By Scott Ratcliffe

Jacari White saved Virginia’s bacon in Friday’s opening-round NCAA Tournament victory over upset-minded, No. 14 seed Wright State, pouring in a season-high 26 points — including six 3-pointers — to lead the No. 3 seed to an 82-73 win in Philadelphia.

The Cavaliers (30-5) locked it in on the defensive end in crunch time, limiting the Raiders (23-12) to just 3 points over the final 5 1/2 minutes of the game. White sank his last triple of the afternoon with 1:23 remaining to cap a UVA flurry of 11 unanswered points, part of a 15-3 spurt to close the contest and advance the Wahoos to the next round.

“They played lights-out,” Ryan Odom said of the Raiders. “They gave us everything we could handle throughout the game. They played a little bit differently than we were expecting going into the game and how we prepared. They did a nice job of picking on our big guys a little bit in terms of shooting some threes.”

Before going cold down the stretch, the Raiders used a 9-0 run of their own to take a 70-67 lead on a pair of technical free throws by Solomon Callaghan with 5:32 to play.

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!

From there, it was all Cavaliers, as White put his team on top for good on a scoop layup with 4:08 to go that gave UVA a 71-70 advantage.

Johann Grünloh then scored on back-to-back possessions, blocking his third shot of the day in between, to extend the lead to five before White’s dagger 3 all but sealed the deal.

Wright State cut it back down to five on a Michael Imariagbe 3-pointer with 58 ticks left, but White responded with another bucket with 32.2 to play before the Raiders tossed up an airball that wound up out of bounds with 20.8 on the clock.

It was a back-and-forth affair all afternoon that featured 11 ties and 18 lead changes. Wright State — which had only won a First Four contest in 2022 in its tournament history — led for 41 percent of the day, compared to 37 percent for the Hoos.

In the first half, the Raiders misfired on their first five field-goal attempts before rattling off four 3-pointers, scoring on seven consecutive trips at one point, and connecting on 6 of their last 8 shots, including a 7-2 run over the final 1:30 to lead 43-38 at the halftime break.

Wright State averaged 7.1 3-point makes per game prior to Friday, but nailed eight of them in the opening frame. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, didn’t really do themselves any favors, turning the ball over on their first three possessions of the ballgame and 7 times in the half.

In addition to White’s big day off the bench, starters Sam Lewis (12 points), Malik Thomas (11) and Thijs De Ridder (10) each finished in double figures as the Hoos shot 52 percent from the field (28 for 54) and 50 percent from downtown (13 of 26), sinking 13 of 14 from the free-throw line.

UVA, which snapped a three-game tournament losing streak dating back to the championship season of 2019, prevailed on the boards by a 39-24 margin and outscored the Raiders in the paint, 28-16. The Cavaliers committed 14 turnovers, which led to 14 points on the opposite end. Grünloh (team-highs of 7 rebounds and 3 blocks) and Dallin Hall each added 8 points in the victory.

Imariagbe, who came into the contest just 1 for 6 all season from beyond the arc, led the Raiders with 19 points (5 of 9 from 3-point range) and a game-high 10 rebounds. Wright State shot at a 41-percent clip (25 for 61), knocking down 13 of its 31 3-point attempts (42 percent).

Callaghan hit 4 triples by halftime and scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half, while TJ Burch finished with 15 and Michael Cooper added 13 in the loss.

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• Virginia improved to 30-5 and ended a three-game losing streak in the NCAA Tournament
• UVA recorded its first win in the NCAA Tournament since its championship season in 2019
• UVA is 14-4 away from home, including a 6-2 mark on neutral courts
• Virginia is 9-16 all-time in Philadelphia, including a 2-1 in the NCAA Tournament
• UVA has recorded 30 or more wins for the sixth time in school history
• Odom joins Terry Holland and Tony Bennett as head coaches to lead the Cavaliers to 30 or more wins in a season
• Odom’s 30 wins mark a career high as a head coach
• UVA’s 13 3-pointers mark an NCAA Tournament best (12 vs. Hampton, 2016)
• UVA has made 10 of more 3-pointers in a school-record 21 games, surpassing the 13 games by the 2018-19 national champion team
• UVA made nine consecutive 3-pointers after starting 3 of 11
• UVA used a 9-0 run to gain a 67-61 lead
• Wright State answered with a 9-0 run to regain a 70-67 lead
• UVA trailed at the half (43-38) for the seventh time this season (4-3)
• UVA has scored 80 or more points in 20 games (most since 21 in 2000-01)
• UVA won the rebound battle 39-24

All-Time in the NCAA Tournament

• The Cavaliers are 36-25 all-time in 27 NCAA Tournament appearances
• UVA is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance under first-year head coach Ryan Odom
• UVA earned its first No. 3 seed for the NCAA Tournament
• UVA won the NCAA championship in 2019 and also made Final Four appearances in 1981 and 1984
• Odom is 4-4 in five NCAA tournaments as a head coach (2-1 at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne, 1-1 at UMBC, 0-1 at Utah State, 0-1 at VCU and 1-0 at UVA)

Series Notes

• Virginia and Wright State met for the first time

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Jacari White (26), Sam Lewis (12), Malik Thomas (11), Thijs De Ridder (10)
• White had a season-high 26 points
• White tied a Virginia NCAA Tournament record with six 3-pointers (London Perrantes 6 vs. Syracuse, 2016)
• White recorded his second 20-point game (16 career)
• White has reached double figures in 13 games (64 career)
• UVA is 12-1 when White scores in double figures
• White (6 3-pointers) has multiple 3-pointers in 18 games
• White is the first Virginia player to make three 3-pointers off the bench in an NCAA Tournament game since Marial Shayok (3 vs. UNCW 2017)
• White was the first player to come off the bench and record 26-plus points and 83.0 percent FG% or higher in the same NCAA Tournament game since Middle Tennessee’s Mike Buck did so in 1989 against Florida State
• White is the first ACC player to make 5-plus threes off the bench in an NCAA Tournament game since Duke’s Grayson Allen made five against Troy on March 17, 2017
• Thomas has reached double figures in 25 games (80 career)
• Thomas (3 3-pointers) has multiple 3-pointers in 18 games
• Lewis has reached double figures in 21 games (54 career)
• Lewis (2 3-pointers) has multiple 3-pointers in 16 games
• De Ridder has reached double figures in 27 games
• Johann Grünloh (3 blocks) has multiple blocks in 20 games
• This is 27th time this season that Grünloh and Ugonna Onyenso (2 blocks) have recorded a block in the same game, most in a season by any ACC duo since Clemson’s K.J. McDaniels and Landry Nnoko in 2013-14 (28)
• Onyenso (2 blocks) has multiple blocks in 24 games
• UVA started Dallin Hall, De Ridder, Grünloh, Lewis and Thomas for the 34th game

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers will face No. 6 seed Tennessee on Sunday in the Round of 32 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philly (tipoff time, TV coverage to be determined).

Click here for full tournament results and schedule, including TV broadcast info and updated bracket.

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!