Save for the first several minutes of the second half, the No. 21 Virginia Cavaliers dominated NC State on Saturday afternoon to pick up their first ACC win of the year, 76-61. Sam Lewis led all scorers with 23 points, 20 of which came in the first half as he alone matched NC State’s first-half output.
Virginia
Five Key Takeaways From Virginia’s 80-72 Win Over Maryland
Virginia picked up another key win on Saturday evening after a 56 point explosion in the second-half marked by stellar shooting from the perimeter. Virginia pulled away to a double-digit lead and hit its free throws late to put the game away. Let’s take a deeper look at some key takeaways in the victory for the Cavaliers.
1. Virginia shoots the lights out in the second half
After struggling in the first half and only making nine of its 33 field goals, Virginia found its groove in the second half. The Cavaliers went 21-33 and were scorching hot from three-point range. The Hoos went 6-11 from beyond the arc, and their best perimeter shooter Jacari White went 3-3 from the three-point line in the second half. How was Virginia able to find its groove? They were sharing the basketball and continuing to find the open man. Virginia had 13 assists on 21 made field goals. Maryland had no answers for the Virginia offense and struggled to slow them down after an impressive showing in the first half. The Hoos had two players who scored double figures in the second half.
2. Chance Mallory gets it done on defense
The young guard didn’t have a great game shooting the basketball, going just 2-9 from the field, but what makes him special is his ability to affect the game in other ways especially defensively. Mallory was a pest on the defensive side of the ball and came up with five steals in the game, which led the team. He also added a block on Saturday evening. To be a small guard, he guards the perimeter extremely well. In days like Saturday when your offense is not hitting on all cylinders and struggling to score, it is a luxury to have a defense you can lean on to get you going. The Hoos have a perimeter player who can lead the charge and help the offense get back in a rhythm.
3. Dallin Hall Ignites
Hall was a go-to player in the second half of the game for the Cavaliers. He finished with 20 points on 8-8 shooting. In the second half alone, he scored 18 points. Hall scored in multitude of ways by driving to the rim, hitting perimeter shots, catch and shoots, and creating offense for himself. He did a little bit of everything and was the main engine on offense for the Cavaliers, especially when their best players struggled to get it going. That is what makes Virginia so good; they have true depth on their roster, and anybody can get theirs. Tonight happened to be Hall’s night.
4. Virginia defense is a problem
As we mentioned earlier, a main part of the defensive effort was Mallory, but he didn’t do it alone. Virginia continued to apply ball pressure and make it tough for the Terrapins to bring the ball up the floor. That led to 19 turnovers by Maryland on Saturday evening. The Hoos turned those turnovers into 22 points. A stat that further brings home their performance is their 15 steals on the evening. Yes, you read that right: 15 steals. Virginia had three different players with at least three steals on Saturday. Mallory, Hall, and Jacari White. Their first-half defense was exceptionally good as they held Maryland to just five made field goals and 21% from the field. They also only made two threes and forced 10 turnovers. When Virginia is playing at that level defensively, they are tough to beat.
5. Virginia is a scary basketball team
They are ranked No.24 in the country for a reason, but the Cavaliers are one of the best teams in the country, and they continue to prove it each night on the floor. After a long break, the first half was rough for the Hoos, but they hung their hat on their defense, which came through in a major way. Then their offense came alive, and the game wasn’t even close. Virginia has one of the better offenses in the ACC, and they have hit 80+ points in 10 of the 11 games played this season. What makes that stat even better is that the scoring isn’t predicted on their best players like Thijs De Ridder, Johann Grunloh, or Chance Mallory. Anybody can be the leading scorer on any given night. In their win over Maryland Eastern, Sam Lewis was the leading scorer with 15 points. Tonight it was Dallin Hall with 20 points on a perfect 8-8 shooting. When you have the depth, defense, scoring prowess, and unselfishness that Virginia has, it makes the team a tough one to play against and stop. Virginia continues to send warning signs to college basketball about how legit they are. Don’t just look at the 10-1 record, but what they are doing in each game and how they play basketball together. This team is legit.
More Virginia Basketball News:
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•Virginia Men’s Basketball Ascends In Latest KenPom Rankings After Win vs Northwestern
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•Virginia Finishes Strong, Downs Northwestern
•Three Key Takeaways from Virginia’s Tight 83-78 Win Over Northwestern
FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. – Get the flu shot, wash your hands and stay home if you’re sick — that’s the message coming from Virginia’s Health Department as data shows flu cases soaring in northern Virginia.
Flu-related emergency room visits have tripled in just the last couple of weeks.
Pharmacies including this one are also reportedly seeing more patients coming in for the flu, with more severe symptoms.
By the numbers:
According to new data, 30% of Virginia residents received flu shots this year, despite doctors saying it’s one of the best ways to protect against the illness.
“I’m seeing an increase in the number of people who are coming here for medication and severity as well,” said Janice Granmayeh, who works at a pharmacy in McLean. “Peak season in our area is usually January, February, March.”
The Virginia Department of Health says flu diagnoses at emergency room visits tripled the last two weeks of December.
“I’m a firm believer in the vaccine. I’ve been vaccinated. All I can say is do your best to stay healthy,” Manassas resident Michael Spratley told FOX 5.
We’re told flu cases across all of Virginia are increasing based on two reporting periods — one ending Dec. 13 and another ending being Dec. 27.
During this second reporting period, there were 1,800 reported flu cases compared to just shy of 100 COVID cases.
What they’re saying:
Health officials say while a spike in flu during the holidays is normal, it’s the extreme spike that’s raising concerns.
“The first thing is vaccination. Vaccination is still very effective even with the news,” said Dr. David Rose with the Alexandria Health Department.
