This One Thing Could Be Key For Virginia Basketball Moving Forward

The Hoos may have to turn to this key element if they want to continue to push for an ACC crown and beyond

Jan 27, 2026; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Virginia Cavaliers forward Thijs de Ridder (28) drives to the basket against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second half at Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

Virginia suffered a tough loss to the North Carolina Tar Heels at home last week. Part of the struggles in the loss was that the Tar Heels continued to attack some of the big men for the Cavaliers and put them in inopportune situations that made it tough for them to defend. It was one of the reasons Jarin Stevenson and Seth Trimble were able to find a rhythm. Trimble finished with 16 points on 5-6 shooting. Stevenson finished with 17 points on 6-9 shooting off the bench. Stevenson’s minutes were invaluable to the team and had a big impact, especially in the second half.  

The Hoos faced the same dilemma on the road in a hostile environment against Notre Dame, which shot the ball at an elite level. They deployed some of the same strategies against the Cavaliers that North Carolina did. They forced switches and isolated the bigs of Virginia. That is the reason why Cole Certa and Braden Shrewsberry went off. The duo combined for 30 first-half points in the contest. Certa finished with 34 points, and Shrewsbeery added 18 points. The Hoos were down by as many as 19 points in the game. 

So how did the Hoos pull off one of the biggest comebacks in program history? They had to deploy a different lineup and be able to use smaller lineups to help improve the defense. 

"We had to switch the lineups, you know, quite honestly, we had to play the smaller lineups, which we hadn't played, so that we could switch a little bit more and try to keep bodies in front of them and pressure a little bit better and that required us to take, you know, Johann got two fouls anyway in the first half and so we kind of shuttled him in and out so it was a disjointed game for him. I thought Ugo played well in his minutes, and so we were trying to match him, you know, with Towt, whenever Towt was in the game, to give him some minutes there. But, you know, ultimately we had to play the smaller lineup to give ourselves a chance,” said head coach Ryan Odom. 

While Virginia has really good big men in Thijs De Ridder, Johann Grünloh, and Ugonna Onyenso, they may have to continue to switch their lineups moving forward in ACC play and perhaps tournament play. You have to have players who can switch and still defend at an elite level to have a chance in modern basketball. Virginia proved they can do this and be effective which is a great sign moving forward. It will be key if they want to continue to make some noise. 

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•Stock Report For Virginia Following Their Win Over Notre Dame: Sam Lewis, Chance Mallory Rising

•The Good, Bad and Ugly of Virginia’s Overtime Victory Against Notre Dame

•The Snowmagedden Plus/Minus Part III: Virginia Basketball Triumphs over Notre Dame