Everything Ryan Odom Said After Virginia's Tight Win Against Louisville

Here's what Virginia's head coach had to say after the Cavaliers defeated Louisville.

Jan 7, 2026; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Ryan Odom (center) huddles with players on the court during a stoppage in play against the California Golden Bears during the first half at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

The No. 16 Virginia Cavaliers are now riding a four-game winning streak after defeating No. 20 Louisville tonight with a final score of 79-70. Although the Cardinals were favored to come out on top, the Cavaliers rallied for another victory, knocking down yet another ACC opponent. Following the matchup, UVA's head coach Ryan Odom joined the media for a press conference. Here's what he had to say.

Opening Statement...

"Yeah, I think that my first opening statement has nothing to do with basketball. Honestly, I want to make sure that I say this. You know, we lost a dear friend in our coaching profession today. Bill Courtney, who was an assistant coach at Temple University and an assistant coach at UVA. He and I worked together at Virginia Tech and for a couple of years there, and he's just been a dear friend to so many in this business and, you know, it just is a reminder for all of us [that] wins, losses, things that happen in our game, we get caught up in sometimes and we lose sight of, you know, what's most important and our loved ones, our friends, the family being there for one another and nobody did it better than Bill Courtney. No one. Every day that he came into the office, he had a smile on his face, and he made people happy. He made his players happy. He made his coworkers happy, and he made his family, most importantly, happy. And so he's going to be dearly missed.

This was a good basketball game for Virginia. No doubt. Louisville is excellent. Coach Kelsey does an awesome job. They have really good players. They work well together. They put so much pressure on you in transition. We were completely worried about, you know, getting our defense set and getting back against them. They're relentless on the glass. They're relentless in their three-point shooting. I thought for the most part, our guys, you know, did a really nice job throughout the night. Clearly, the start really helped us. When you're on the road in a hostile environment, a great place like Louisville, getting off to a good start is imperative. And we got off to a good start on both sides of the ball. Obviously, you can't win a game 14 to nothing. You have to play the entire game. And I thought our guys, you know, did a really nice job throughout of answering the majority of the challenges that came our way. A lot of different contributors. Happy to talk about any of them. Certainly a big game for Johann. Big game for Malik. Dallin was steady and was the leader that we needed him to be."

On blocked shots and UVA's defense...

"Yeah, it's huge. You know, if teams can get inside of your defense and get near the rim, you know, a lot of times the metrics will tell you those are usually baskets or fouls. And so when you have guys back there that can protect the rim and understand how to do that without fouling, it certainly can be a weapon for your defense."

On how players are making the game better...

"Yeah, I mean, I think honestly they're all kind of professionals now. Over the last few years. And so, I can't speak for F, but I can speak for our guys, you know, who are playing for us. You know, probably making less money than the guys that were playing over here the last couple of years, all right, where they were playing. And so, you know, it's part of the sport now. So I understand, like my father's old school, you know, and he grew up and came up in an era where it was just, you earned your way, and I still think that exists. It has to still exist. We can't give kids everything that they want. But clearly overall, we need to figure something out. There needs to be some stability, some guard rails around, you know, our game. And I don't think there's any coach that would dispute that at this point, and, you know, who's going to make that decision, who's going to be the first to do it, I have no idea, but clearly, we all, I think, want that. Going forward, you can't fault anyone, you know, for utilizing the rules all right to their advantage, the way that they are currently set. I think it's just part of the game until they figure out all right, where are we going with this thing, and that's not for Ryan Odom to decide."

On what he saw on tape vs. what was an adjustment during the game regarding pick-and-roll coverage and open shots...

"Yeah, certainly something that we want to try to go to within each game. A lot of times, you know, when teams are back a little bit, and they're in their whites or drops, whatever you want to call it, you can get into the middle there and create some issues. I thought Chance did a nice job. Dallin certainly did a really nice job in the middle of the floor, and they were doing a good job in the first half, certainly, you know, once things settled us out of the paint and so we had to design and figure out ways that we could get in there and, you know, Louisville does a great job of protecting their paint and twos. Yeah, we're just process-oriented, just focusing on what's next. And everybody's all in on that particular prep and that game. And certainly, we knew if you start looking ahead, it'll just suffocate you. And so, I don't want my players thinking about what's next or whatever. I don't want my coaches thinking about it. We want everybody focused on the task at hand. What are we trying to get accomplished? Let's learn from it whether we win or lose and move on, you know, to the next one. And certainly, we're excited to play in games like this. That's why a lot of these guys came to Virginia. They wanted to play in important games, and certainly tonight was a good one, you know, for us.

On getting his fresh roster on the same page...

"I think the first thing is you have to bring people in that fit the school and that fit the coaching and the style. Certainly, you know, we feel like we've done really well with the guys that we have here. The character is extremely strong. They've connected. We've done a lot of things. Nothing earth-shattering that other coaches aren't doing. [We’re] just spending time together, you know, and making it a point to be together, be present. Get from this experience. Any team that I've coached, I say the same thing every single year. This team has one life to live. And so we want to live this life to its fullest. And that means that it doesn't guarantee that you're going to get everything that you want. That's not going to guarantee that you're going to play you and score 25 every game. It's just a chance to be on, you know, a really special team if you'll let it happen, because we really have talented guys, and I think they care about one another, and that's what being on a team's all about. It's like you have to care deeply about one another and not worry about who's getting the credit. You know, it's all about Virginia getting the credit."