Everything From Ryan Odom After No. 11 Virginia’s Victory Over NC State

The Virginia Cavaliers played a remarkable game against NC State on Tuesday night, ultimately clinching a 90-61 victory over the Wolfpack. Compared to the Cavaliers' previous matchups and the tight final score, this was quite a substantial margin for the Hoos. Once the game wrapped up, head coach Ryan Odom sat down with the media to discuss his thoughts on how things played out on the court. Here's everything he had to say.

Opening Statement...

"Yeah, I just wanted to say great crowd out there tonight. I didn't mention that, you know, the other night. That's two straight just ridiculous crowds, and students were into it. Fans were into it. Obviously, our guys' play gave them something to cheer about, you know, throughout the game, and just really pleased with the turnout and appreciative of everybody coming. Good game for us tonight. Our guys were ready to play. We weren't particularly great in the first half in terms of taking care of the ball. We weren't clean with the basketball. We had too many turnovers, and NC State just does that to you. They're really good at anticipating where you're going to pass the ball or getting into a gap and knocking it away. That happened multiple times throughout the night, and that can disrupt your offense, and that's the intention there, certainly. But, overall, our guys did a phenomenal job. Defensively, I thought we were pretty good. The offensive rebounding again in the first half, even though it was only 26% of the possessions, still not to the standard that we need in terms of cleaning up the glass, but really pleased with the guys, happy for the guys, and in what we knew was going to be a tough, tough game."

On the impact of Johann Grünloh and Ugonna Onyenso...

"They can clean up a shot or somebody on a downhill, it can turn into offense for us on the other side. And Johann was unbelievable tonight, having eight blocks. It's impressive. And he was just very clean with it, like he was there with his body and in between them, in the basket and and a couple times came out of nowhere - like he did the other night, just really excited for his you developmentally - just the energy that he's playing with right now is really, really solid."

On Thijs De Ridder's impact...

"That was huge. Jacari did that last game, drove it all the way to the basket, stopped and threw it back out to Sam. And for Thijs to do that, that was huge. I thought our guys did a nice job several times, more than several times, in transition, of just making clean decisions, getting layups or open shots."

On what UVA did differently on defense...

"Mixed up their pick and roll coverages, a little bit different than last time, and they were kind of in and out of in and out of it, and we were having to figure it out, kind of on the fly."

On Quadir Copeland...

"It's tough - you're not gonna play your best every night, and we have multiple bodies that we can throw at him, and the energy was there. He's just really good. You're not gonna hold him down in terms of his ability to impact his team for a lot, for long stretches. His ability to find his teammates in and around the basket is unique, and he's just a really dynamite player."

On UVA's depth and how it feels to have various routes and options...

"I think it's just a credit to the guys and their willingness to play a role. And when they get in there, they know it's going to be their time to not just show what they can do, but play together. I think that's what this team does better than those teams, is they play the game together in a really good way. They're not selfish. They pass to one another. And by no means are we perfect, but I think they bought into team. And I'm just excited about that."

On Jacari White's defense...

"He is an important player on defense for us. There's no question about it. He gives us another guy on the perimeter that can pressure the ball, the court, in our press, then also can defend and chase guys that can really shoot off of screens. He's pretty good at pick and roll defense as well, and I thought the play of the game for him was that defensive rebound that he came up with. And one of the things that we talked to our team about was you have to be ball tough against NC State. They're just going to knock it out of your hands. They're good at it. He pulled that one in, and all of a sudden we were off to the races."

On the altercation between the benches...

"I haven't seen it. The refs handled it well and handled it the way they needed to handle it. And obviously they looked at the film. It's a hotly contested game, and there's a timeout called, and then there's a little bit of confusion. And anytime one team is is in front of another teams bench and there's a timeout called, it's just inevitably, sometimes can happen. And I think both teams have a ton of respect for one another, and so it wasn't a big deal."

On his bench...

"Elijah. How about Elijah? Our fans, our team, obviously, were so excited for him. He's a really good player, and I haven't been able to get him in there as much as we needed to, but he's just a dynamite kid."

On UVA's confidence heading into its matchup against Duke this weekend...

"I think every time you lace it up, you have to be ready to play in this conference. And we were able to hold serve at home which certainly was our goal to win, win these two games one at a time. And we're just going to do what we always do that's get ready for the next one. And we know that the challenge that lies ahead there - the number one team in the country, extremely well coached, extremely talented and together and tough, and so we're going to have to play our best to have a chance to win."

On coaching at Cameron Indoor Stadium and preparing his team...

"I think you talk about it, but you don't make a big deal about it. It's like you have to go in there and play the game. Once the game in between the lines one team is going to set the tone, and the jabs are going to be thrown back and forth, and you have to play the game as it comes. And if you get caught up in what's going on in your surroundings then you won't be able to focus on what's really important, and that's competing to win.

It's a really tough place to play, but it's a tough place to play, certainly because of the environment, their care for the place, but it's also the players and the coaches that have done such a great job over the years."