The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly From Virginia's Win Over Ohio State

What stood out about Virginia's win over Ohio State on Saturday?

Feb 14, 2026; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Malik Thomas (1) reacts after a made three-point basket against the Ohio State Buckeyes during the second half at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

The Virginia Cavaliers had a Valentines Day non-conference bout with Ohio State and the Cavaliers came out on top to win thier sixth straight game and move to 22-3. UVA did not play perfectly, but they found a way to win, which has been a theme over this winning streak.

Let's look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from Saturday's win.

The Good

Virginia's defense down the stretch was one of the key to victory for the Cavaliers. Ohio State had been making shot after shot, especially star guard Bruce Thornton, but UVA clamped the Buckeyes offense down the stretch.

For the game, Ohio State ended up shooting 45% from the field and 43% from three.

Virginia remains the top rebounding team in the ACC and they had a +14 on the glass last night, a big reason for their victory. When you can rebound like this, you can beat any team in the country.

Ugonna Onyenso was one of the best players on the floor last night. His eight points, 10 rebounds, and four blocked shots propelled the UVA squad to a win. If one player can be credited for helping the Cavaliers win this game, it should be Onyenso.

While the free throw shooting could have been better, getting to the line 32 times is a good thing for UVA.

The Bad

The offense was subpar in this game and in the first half, turnovers were a major issue for the Cavs. Overall, UVA shot 43% from the field and 33% from three. Virginia has the personnel to be a much better three point shooting team than what they showed and down the stretch of the season, including in matchups against Duke and Miami, Virginia is going to need to be able to shoot the ball better.

The Ugly

This is more of a point for the last six games overall than it is for just this game, but I think that UVA has not been playing their best basketball, even if they keep winning. Virginia spent much of the night trailing the Buckeyes and on Tuesday, they trailed for much of the game against Florida State and then found a way to win in the end.

Now, it is good that they are finding ways to win in the second half of games, but this team has a legitimate chance to win the regular season ACC championship if they can finish the season hot, but they are going to have to shore up some areas if they are to make that happen.