“I can definitely say that I think I left the jersey in a better place. I think we did as a team,” Tillis said.
“Whenever Dallin talks, we listen to him,” senior center Ugonna Onyenso said. “He brings a different kind of energy to the game.”
“They chose Virginia for all the right reasons,” Odom said postgame. “A lot to be proud of, and it wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for those five guys that made the choice … They all, in their own way, have impacted this place and made the most of their time here.”
“If you're a U.Va. fan, with one of [Virginia Tech’s] best teams in years, [it's] ‘We can deal the crippling blow that knocks them out,’ ‘We can be the ones to put an end to the Virginia Tech March Madness hopes,’” Hughes said.
“It's a huge accomplishment,” Odom said. “You think back to June, nobody outside of the locker room thought we had a chance to finish second, and probably at that point, nobody inside the locker room knew if we had a chance, you know, to do something that special.”
No. 1 Duke dismantled the Cavaliers winning aspirations with clinical efficiency, rolling to a victory that never once saw Virginia hold a lead. On a day that could have solidified the Cavaliers’ newfound identity, Cameron Indoor Arena and the Blue Devils found a way to ensure that Virginia did everything but.
“Naturally, you're going to take punches,” Odom said. “This is a competitive sport and we punch people [and] they punch us. They punched us a lot more than we punched them today. And that's what it is. And so you’ve got to cover yourself, you’ve got to make sure you're not getting hit as much, and you move on to the next thing.”
“We're just going to do what we always do, and that's get ready for the next one,” Odom said after the NC State win.
The gesture highlighted not only Bennett’s profound impact on Virginia, but also the influence he continues to have on Odom, the current team and the roster as they strive to push the program back to where Bennett once had it.
“This is a really really good team, and they steamrolled us,” Wade said. “They’re better than we are. If we played them 10 times I’m not sure we could beat them. Maybe once if we get lucky on a neutral court. But, I mean, they’re just flat out better than us.”
That tale of two Georgia Tech results, separated by five weeks, offer a verdict on where these two programs stand heading into Tuesday night's rematch at John Paul Jones Arena.
On a day already steeped in consequence, with a pre-tip-off ceremony dedicating the JPJ hardwood to legendary coach Tony Bennett, a series of clutch baskets, free throws and defensive stands iced a tight 86-83 victory over the surging Hurricanes.
“The goal is to play 40 minutes,” Odom said. “And regardless of how you start, you always want to start well. And I thought our guys did a nice job of putting the pressure on pretty quickly. And it helps when you make shots.”
Continuing a trend of narrow wins secured by defensive stands towards the end of the second half, Virginia held the Buckeyes to only two points between the 10 minute mark of the second half and the final 60 seconds, stifling the paint-focused offense late as they built a small lead late in the game.
As Virginia prepares for the final stretch of ACC play — featuring more challenging opponents than recent weeks, ranging from No. 4 Duke to rematches with NC State and Virginia Tech — Saturday’s game serves as an opportunity to recalibrate against a quality opponent.
Coming off of a recent stretch of wins in which Virginia seemingly played down to competition against bottom-of-conference opponents, it has been an up-and-down start to conference play, with just as many questions raised as answered.
Fortunately for Virginia, White, a 43 percent three-point shooter on the season, stepped it up for the Cavaliers. White hit four threes on the way to a team leading 16 second half points.
“They had a good plan coming in and kept us off balance offensively with the switching of the presses and then the zone a little bit,” Odom said. “I thought they did a nice job overall. And every time we would stretch it a little bit, they were coming right back, and it was a tight game, obviously, and could have gone either direction.”
“Turned it over a little bit too much in the first half,” Odom said. “I thought our guys did a better job in the second taking care of the ball. Clearly, offensively, we weren't clicking on all cylinders but the defense was a key aspect of the game for us tonight.”
“I’m really proud of the guys,” Coach Ryan Odom said. “Gritty effort overall. To come away this week with two wins on the road is really difficult and I’m proud of the execution down the stretch.”
