Virginia (8-5, 1-1 ACC) earned its first ACC win of the season with a 70-67 victory over NC State (8-5, 1-1 ACC) in an ACC matchup on New Year’s Eve at John Paul Jones Arena. See a full play-by-play and live analysis for the game in the thread below.

Read five takeaways from Virginia’s win over NC State here: Five Takeaways From Virginia’s 70-67 Win Over NC State

Virginia nearly turns the ball over, but UVA manages to retain possession as an NC State player was out of bounds when he was fighting for the ball. That allows five seconds to drain off the clock and then UVA gets the ball inbounds to Elijah Saunders, who is fouled with 3.9 seconds left. Saunders misses the front end of the one-and-one, but O’Connell’s half-court prayer falls well short and Virginia hangs on to win 70-67. UVA erases a 14-point deficit and earns a huge ACC win.

NC State 67. Virginia 70 | FINAL

Marcus Hill scores a layup off the glass to get NC State back within three. UVA calls a timeout with 10.9 on the clock.

NC State 67, Virginia 70 | 10.9 2H

McKneely misses a deep three and O’Connell drives in transition, drawing a foul on Sharma and making 1/2 free throws to make it a five-point game. Both teams come up empty on their next couple of possessions and then Murray is called for a foul while trying to box out. Marcus Hill goes to the line for a one-and-one and makes both free throws to make it 68-65 with a little over a minute remaining. Rohde’s long drive ends in a missed shot and NC State gets a chance to tie it. Jayden Taylor gets a good look but misses his shot off the glass and Saunders secures the rebound and is fouled with 15 seconds remaining. Saunders goes to the line for a one-and-one and makes both to make it 70-65.

NC State 65, Virginia 70 | 15.4 2H

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield hits a short jumper to end UVA’s 8-0 run. Elijah Saunders gets a good look from the corner and knocks down the three, Virginia’s sixth triple of the second half. Buchanan is called for his fourth foul and then Huntley-Hatfield scores off the glass. UVA has had trouble defending him all game. Andrew Rohde does a good job moving off ball and Saunders finds him for an open three. Hoos lead by 10. Styles is fouled by Saunders, but he misses both free throws, which causes another loud cheer from the crowd at JPJ. McKneely finds Buchanan cruising down the lane and Buchanan gets the short push shot to fall. Michael O’Connell gets multiple wide-open looks from the corner and he makes the second one. Rohde drives inside and draws a foul on Huntley-Hatfield, making 1/2 free throws. Marcus Hill grabs an offensive rebound and lays it in. Parker misses a layup, but Huntley-Hatfield is there for the putback to get NC State back within six points.

NC State 62, Virginia 68 | 2:20 2H

Styles is fouled by Saunders and makes 1/2 free throws. Rohde finds an open Ishan Sharma on the left wing and the freshman drills the three-pointer. Virginia gets a couple of stops and then Rohde passes to Cofie, who spins past his man for a reverse layup. Isaac McKneely is left wide-open and he has time to dribble to the three-point line and splash his fourth three of the game. Virginia has its largest lead of the game at 59-51 and Kevin Keatts calls another timeout.

NC State 51, Virginia 59 | 8:01 2H

Saunders makes both free throws. Cofie blocks Huntley-Hatfield and then Isaac McKneely gets a very friendly JPJ roll on a three-pointer to get the Hoos back within five. NC State turns it over and then Taine Murray slashes from the corner and scores in the paint. Virginia gets another stop on defense and this place is about as loud as it’s been all season. Murray drives baseline and finds Rohde, who quickly pulls the trigger and buries the corner three. It’s a 10-0 run for Virginia and a 17-3 run over the last five and a half minutes to tie the game at 46-46. Breon Pass hits an incredibly tough jumper from the baseline to end the UVA run. Rohde posts up O’Connell and gets into the paint before getting a flip shot to fall with a smooth touch. UVA turns the ball over in transition and NC State scores on the other end as Marcus Hill scores over Buchanan. McKneely hits a deep three-pointer to give the Cavaliers the lead. Kevin Keatts calls timeout.

NC State 50, Virginia 51 | 11:06 2H

NC State gets multiple offensive rebounds and eventually Jayden Taylor knocks down the three-pointer. That’s a back breaker for the Cavaliers. UVA goes back to the hot hand with Saunders, who draws a foul in the post on Styles. He’ll shoot two free throws after the media timeout.

NC State 46, Virginia 36 | 15:59 2H

The second half starts just as the first half did, with Dontrez Styles driving to the basket for a layup. Marcus Hill hits a jumper to stretch the Wolfpack lead to 14 points. Elijah Saunders scores inside plus a foul on Styles to get the Hoos on the board in the second half. Rohde throws a great pass to a cutting Saunders, who draws a foul on Taylor and makes both free throws. Saunders gets deep post positioning on O’Connell and Rohde gets him the ball for an easy layup. It’s a personal 7-0 run for Elijah Saunders to get the Cavaliers back within seven points. Timeout Kevin Keatts.

NC State 43, Virginia 36 | 17:02 2H

Taine Murray drives baseline and whips a beautiful pass out to McKneely, who swishes the open three. That got a big response from the crowd at JPJ. Buchanan is called for a foul on Huntley-Hatfield, who again makes both free throws. On top of their six threes, the Wolfpack are also 6/6 from the charity stripe. Cofie picks up his second foul, so Anthony Robinson checks into the game for the first time. Jayden Taylor drives to the basket in transition and scores plus a foul on Robinson. Murray’s three rattles out at the buzzer and UVA goes into the halftime break trailing by 10 points.

