1 seconds to go.
With 5.2 ticks remaining, Dallin Hall was sent to the foul line and put the icing on the cake with a pair of game-sealing free throws, the first rolling around-and-in before a swish on the second.
The Cavaliers overcame a sloppy 40 minutes of basketball, shooting 43 percent from the field (25 for 58), 31 percent from long range (10 of 32) and 65 percent from the free-throw line (15 for 23). UVA’s 10 turnovers led to a dozen Wake points on the opposite end of the court.
Thijs De Ridder led the Wahoos with a team-high 16 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 3 assists, while four of his teammates also registered double digits — Jacari White 14, Johann Grünloh 12, Malik Thomas 11 and Hall 10.
Grünloh just missed a double-double with 9 rebounds and swatted 3 shots, while De Ridder, Hall, Thomas and White each sank two triples on the night. Sam Lewis remains in a slump, fouling out with 2 points (0 for 4 from long distance in 14 minutes) at the 4:03 mark of the second half.
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!
Virginia closed the opening half on a 10-2 scoring run to take a 32-24 advantage into the locker room. The lead grew to double digits early in the second half, but the Deacons refused to throw in the towel.
Wake senior reserve guard Mekhi Mason, who connected on 9 of 12 field goals — including 4 3-pointers, poured in 20 of his game-high (and season-high) 26 points after halftime, with Juke Harris adding 21 in the losing effort.
Virginia won the rebounding battle, 43-33, with 12 offensive boards leading to 13 important second-chance points. The Deacs were held to 39-percent shooting (24 for 62) from the field and 32 percent from beyond the arc (8 of 25), sinking 14 of 15 at the charity stripe (93 percent).
Team Notes
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
- No. 13 Virginia improved to 26-4, 14-3 ACC
- UVA clinched the No. 2 seed and a double bye at the ACC Tournament
- UVA improved to 15-1 at home
- UVA (10 3-pointers) extended its school record of making 10 of more 3-pointers to 19 games
- UVA (32 3-point attempts) attempted 30 or more 3-pointers for the 12th time in 2025-26
- UVA used a 6-0 run to gain a 32-24 halftime lead
- UVA shot 3 of 17 from 3-point range in the first half (17.6%)
- UVA limited Wake Forest to 23.3% shooting in the first half (7 of 30)
- UVA won the rebound battle 42-33
Series Notes
- Virginia is 73-72 all-time vs. Wake Forest, including a 44-22 mark in Charlottesville, in the series
that dates to 1910-11 - UVA has won 13 of the last 15 meetings in the series
- UVA is 9-3 vs. the Demon Deacons at John Paul Jones Arena
Player Notes
- Double Figure Scorers: Thijs De Ridder (16), Jacari White (14), Johann Grünloh (12), Malik Thomas
(11), Dallin Hall (10) - De Ridder has reached double figures in 23 games
- White has reached double figures in 11 games (62 career)
- Grünloh has reached double figures in nine games
- Grünloh (3 blocks) has multiple blocks in 19 games
- Thomas has reached double figures in 21 games (76 career)
UP NEXT
The Cavaliers will close out the regular season when they host Virginia Tech on Saturday at noon (The CW Network).
This Week’s ACC Scoreboard
Monday
Duke 93, NC State 64
Tuesday
Virginia 75, Wake Forest 70
North Carolina 67, Clemson 63
Virginia Tech 72, Boston College 63
Louisville 77, Syracuse 62
Wednesday
Miami at SMU, 7 p.m. (ACCN)
California at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)
Florida State at Pitt, 9 p.m. (ACCN)
Stanford at Notre Dame, 9 p.m. (ESPNU)
Saturday
Virginia Tech at Virginia, Noon (The CW)
Notre Dame at Boston College, Noon (ESPNU)
Georgia Tech at Clemson, Noon (ACCN)
Louisville at Miami, 2 p.m. (ESPNU)
SMU at Florida State.2 p.m. (ACCN)
Stanford at NC State, 2:15 p.m. (The CW)
California at Wake Forest, 4 p.m. (ACCN)
Pitt at Syracuse, 4:30 p.m. (The CW)
North Carolina at Duke, 6:30 p.m. (ESPN)
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!
