Ryan Odom Is Confident In Virginia's Ability to Bounce Back After Humbling Loss to Duke

Virginia ran into a buzzsaw today on the road and was blown out by the No. 1 team in the country

Feb 21, 2026; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers head coach Ryan Odom watches from the sideline during the first half against the Miami (FL) Hurricanes at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images | Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images

It was a humbling day for Virginia Basketball.

UVA came into the day ranked No. 11 in the country and riding a nine-game winning streak, but they faced their toughest task of the season at Cameron Indoor Stadium against the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils. Duke got out to a big lead early and let their defense lead the way in what ended up being a 26-point win for them.

After having so much momentum and then being dominated like that, the mindset of the team is going to be something to watch as the regular season comes to a close next Saturday, but it is not something that UVA head coach Ryan Odom is worrying about:

"We do it every game. Celebrate, tolerate. We're going to celebrate the things that we did really well. We're not going to tolerate the things that we didn't, and try to move those tolerated things to the celebrate side, and we just try to learn from the game and the performance, and there's probably a five to seven minute stretch in there where we might be able to learn some things about ourselves but all in all we did not play well enough to be extremely competitive in this game."

He also gave plenty of praise for Duke and their young head coach Jon Scheyer:

"He's done a great job since he took over. There's no more pressure situation than what he's been thrust into. And he and his staff have done a fabulous job of following a legend, and obviously, he knows the inner workings of this place better than anybody. And he's just done a magnificent job in this particular year. His team is well-balanced. They know who they are on offense. They know who they are on defense.

They're a typical tough-minded Duke basketball team that's going to rebound and pressure the ball and be kind of in your grill, and offensively, they're very patient, and they know where the ball needs to go on most possessions, and so that's a credit to Coach Scheyer and his staff."

There was a lot on the line in this game for both teams, though it mattered far more to Virginia. They could have taken the lead in the ACC and been in prime position to win the regular season conference championship. Now, that is not possible and earning a 1 or a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament is not likely on the table.

There are two games left for UVA to wrap up their still very successful first campaing under Odom. They host Wake Forest and Virginia Tech next week and then will head to Charlotte for the ACC Tournament.