NC State 39, Virginia 29 | Halftime

Jacob Cofie makes nice defensive plays on consecutive possessions, blocking a shot from Marcus Hill and then coming up with a steal. Saunders drives past his man and gets to the rim for a lefty layup. Virginia turns it over and Taylor finds Styles for an easy layup. Taylor gets a wide-open look from three and buries it for NC State’s six triple of the game; the Wolfpack average 5.8 made threes per game… Ishan Sharma answers with a three on the other end off the extra pass from Rohde. That was Virginia’s first made three of the game.

NC State 34, Virginia 26 | 3:33 1H

Virginia breaks the press and Taine Murray’s layup rolls off the rim, but TJ Power is there for the tip-in putback. Pass takes a three from the right wing and knocks it down; that’s the fourth three-pointer of the game for the Wolfpack and that’s not supposed to be one of their strengths. Rohde throws a cross-court pass to Murray, who pump fakes out of a three and splashes a mid-range jumper. Dennis Parker Jr. slashes to the paint and hits a lefty floater. Rohde uses a spin move to get by O’Connell for a layup. Trey Parker knocks down a three-pointer, NC State’s fifth triple of the first half. Murray fouls Taylor in transition and he makes both free throws. Saunders outhustles NC State to keep an offensive rebound alive and scores the second-chance layup. Virginia is executing well on the offensive end; NC State has just been too good shooting from the perimeter.

NC State 29, Virginia 21 | 7:06 1H

Blake Buchanan checks into the game and is immediately called for a foul on Huntley-Hatfield, who makes both free throws. Saunders hits a fadeaway jumper from the baseline late in the shot clock. Buchanan is fouled and makes 1/2 free throws. Michael O’Connell gets a three-pointer to rattle home. Breon Pass gets a clean look from three in transition and knocks it down. Ismael Diouf gets free rolling to the basket for an easy layup. It’s an 8-0 run for NC State to take a 19-13 lead. Timeout Ron Sanchez.

NC State 19, Virginia 13 | 11:16 1H

NC State wins the opening tipoff and scores right away as Dontrez Styles cuts to the basket for an easy layup. Jacob Cofie rolls free to the basket and Elijah Saunders finds him for the layup. Dai Dai Ames drives baseline and stops on a dime under the basket to shed Michael O’Connell for a layup. Virginia plays a good possession of defense but Marcus Hill knocks down a contested mid-range jumper at the buzzer. Isaac McKneely answers with a fadeaway jumper. Jayden Taylor hits a corner three. Brandon Huntley-Hatfield backs down Saunders and hits a jump hook in the paint. Cofie backs down Huntley-Hatfield and gets around him for a layup. UVA gets a stop and then Andrew Rohde finds Saunders for a transition bucket. Both teams are shooting well from the floor to start this game.

NC State 9, Virginia 10 | 14:55 1H

The starting lineups have been posted for both teams.
NC State: Dontrez Styles, Jayden Taylor, Marcus Hill, Michael O’Connell, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield
Virginia: Andrew Rohde, Dai Dai Ames, Isaac McKneely, Elijah Saunders, Jacob Cofie

As we await our 12pm ET tipoff on ESPN2 for Virginia vs. NC State, read a full preview of the game here: Virginia Basketball vs. NC State Preview, Score Prediction

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West Virginia made a major commitment at defensive coordinator by adding Zac Alley.

Alley had been serving as the co-defensive coordinator and play caller for the Sooners and has ties to Rich Rodriguez after spending two years as his defensive coordinator at Jacksonville State in 2022-23 and then previously working with him at Louisiana Monroe in 2021.

“Zac is one of the top young defensive coordinators in the country and has proven his ability to lead and be an innovator at different stops during his career,” Rodriguez said. “I have worked with him several seasons, and he constantly impresses me with his ability to blend schemes with his personnel and develop winning results.”

At Oklahoma in 2024, Alley helped lead the Sooners’ defense to a No. 3 ranking in defensive touchdowns, No. 5 in fumbles recovered, No. 10 in team tackles for loss, No. 11 in first-down defense, No. 19 in total defense, No. 23 in rushing defense, No. 25 in sacks and No. 30 in scoring defense.

Alley coordinated a 2023 Jacksonville State defensive unit that ranked 33rd out of 133 teams in scoring defense (21.2 points per game) and 43rd in total defense (352.8 yards per game). The unit also ranked fourth in the country in 2023 in opponent yards per rush (2.8), eighth in tackles for loss yardage (414), ninth in turnovers gained (25), 10th in interceptions (16), 12th in opponent yards per play (4.8), 13th in sacks per game (2.9) and 15th in rushing defense (111.5 ypg).

The 2022 unit also was stingy as it played a key role in helping to lead Jacksonville State to 9-2.

Rodriguez made it clear that outside of a really good coordinator he wanted one that met some clear requirements in his introductory press conference.

“Other than that, I want us to be really, really aggressive and I want to force the issue on the other team,” Rodriguez said.

Alley certainly checks both those boxes.

Alley’s defenses have been known not to play it safe and he keeps offenses off balance with shifting formations while dialing up pressure from unexpected places per OUInsider.com, the Oklahoma Rivals site.

The unit was described as “all gas and no brakes.”

According to Pro Football Focus, Alley’s defense blitzed on 169 of 412 passing downs against the opponent’s starting quarterbacks which was 41-percent of the time.

His defensive units have been known for their adaptability to the personnel as well as plenty of pre-snap movement and creative pressures to force the action. At Jacksonville State, Alley used a lot of odd-stack configurations and mixed in some four-down looks while at Oklahoma used a four-man front and sometimes elected to go with three-down linemen for a different look.

Essentially the model that Alley has used has boiled down to being fast, physical and aggressive which is what Rodriguez sought to find when he began the search.

West Virginia wanted to invest in its future defense and securing Alley is a major start in that department for a lot of different reasons.

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