By Jerry Ratcliffe
After Virginia rolled to its third consecutive, double-digit ACC win on Saturday with a 70-55 dismantling of visiting Stanford, Ryan Odom could have gone in myriad directions on what fueled his No. 23-ranked team, but he focused on one thing: defense.
The Cavaliers (14-2, 3-1) handcuffed The Cardinal (13-4, 2-2), limiting Stanford’s shooting to a mere 32 percent (18 for 56) and 19 percent from the 3-point arc (5 of 26), essentially shut down the Californians’ top offensive threat, Ebuka Okorie, and used a fullcourt press to take the visitors out of their offense.
“They picked us up for a full 94 feet and we couldn’t make them pay as far as just breaking that pressure,” said Stanford coach Kyle Smith. “They caught us so flat with (Chance) Mallory and (Malik) Thomas and the rest. It wasn’t like run-and-jump, but more like ‘you’re going to earn’ to get it across half court. It takes you out of your start of your offense. They were just relentless that way.”
Virginia converted 13 Stanford turnovers into 16 points and forced six shot-clock violations.
The Cavaliers, alternating defenders on Okorie, who scored 31 points in Stanford’s win over Virginia Tech on Wednesday, held him to 14 points and a 5-for-20 shooting performance (0 for 6 from the arc). The talented guard left the game with more than seven minutes remaining and didn’t return.
“I think Ebuka just ran out of gas,” Smith said. “We’re probably a little too dependent on him and especially when [Virginia] throws (Dallin) Hall, a veteran guard at him and Malik Thomas, and then bring Mallory. That was the key cover of the game.”
Virginia maintained a lead over Stanford for most of the first half before the Cardinal took advantage of an Okorie scoring burst around the seven-minute mark and cut the Cavaliers’ advantage to 26-24. It was 31-30 with 3:29 left, but Odom stressed to his team that it needed to finish the half strong with 2:56 to go.
His team got the message and delivered with a 7-2 reply for a 41-34 lead at the break. Five of those points came from Mallory on a 3-pointer and a drive to the hoop resulting in two free throws. Thijs De Ridder added the other bucket on a bullish drive to the basket.
Odom pointed out that during UVA’s three-game win streak, his team has been effective closing out the first half and starting the second half strong.
“During that [clock stoppage] we talked about just putting our arms around the game and end this half … let’s try to win the end of this half,” Odom said. “Every time the guys come over at a timeout, we remind them, ‘OK, we won that one by two points, or we won that one by three points.’ Maybe it doesn’t feel great. It wasn’t a 10-point run, but those add up. This team understands the importance of playing every possession like it’s your last.”
The Cavaliers bolted out the second half like a rocket with a 15-2 run, shutting out Stanford for 8 minutes while ballooning their lead to 60-39.
Game, set, match.
Sam Lewis delivered back-to-back 3-pointers during the surge and De Ridder added three drives resulting in six of his game-high 22 points.
“I thought we did a pretty good job on him and he still got 22,” Smith said. “He’s just one of those guys. He’s a bear.”
It was De Ridder’s eighth 20-point game (13th time in double figures) as he punished the Cardinal inside, making 8 of 11 field-goal attempts, 1 for 2 from the arc and all 5 free-throw attempts.
“He was awesome,” Odom said of the Belgian freshman. “He took what the defense gave him. When he starts driving to the basket, he’s athletic, he’s strong, he’s physical. It’s got to be hard for an opponent to guard that.”
Mallory finished with 13 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, no turnovers in 26 minutes. Thomas had 11 points and a team-high 7 rebounds. UVA, third in the nation in blocked shots per game, posted 7 from its two 7-footers, who Odom has called a two-headed monster. Ugonna Onyenso had 5 blocks and Johann Grünloh added 2.
Virginia travels to Louisville on Tuesday and to SMU next Saturday. The Cavaliers don’t return to JPJ until Jan. 24 when they host North Carolina.
Team Notes
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
- Virginia improved to 14-2, 3-1 ACC
- Virginia is 10-0 at home and has an 11-game win streak at JPJ
- UVA has won 10 or more games in each of the last 17 seasons
- UVA held Stanford without a field goal for 7:59 of the second half (0 for 14)
- UVA won the rebound battle 37-33
- UVA led 41-34 at halftime, improving to 14-1 when leading at the half
- UVA forced six shot clock violations (4 in the first half)
- UVA recognized its 1994-95 NCAA Elite Eight team during the first half
Series Notes
- Virginia ended its seven-game losing streak vs. Stanford
- UVA is 2-8 all-time (1-1 ACC) vs. the Cardinal in a series that dates to 1991-92
- Virginia is 2-3 vs. the Cardinal in Charlottesville
Player Notes
- Double Figure Scorers: Thijs De Ridder (22), Chance Mallory (13), Malik Thomas (11)
- De Ridder netted his eighth 20-point game
- De Ridder reached double figures for the 13th time
- Mallory reached double figures for the 11th time
- Thomas reached double figures for the 11th time (66th career)
- Grünloh (2 blocks) has 11 multi-block games
- Onyenso (5 blocks) has nine multi-block games
- Dallin Hall had a team-high six assists
- UVA started Hall, De Ridder, Grünloh, Thomas and Sam Lewis for the 15th time
- Jacari White missed his fifth consecutive game with a wrist injury
