The Good, Bad and Ugly of Virginia's First Round Victory Over Wright State

Here's the good, the bad and the ugly of how the Virginia Cavaliers matchup played out.

Virginia Cavaliers guard Chance Mallory and Wright State Raiders guard TJ Burch | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Virginia Cavaliers entered their first-round matchup against the Wright State Raiders as a large favorite. Although UVA isn't a program known to take large leads, this game was far tighter than many had anticipated. However, the Hoos still managed to pull off an 82-73 victory.

With another win under their belt, allowing them to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, let's take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly elements of how Friday's game unfolded for the Cavaliers.

The Good

Virginia Cavaliers guard Sam Lewis | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

• Jacari White was a major factor in preventing the Raiders from pulling too far ahead during the first half. By the end of the game, he had posted a season-high of 26 points and registered three rebounds and one assist, while shooting 83.3% from the floor.

• Momentum appeared to increase straight out of the locker room as the Hoos entered the second half. How a program kicks off the second half is generally telling of how a game could end. With 16:04 left on the clock, Virginia had tied the score 45-45.

• Virginia's shooting was rather impressive, particularly during the second. However, it simply wasn't enough to widen the gap between themselves and Wright State. The Hoos finished the game shooting 52% from the floor.

• Bottom line, the Hoos pulled off th first round victory, sending Wright State home with a disappointing loss. As unnfortunate as this is for the Raiders, the Cavaliers remain in the game and can now advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Bad

Virginia Cavaliers guard Sam Lewis and Wright State Raiders guard Sam Alamutu | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

• In true Virginia fashion, pulling ahead early on wasn't in the Hoos' cards during this matchup. In fact, once halftime rolled around, Wright State was ahead of UVA, with a score of 43-38. The leads continued to swap for quite some time, leaving players on edge.

• Throughout the game, the two teams continued to swap leads, largely due to UVA's troubling turnovers. The Hoos had a handful of missed opportunities but recovered in the final minutes.

The Ugly

Virginia Cavaliers forward Thijs De Ridder | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

• Sloppy turnovers ultimately prevented the Cavaliers from pulling ahead. Once halftime rolled around, the Hoos had already logged eight turnovers, while the Raiders had three. By the end of the game, UVA had recorded a total of 14 turnovers. For reference, the Raiders finished with only seven. This alone could have easily handed Wright State the victory.

Now that the Cavaliers have advanced to the second round, they will face either the Tennessee Volunteers or the Miami (OH) RedHawks, depending on which program comes out on top on Friday evening. Regardless of who they take on, fans can expect another tight matchup this weekend.