Stock Report for Virginia Basketball After Defeating Pittsburgh: Sam Lewis, Malik Thomas Climb

The Virginia Cavaliers had a few players raise their stock last night.

Virginia Cavaliers guard Sam Lewis | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The Virginia Cavaliers are officially back on track, now riding a three-game winning streak. Their 67-47 victory over the Pittsburgh Panthers last night brought their record up to 19-3 overall and 8-2 in conference play. To the surprise of many, the Cavaliers were able to pull ahead early on, which head coach Ryan Odom notes was a goal. As he stated during his postgame press conference:

"I think defensively, we wanted to do that for sure. We wanted to kind of wrap our arms around the game as best we could on the defensive side of the ball. We knew they were an awesome rebounding team, an offensive rebounding team, and we knew that was going to be a big key to the game. The defensive possession really begins when the shot goes up a lot of times with them. And they have good players and a good plan, and certainly I thought our guys, you know, did a nice job tonight of blocking out, and they did a nice job of crashing and countless guys getting in there to get offensive rebounds."

Malik Thomas

Virginia Cavaliers guard Malik Thomas | Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images

Thomas didn't waste any time heating up on the court last night. Without him, Virginia would not have been able to claim a lead early on—an area that they've struggled with throughout their campaign. The 6'5" guard logged 10 points, five rebounds and two assists, while shooting 40.0% from the floor. Thomas was not the leading contributor last night, but his hot start was incredibly beneficial for the Cavaliers, providing them with a bit of a cushion.

Thijs De Ridder

Virginia Cavaliers forward Thijs De Ridder | Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images

De Ridder continues to impress in each passing game. Although last night was far from his most productive when it comes to scoring, he did make it up by leading both programs with 12 points. Not only was he effective in rebounding, but he also posted his third career double-double. De Ridder is one of Virginia's few players who tends to see a consistent rise in his stock each week.

Sam Lewis

Virginia Cavaliers guard Sam Lewis | Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images

This was yet another successful matchup for Lewis, leading both programs with 15 points. Along the way, he recorded three rebounds and one assist, shooting 50.0% from the floor. Similar to De Ridder, this was not a high-scoring night for Lewis, compared to some of his previous games. Lewis now brings his season averages to 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.