Virginia
The Good, Bad and Ugly From Virginia’s Dominant Win Over California
The Virginia Cavaliers clinched yet another conference win last night, this time against California. Overall, this has been a remarkable season for the Cavaliers thus far, with few hiccups along the way. Their latest victory came with a stunning 84-60 finish, but as the story goes, there are still areas that need attention. With that, let’s take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly of last night’s meeting.
The Good
The Cavaliers are undoubtedly more consistent on offense — they’ve encountered quite a few challenges defensively. However, last night appeared to be a bit of a turning point, said cautiously. The Golden Bears’ efforts with the ball were met with great resistance from UVA. Malik Thomas, in particular, has made strides on both sides of the ball, but his defensive improvements have been noteworthy. As head coach Ryan Odom stated during his postgame press conference:
“… I thought our guys did a nice job. The discipline was there for the majority of the night. They did get us on occasion, not on occasion, probably too many times at the end of drives with shot fakes, but for the most part, in that first 10 minutes of the second half, we were able to stop them in and around the rim and stay down. And they were kind of left with some really hard shots there, which allowed us to get out in transition. I thought our press was pretty good. Even though we didn’t get a lot of turnovers or anything like that, I thought our press, you know, was effective.”
The Bad
Although Virginia wrapped up the matchup with a 24-point lead, there were moments throughout the night in which leads were swapped between programs in the first quarter. Once the second half rolled around, the Golden Bears were unable to catch up. However, the brief moments that they did control the scoreboard could have cost UVA the game, and ultimately, another loss in the ACC.
“I’m not worried about the margin,” said Odom. “It’s more about how we’re playing. And I thought our guys played well tonight, you know, defensively, we’re trying to make strides. We’re trying to get better. The guys are focused on that. Offensively, we can’t lose that, you know, ability to really share the ball and put pressure on our opponents. And I think we’re improving.”
The Ugly
Much of the back-and-forth lead during the first quarter was due to Cal’s pressure. Their defense stayed on top of UVA, which ruffled some of the Cavaliers’ feathers on the court, forcing some turnovers along the way.
Odom described this situation by stating, “Cal was really bothering us with their defense, their aggressiveness, and stepping out and pick and roll, even though we didn’t have a ton of turnovers in that first half. We had five. There were still some bobbled balls. The ball was loose and a little bit too loose for us. And their pressure had a lot to do with that. The end of the half was really important for us, the execution on defense and offense to give us a little bit of a cushion there going into halftime.”
Virginia certainly encountered some difficulty last night, but it wasn’t anything they couldn’t successfully navigate. Now, the Cavaliers are gearing up for their upcoming matchup against Stanford on Jan. 10 at John Paul Jones Arena. Will UVA capitalize on its opportunity to extend its ACC record to 3-1?
More Virginia Basketball News:
(WSET) — Virginia State Police has issued a senior alert on behalf of the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday.
According to VSP, the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office is looking for Gregory Dale Jordan.
VSP describes Jordan as white, sex: male, age: 63 years old, height: 6’0”, weight: 210 lbs., with green eyes and white hair.
According to VSP, Jordan was last seen on Wednesday on Sunburst Road in Campbell County. His clothing description is unknown. He has a long white beard. He is believed to be on foot.
SEE ALSO: Bullet found in stray dog’s neck during surgery at Lynchburg Humane Society
The missing senior suffers from a cognitive impairment, and the disappearance poses a credible threat to their health and safety, as determined by the investigating agency, VSP said.
You’re asked to contact the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office [24/7 dispatch] with any information regarding their whereabouts at (434) 332-9574, VSP said.
Virginia
West Virginia commit announces decision by blasting ‘Country Roads,’ lighting a couch on fire
A big moment in any student-athlete’s career is announcing what school they’re committing to, and I don’t think you’re going to find an announcement better than one we’ve got coming from one of the newest West Virginia Mountaineers.
What’s that smell? It… it smells like a couch burning to the sounds of the Mountaineers’ beloved John Denver “Take Me Home, Country Roads.”
You bet your sweet a– that’s what it is.
There’s a growing chance that any recruit who lights a couch on fire is going to end up wearing one of these. (Photo by Kevin Abele/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Ethan Lawson is a 6’6″, 300-lb offensive lineman and part of the 2027 recruiting class.
THE 2007 MOUNTAINEERS REMAIN COLLEGE FOOTBALL’S GREATEST ‘WHAT-IF’ STORY NEARLY TWO DECADES LATER
According to Sport Illustrated he has fielded offers from a bunch of programs including Appalachian State, Liberty, Air Force, Army, Navy, Duke, Wake Forest, UConn and more.
But, they all missed out because Lawson posted his decision on X, and well… I think he was always West Virginia material.
Bobcat Goldthwait was burning couches on camera before it was cool.
But, alright, there’s no doubt about it: someone is about to sell some jerseys.
ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!
And if there’s not a furniture store in Morgantown that brings in Lawson and fellow offensive line recruit Kevin Brown (who also lit a couch on fire because that’s becoming a thing) for an ad, then… then, well, I don’t know what, but it would be quite the missed opportunity.
It’s early, but Rich Rodriguez’s West Virginia Mountaineers lead college football in recruits burning couches. (Ben Queen-Imagn Images)
Hey, like it or not, sometimes in the age of NIL it can be a popularity contest. If fans like you, it could mean greater visibility and more lucrative deals. Perhaps that was the mission here, and we all know it worked.
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I refuse to believe any Mountaineers fans saw that video, heard the song and then didn’t reflexively raise a beer (even if they didn’t realize they were drinking one and say, “Hell yeah, brother.”)
We’ll see if the sort of thing translates onto the field, but even if it doesn’t, I feel like there’s money to be made making appearances and lighting furniture on fire at frat parties.
BRISTOL, Va. (WCYB) — Crews put out a house fire in Bristol, Virginia, on Wednesday morning, according to officials.
The Bristol, Virginia Fire Department was dispatched at 3:09 a.m. for the fire in the 900 block of Vermont Avenue. The house was unoccupied at the time fire crews arrived on the scene.
Firefighters encountered heavy smoke and flames in the front of the house. They were able to quickly extinguish the fire under challenging conditions. The fire scene remains active and an investigation is underway. No injuries have been reported.
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