Virginia closed its preseason with a loud statement Thursday night, rolling past Villanova 93-71 on the road and giving Ryan Odom another reminder of just how much firepower this roster can bring. The Cavaliers, ranked No. 9, have now averaged 87 points per game across three exhibition contests, and the offense again looked the part.
The shot-making was the headline. Virginia hit 50% from the field and 44.7% from three, numbers that get even better if you take away Johann Grunloh’s 0-for-6 night.
With that removed, the Cavaliers would have finished at 53.2% overall. Thijs De Ridder went 2-for-3 from deep, and Nolan Adekunle added a 3-for-6 mark, a good sign for the spacing around this group.
De Ridder paced Virginia with 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting. Chance Mallory followed with 15, Sam Lewis scored 13, and Adekunle finished with 11.
But the clearest breakout performance came from the one remaining link to the Tony Bennett era. Gertrude delivered another preseason gem, scoring 16 points while knocking down 5 of 6 shots from three.
He also added five steals and four rebounds, and he looked every bit like a player who has earned a real role. Once buried near the end of the bench, he’s now showing up as a two-way weapon and a strong candidate to be the team’s sixth man.
Even if he ends up a little lower in the rotation than that, Gertrude has clearly done enough to deserve steady minutes. He looks like a real X-factor for this team.
Not everything clicked. Grunloh and Favour Ibe both had rough nights.
Grunloh scored four points on 1-for-8 shooting, grabbed two rebounds, and picked up four fouls without recording a block or steal. Ibe finished with no points, one rebound and one foul in nine minutes.
Villanova forward Devin Royal was a problem inside, scoring 21 points on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting night. That stood out because in his previous game against Virginia, when he was at Ohio State, he went 2-for-12. Agile, slashing forwards may end up being a defensive issue for the Cavaliers.
Odom also mixed in smaller lineups, including one with De Ridder at center. That will be worth watching because Virginia may need more from Grunloh, Ibe and Kalu Anya on the defensive end and around the rim.
If those pieces don’t give the Cavaliers enough defense and efficiency, small-ball could become the default. That might be fine against some opponents, but it could be a problem against physical ACC teams, especially if De Ridder runs into foul trouble.
The starting lineup appears set: Mallory, Lewis, Adekunle, De Ridder and Grunloh. Ibe, Gertrude, Jurian Dixon, Jan Vide, Christian Harmon and Anya also look locked in. Martin Carrerre and Silas Barksdale remain players who could still contribute if given the opportunity.
Depth is clearly one of Virginia’s biggest strengths, but there are only so many minutes to go around. Barksdale logged just three, while Carrere played 10. Odom will keep sorting through combinations, trying to find the most productive lineups as the regular season opens and the evaluation continues.
In Other News...
Virginias Final Tune Up Brought A Big Reason For Optimism
Virginias last preseason test offered a useful glimpse of what Ryan Odom has to work with before the real games begin. On the road at Finneran Pavilion, the Cavaliers handled Villanova with enough balance and pace to leave little doubt that this roster has more than one way to score, and the exhibition ended with five Virginia players reaching double figures.
Thijs De Ridder and Chance Mallory were at the center of that balanced effort, giving the Cavaliers a pair of prominent options as Odom heads into his first ACC Tournament game on Thursday. For a team still settling into a new era, the performance was the kind of finish to preseason that can make the first competitive stretch feel a little less daunting. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Enters Pivotal Duke Game With A Defense Under Pressure
Virginias next home game arrives with a little extra weight on it, because both the Cavaliers and Duke are trying to avoid a third conference loss. For Virginia, the bigger concern is on defense, where injuries have thinned the lineup and taken away some of the stability the unit needs heading into a matchup like this. Matthew Fobbs-White figures to be one of the key figures in the front seven, especially if Virginia is going to create problems for Duke quarterback Walker Eget.
The challenge gets sharper when the Blue Devils bring a versatile threat like Nate Sheppard, who can hurt a defense on the ground and in the passing game. Virginia does not need a perfect performance to stay in the game, but it does need a sturdier one than it has been able to put together lately, and the absence of several starters makes that a tougher ask. In a meeting with conference standing implications, how the Cavaliers hold up physically may end up mattering as much as anything they do schematically. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Found A Late Spark At The Perfect Time
Virginia finally found some life late at Klckner Stadium, and it came just when a result looked ready to slip away. Clemson had taken a first-half lead through Reagan Thompson in the 44th minute, but Virginia kept pressing into the closing minutes and steadied itself after a better second-half effort that head coach Steve Swanson pointed to afterward as a key reason the Cavaliers were able to stay in it.
Addison Halpern delivered the payoff, breaking through in the 90th minute to salvage a 1-1 draw and give Virginia a point it badly needed. It was her ninth goal of the season and Virginias first game-tying goal since 2021, a reminder that even in a difficult night, the Cavaliers still have the kind of late spark that can change the tone of a season. [Read more 🡒]