It’s not too late to get the flu shot and doctors and pharmacists are encouraging people to do so.
A 40-20 halftime lead gave the Cavaliers the cushion they needed to handle a big NC State run to begin the second half. The ’Hoos allowed the lead to slip to just nine points, but they responded with a run of their own that restored the lead to 22 points. The Wolfpack were unable to respond again, and the Cavaliers cruised to victory down the stretch.
From the first ACC win of the year, here are five takeaways:
This was a much-needed win for Virginia.
The Cavaliers were on the road again for their second straight game to begin ACC play. After an underwhelming performance in Blacksburg on Wednesday resulted in a triple overtime loss, getting a win in Raleigh was a must. Doing so in a largely dominant fashion was the cherry on top.
The Cavaliers jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead and looked to be headed for a comfortable win. The Wolfpack responded with a 15-4 run to begin the second half, far from what Ryan Odom would have liked to see from his team. However, the ‘Hoos promptly responded with a 20-6 run that restored the 20-point lead.
Thijs De Ridder was the catalyst in that stretch, scoring a few tough buckets in the paint and drilling a three-pointer. The Belgian big man totaled 12 points and six rebounds in the second half.
Sam Lewis bounced back from a poor shooting performance vs. Virginia Tech.
For the first time all season, Ryan Odom started Devin Tillis over Sam Lewis against the Hokies on Wednesday. Neither player shot the ball well – Tillis went 3-of-12 from the floor, Lewis was 0-for-5 – and the Cavaliers suffered a triple overtime loss to their rival.
Odom went back to the lineup he’s used most of the year, starting Lewis against NC State. The move paid off as Lewis caught fire in the first half, scoring 20 points to match NC State’s team total in the first half. The Toledo transfer scored the first six points of the game and 12 of Virginia’s first 15 points. He drilled 4-of-5 from three in the first half alone.
Lewis finished the game with 23 points on 8-of-12 from the field and 5-of-9 from three.
Quick ball movement remains the key to UVA’s offensive success.
Duh, every basketball coach at every level will tell you that. But the quick ball movement Virginia operated with extensively in the first half proved as much, causing the NC State defense major problems. The ‘Hoos were getting open looks from the outside, both by whipping the ball around the perimeter and from kicking it out on drives into the paint. NC State couldn’t keep up.
The offense went a little stagnant to start the second half, and the Wolfpack took advantage, cutting Virginia’s lead to nine points. When the Cavaliers got back to quick passing and stopped getting stuck with one guy dribbling too much, they went on a big run of their own, regained their 20-plus point lead, and allowed the home crowd to leave early to beat the traffic.
Virginia’s defense was stout.
The 61 points scored by NC State in this game were the fewest scored by the Wolfpack this season. The Cavaliers held them to just 20 points and three assists in the first half, while the Wolfpack turned it over seven times.
Will Wade’s group found more success in the second half, scoring 41 points after the break, but it was still far from enough. The Wolfpack offense would have benefited from more of the quick ball movement that the Virginia offense utilized so effectively. Instead, UVA held NC State to only seven assists in the game and a lowly 36.0% from the field and 25.0% from three-point range.
Virginia returns home without needing to hit the panic button.
The Cavaliers sorely missed Jacari White in the loss against Virginia Tech on Wednesday, but his absence was far less noticeable against NC State. Virginia shot 50.0% from the field and 39.4% from three while recording 14 assists. For comparison, against the Hokies, Virginia shot 36.0% from the field and 22.2% from three and notched only 15 assists in the triple overtime affair.
The Cavaliers certainly would like to get White back as soon as possible, but Saturday afternoon’s performance proved it isn’t time to panic about this team’s ability to shoot well against ACC opponents without the spark White has provided off the bench.
Virginia can now return home with renewed confidence for a pair of tough games against California and Stanford ahead of a big road game at No. 16 Louisville. Notably, Cal defeated then-No. 18 UCLA earlier in the year, while Stanford knocked off Louisville on Friday in Palo Alto.
Virginia
This Virginia mom ‘had to do something’ after her teen son’s sudden death: ‘There are no do-overs’
NEW KENT COUNTY, Va. — A Virginia mother who lost her 16-year-old son in a car crash six years ago is using her tragedy to advocate for safer roads during what experts say is one of the most dangerous driving periods of the year.
Tammy Gweedo McGee will never forget the phone call she received when her son, Connor, was killed by an unlicensed underage driver leaving a homecoming dance.
“I don’t want another mother to be me,” McGee said. “It’s heartbreaking every day to relive the death of your son.”
According to the National Road Safety Foundation, the end of the year leading up to New Year’s is one of the most dangerous times on roadways and highways, with a spike in crashes. While crash statistics are on the rise in Virginia, McGee has made it her mission to fight for change in honor of her son to make roadways safer.
“For me, it was lay down and die or stand up and fight. For me, I only had two choices: I had to do something,” McGee said.
WTVR
I’ve been following McGee’s story for years, but she recently showed me her safe haven — a corner tucked away in her home filled with pictures of Connor, his soccer jerseys and high school memories. Memories McGee says will forever live on.
“He was just so full of life,” McGee said.
A life taken too soon led McGee to start the Gweedo Memorial Foundation, where she travels to speak to teens and adults about staying safe behind the wheel. She’s successfully lobbied for legislative changes in this year’s General Assembly session, inspired by Connor. She says she plans to advocate for more changes so this doesn’t happen to someone else’s child.
“One of the most important things to realize is there are no do-overs in driving,” McGee said. “You don’t get to say, ‘Sorry, I killed your son.’ You don’t get to say, ‘I was just picking up the phone to check my texts, I didn’t mean to.’”
It’s a reminder this holiday season to have fun, but most importantly, be responsible.
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