No. 9 Virginia didn’t exactly come out firing Friday, but once the Cavaliers found their rhythm, Northeastern had no answer. After a sluggish opening stretch, UVA rolled to a 97-72 win and improved to 2-0 on the season.
The first seven minutes were rough. Virginia opened 0-for-7 from beyond the arc and 2-for-10 overall before second-year center Johann Grunloh finally broke through with the team’s first three-pointer.
That shot flipped the tone in a hurry. From there, the Cavaliers caught fire from deep, going 6-for-7 in a stretch that helped them seize control, with transition execution also doing plenty of the work.
Even with that burst, Northeastern hung around in the first half and actually led for more than six minutes. Virginia went into halftime up seven, then turned the game into a different kind of contest after the break by attacking inside.
Second-year forward Thijs De Ridder was quiet early with just three points in the first half, but he came alive after halftime and finished with 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting. Fourth-year guard Sam Lewis followed a similar path. He had nine inefficient points before the break, then added 20 more in the second half, finishing 5-for-11 from the field and a perfect 8-for-8 at the line.
Virginia also kept leaning into full-court pressure after made baskets, something Odom clearly believes in because it can create turnovers, force timeouts, and at the very least make opponents start their offense with less time on the shot clock. But Northeastern found some early answers. The Huskies drew fouls when the pressure got too physical, and they also beat the press a few times by racing past it and getting layups or free throws before Virginia could set up.
The Cavaliers cleaned that up some as the game went on and did force a few mistakes, but Northeastern still managed to push the ball up the floor quickly at times and get rim looks early in possessions. With a tough November schedule ahead, Virginia’s defense after scoring is going to need to sharpen up if it wants to hold leads against stronger opponents.
Chance Mallory also gave Virginia a much better all-around performance than he did against Drexel. In that game, the second-year guard was disruptive defensively with four steals, but he struggled on offense with six turnovers and 2-for-7 shooting.
Friday was a different story. He looked far more in control, helped spark the Cavaliers’ comeback after the slow start, and finished with a career-high 20 points on 7-for-12 shooting.
He also added five assists against just one turnover.
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Virginia enters as the defending champion after snapping Virginia Techs long run in the series last time out, which only adds another layer to a rivalry that already rarely needs help. With both programs also looking ahead to their 2026 schedules, this one still stands out as the kind of date fans circle early, even before the rest of the season settles into place. [Read more 🡒]