Everything Ryan Odom Said After No. 15 Virginia’s Victory Over Florida State

The Virginia Cavaliers added another victory to their 2025-26 resume after coming out on top over Florida State by a tight 61-58. The Cavaliers entered this matchup knowing they'd be in for a challenge, and they responded accordingly. Following the game, UVA's head coach Ryan Odom joined the media for a press conference and shared his thoughts on how things played out. Here's everything he had to say.

Opening Statement...

"Just really impressed with coach and his team. He's doing a great job with this group. They're playing as well as anybody that we've played recently in the ACC. And just watching these guys on film, they're clearly a connected group. They're playing with massive energy and enthusiasm, and I just marveled at how fast they get the ball up the court. They had us on our heels pretty much the entire game. We turned the ball over too much, but it was one of those gritty games where we were able to just kind of hang in there and figure it out and find the way at the end. Certainly, our defense kept us in it. Our offense left a lot to be desired. Jacari was huge with the shot-making test down the stretch. Dallin and Chance were good in terms of handling the ball. We stopped turning it over, and Ugo was dynamite, you know, protecting our basket at the rim. I thought he did a really good job, balanced night for him. But just proud of the group, and certainly we're very fortunate to win."

On if he was comfortable with Florida State's pace...

"Yeah, I mean, I think we're used to playing fast. Our press was pretty much non-existent this game, and they did a good job. They play some lineups that are a little bit different than we're used to facing. Not, you know, they have stretches where they don't have a classic five-man out there. And so they really test you with their ball handling and spacing, and obviously, they want to; they value the three-point shot, but they also get to the basket. I thought our guys did a nice job overall handling it. We gave up and went over the top. We gave it up a walk-in three in the first half. But for the most part, our guys, you know, did a good job of setting the defense."

On seeing Jacari White progress over the past few games...

"We're just trying to limit the ball handling as much as we can because it's hard for him, certainly the left hand, and I think he's probably still a couple weeks away from it being off of there where he can be himself. But he was tremendous today. The play in transition where he attacks with his right hand and gets to the rim, that's old Jacari. His offensive rebound was huge. The ball kind of kept finding him, and he kept delivering."

On if there were nerves when Jacari when in for the dunk...

"No, not really. I was excited. I saw the same thing he did because I was right in front of him and he was just an inside out. We do that drill every single day. 45 attack, and he just went right at it."

On how UVA is able to keep pushing...

"It's keeping fresh guys in there. I think that's the first thing. We had a stretch there where one group was on a run, and then they got dead tired, and I think we pulled it to two at that point. We had to sub, and I think just credit the depth, the resiliency of the group, we have an experienced group that never feels like they're out of it. We certainly have to play better than we're playing right now if we want to challenge the best teams in the country. But I think the overall depth is something that this team certainly has and relies on. But there's a toughness when you've won, I guess it's 21 games now, they just they figure it out. They can win pretty, they can win ugly, and they just kind of find a way."

On the impact of Ugo Onyenso...

"Yeah, I mean, at the rim, the late contest on some of those threes, just him being there when others drive. Our switching was much better down the last 10 minutes. We were able to keep a body and a chest in front, much like they were doing to us early in the game. We couldn't get in there at all, and so I thought he did a great job there. We had to take him out because they went small when they were searching for the three there, and then with four seconds to go, it made sense to put him on the ball there to disrupt. You know, I was a little bit worried they were going to run something because they had plenty of time to step a guy in. So we had to stay connected to Wiggins there."

On how much it helps to play from behind and rally when UVA doesn't have a lead...

"Yeah, I mean, there's something about being on the road and being down and fighting the crowd and all that. The competitor in all of us wants to play in those types of environments. And, you know, we've been in some really good ones this year. This was a great one tonight. The fans showed up for their team and in a positive way, and our guys just kept fighting, and Florida State fought all for 40 minutes. So that's what you want in conference play, and certainly that's what we're getting."

On Thijs De Ridder's offensive game...

"He always thinks he's okay and sometimes he's not okay. We have to remind him, hey, you, we need to get you back to being okay. But they messed us up a couple of times out of timeouts with switching defenses, and they switched to the zone, and they did on that one right there. I had another play called. We had to audible that call to get him in the middle of the lane there to catch it. And he's just confident in that little shot. Sometimes I don't like it, you know, because it's one of those twos, but he's wide open right there. And so he was ready to take it."

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