Everything From Ryan Odom After Virginia’s 76–72 Victory Over Virginia Tech

The Virginia Cavaliers secured a 76-72 victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday afternoon during their regular-season finale. As the Hoos had hoped to do,they finished their season strong and are now entering the ACC Tournament with confidence. Following their matchup, head coach Ryan Odom sat down with the media to discuss the game. Here's everything he had to say.

Opening Statement...

"Yeah, great great game all around, of course, first half our guys did a nice job. Got us off to a great start. Malik was dynamite. The defense was pretty strong, you know, at that point. We were forcing some tough shots. Didn't clean them up all the time, but, you know, did a nice job overall. They, of course, came back. You're not going to win a game in the first five minutes or the first 10 minutes or the first half, you know, for that matter. And certainly that was the case tonight. We did not get off to a great start in the second half. Virginia Tech had a lot to do with that, of course. And they did a nice job of putting some pressure on us, you know, at the point of attack, but then also offensively, you know, they got off to a good start, made a couple of threes, which closed the gap. Loved how our guys responded when it closed to 51 all. I think our guys just did a nice job down the stretch of figuring the game out and made some big plays. Ugo was a monster. His shot was huge, and just his overall play. Sam was great and did a nice job. Of course, those two guys were the players of the game for me. But just a ton of respect for coach Young and Virginia Tech, and they're really a tough team all around."

On how he framed this game to UVA...

"I mean, we just, you know, there's a lot of factors that go into it. Certainly, we want to win the game regardless. We want to put our best foot forward. We knew that they would come out, and so we talked a lot about that, just where they were sitting, you know, at the current state, and, you know, they weren't going to get in just by beating us today. They're going to need to continue to win and play well in Charlotte as well. And that's just how it is at this time of year.

But I wanted our guys to focus on just the game in itself. You know, how are we going to win the game because there are two different teams that played that then had played in Blackburg. Both are better, you know, at this juncture of the season. So we needed to play well to win, and our guys understood that. The biggest thing I wanted them to do was just to relax and play. And I thought they came out with a really good fire and in a relaxed but aggressive way.

We did talk about the NCAA tournament seating, and just painted a picture for them that we are playing for something right now. Even though this thing is set in Charlotte, it's not set, you know, past that. And so we wanted to do our part here at home. And you want to play well going into that anyway. You want to be playing your best basketball down the stretch."

On Ugonna Onyenso's improvements...

"Practices it every day. Obviously, you notice the rim protection and the defense—he's an incredible defender—should be the defensive player of the year to me. I know there's some other great, great players out there, but we've got two that are pretty, pretty darn good.

But he's worked at it [his shooting] every single day, and I thought today he was he stepped right in and let it go. And he's had some hesitant moments over the last couple of weeks with three-point shots, but he did it exactly like he practices, and just stepped right in and fired."

On what UVA has learned on defense...

"I feel like they've learned a ton. The defensive rebounding certainly has improved; the point of screen defense has gotten a little bit better. Virginia Tech really challenges you with its pick-and-roll. They're very physical with their screening—they do a good job of throwing it over the top and finding guys behind the shooters that run guys off of screens—and so when you're playing them, it tests you from a physical standpoint. And I think our guys have stepped up over the course of the season, and have one of the better defenses in our conference."

On Dallin Hall's peformance...

"I didn't even want to take him out, but I had to take him out there for a minute just to give him a blow so he could finish the game. And he's the ultimate leader. He's not afraid in big moments, and he defends and hustles, and we showed the guys at halftime the play that he made where he just hustled that ball down. He's just unbelievable with his commitment to winning, and couldn't ask for a better guy to start this journey off with and just that group of people in general.

The seniors have them set the tone for the program. We're obviously following a monster. Coach Bennett is unbelievable and the players that played for him - these guys want to be a part of that and a winning part of that. And they chose Virginia for all the right reasons. And I just congratulated them in there.15-3, second seed. We certainly wanted the first seed, but we didn't get it. 27-4 is a lot to be proud of.

It wouldn't have happened if it weren't for those five guys, right? They made the choice, and there were only two of them that knew one another, or three of them, I guess, Dallin as well, Dallin, Devin and Malik, but they all, in their own way, impacted this place and made the most of their time here, and I'm excited for what's to come for them, as we head into the conference tournament."

On the blocked shots and the shots that weren't taken...

"It's huge. You'll see guards sometimes go down in there, and then they run into Johann [Grünloh] or Ugo, and they just keep moving out. And Virginia Tech's excellent at playing that two-man pick and roll—they do a really good job of getting the guard open, then they play with the roller and they're really tough to block out in those situations. But you know, our guys, they're well schooled, and they do a really good job at protecting our rim."

On Malik Thomas' adjustments...

"He's really improved his overall game, and I know we're really proud of him and the strides that he's made, not only on the offensive end, but on the defensive end. He's made major, major strides in his rebounding, his toughness, his ability to [move on] when it's not going well. I'll take him out of the game, and then I put him right back in, and he just answers.

And he got us off to an amazing start today.... and that shot that he made from almost half court was huge at the end of the clock. And he's got a really bright future in basketball. So really proud of him, and his character is rock solid. His family's rock solid. And we need him to play well down the stretch here in March Madness."

On what changed with Virginia Tech's defense...

"We were just sloppy. I think their pressure picked up - certainly you have to give them credit as well. They were going for it and came out in an aggressive way, but we've just got to be better with the ball. And we talked about it in the timeout, and the guys settled down and and began to play a little bit better. We can't let our offense hurt our defense like that."