Everything From Ryan Odom Ahead of Virginia’s Matchup vs. Wright State

The Virginia Cavaliers will soon be facing the Wright State Raiders in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 20. Ahead of the game, UVA's head coach Ryan Odom sat down for a press conference to discuss what's to come. Here's everything he had to say.

On being on the other side of Wright State this time, rather than being in their position...

"Yeah, it just feels good to be in the NCAA Tournament, number one. When we first took the job here, we weren't sure how it would go. We have an entirely new roster that we put together and couldn't have landed in a better spot. We have great guys on the team, and we certainly understand what it means to play in the NCAA Tournament, and for this particular group, to where you their own story and to add to the legacy that is Virginia basketball has been really satisfying.

Having said that, this group wants to advance. We want to be part of the NCAA Tournament and continue to be part of it, and we realize we're going to be playing great teams throughout, and certainly, Wright State has earned the right to be here and is confident in their ability to advance as well.

Ultimately, it comes down to the 40 minutes or whatever, 40 minutes plus, if it takes that on the court. You have to play well on that day. We're going to prepare just like we always have, and I know that Wright State will as well. They're extremely well-coached. They know how to win. When you get in this tournament and play other teams, the majority of the teams have won a lot of games. Wright State is no different in that category."

On the key message he's shared with his team, as they do not have much tournament experience...

"Yeah, I think they didn't have a lot of experience with the ACC Tournament either, and they did well with that. Ultimately, it comes down to match-ups. You have to relax and play, but also go for it. You have one shot at it or you're done pretty quickly. Momentum is always a factor in these games.

And I think, ultimately, we have to follow our process, follow the way that we have done things all year, rely on our training, trust our training. The guys will be fine if they do that. That doesn't guarantee you a win by any stretch, but it does guarantee that you will be comfortable out there on the court and you have a chance to go for it."

On how beneficial it is to have his UMBC experience and passing it on to his players...

"Yeah, quite honestly, we haven't talked a ton about it. It's not a topic that we bring up all the time. The reality is the tournament's already started now. You had the first four, so our guys were able to watch that, and the energy and the enthusiasm with which those teams were playing with, the NC State and Texas game comes down to the wire. You watch the UMBC and Howard game. I didn't get a chance to see the Prairie View and Lehigh game. Our guys know SMU and understand how good they are. You can learn from those games initially. The momentum, the discipline that you have to play with in order to win. I think our guys understand that.

But they're going to be excited and there's going to be jitters. The reality is, it wouldn't be natural if you didn't have those jitters heading into that tournament. Everybody has them. It means you care about what you're doing, but ultimately, you have to settle into the game. I'm confident that our guys will."

On what he attributes his success to when it comes to laying down a winning foundation...

"Yeah, I think first off, it's the character in our locker room. We sign guys who wanted to be part of something bigger than themselves, who chose Virginia for all the right reasons and wanted to experience Virginia and all that it could offer them, even outside of basketball, of course.

They've been eager learners. They've been eager listeners, not only to our coaching staff, but to people outside, former players, former coaches. That's helped connect them to the university and to our basketball program in a big way. When you're tied to the place, you have a desire to do well for that place. We tried to accelerate that process all season, and it's landed in a really good spot, but ultimately, they have to play for one another. That's the most important thing. They certainly have excelled in that area in terms of playing for one another."

On being on both sides as a mid-major and power conference team, and satisfying everybody in the tournament...

"Yeah, I think expansion can help with that. There's no question about it, regardless of where you sit, for or against, I don't think anybody wants to see the mid-majors go away from our tournament. It provides opportunities for young people to play at the highest level and compete at the highest level. Why wouldn't we want that?

Certainly, I think if you find a way to do the expansion, and it doesn't mess with the integrity of the game and competitiveness of the games, I'm all for it. I know a lot of people aren't. I'm not mad at them for it, but I do agree. I'm all for giving more opportunities to the student-athletes to play in this great tournament."

On challenges he sees with Wright State tomorrow...

"Yeah, a lot of challenges. They're extremely well-coached. They know how they need to play on offense and defense in order to be successful. They put pressure on you at the rim, whether by the drive or the post-up. They're a really good passing team and cutting team. They cut behind the defense a ton to get easy baskets, and they defend really, really well. When you have that balance on both sides of the ball, you have a chance to advance in this tournament. They have our full attention, and we know that we're going to have to play well in order to win."

On where the ACC is in basketball right now...

"Yeah, I think for us going into the season, we felt like the ACC was poised for a resurgence. I think it's definitely happened, you know, for us to have eight teams in the tournament and have seven that were right on the bubble, that it just didn't fall right for them down the stretch. Obviously, it did for SMU, but we had a couple more, Stanford, Cal, even Virginia Tech right in there in the conversation.

I think that bodes well for the conference. The investment has been there. The Commissioner has done a great job. The athletic directors have done an awesome job of refocusing on basketball, and I think overall, the coaches have done an excellent job. So we feel like we're right there with these other conferences.

We have the number one team in the country right now in Duke, the number one overall seed. They're playing without two of their best players, and so Coach Scheyer has done an awesome job throughout. We're looking forward to seeing how we fare in the NCAA Tournament here."

On if he ever allows himself to look around and be satisfied with them, or if he can't afford the distraction...

'Yeah, there's no question about it. I watched UMBC the other night. My wife and I watched were watching and we cheered for them. I know the coach of Howard as well. You know, Utah State, I want them to win. Coach Calhoun has done a great job, Coach Sprinkle as well. I'm friends with both of them. Craig Smith, who is my predecessor at Utah state, our sons are best friends. They traveled overseas with us this past summer. VCU, Coach Martelli and I texted the other day. Really happy for him.

Those schools were so good to me and my family, I always want them to do well. There's one other one where I got my start, which is Lenoir-Rhyne. They're in the Sweet 16. And so really, really happy for all the programs that I was fortunate enough to coach, which led me here to a place that I called home as a youngster and fortunate enough to call home now."

On keeping everybody focused...

"Yeah, I think you just have to control it. We try to limit what we do from a media standpoint. And just in terms of staying on social media, we encourage them before the season ever started to get off of social media and just lock in to the season. All that will be there once the season is over. They can return to their normal lives.

Without being too guarded with it, we make sure what they need to know we let them know. I think you focus on it that way, and you just lock in to what the process is, and you're not having these peaks and valleys in terms of your emotions. I think you have a better chance to win. These guys have been locked in all year, and they understand how we prepare now. Initially, we didn't because there was a first time doing it as a group. Now we have all these shared experiences through however many games we played at this point, and so they can lean on those experiences that happen throughout the season.

Even in the championship game the other day, one of the time-outs, Dallin Hall was just making sure that the guys were present. There was some frustration at times that we weren't playing a little bit better than we had hoped to play. He just said, Hey, boys, we're in the championship right now against the number one team in the country. Like, let's go. This is fun. Let's just attack it, and do the best that we can.

And so if you have that mindset and you have that type of leadership in your huddles and in the locker rooms, you have a fighting chance."