Key Takeaways From Virginia 95-85 3 OT Loss To Rival Virginia Tech

Virginia dropped its first conference game on the road in Blacksburg and had a chance to pick up a Quad 1 win in the ACC opener, but fell short to Virginia Tech on the road. It took the Hokies three overtimes to pull out the win, but Virginia showed great character and nearly pulled out the win. Let’s take a look at some key takeaways from the game.

1. Virginia is a gritty bunch

Look, you can say what you want about the game and Virginia not playing their best, but they never gave up. That was on full display in the overtime periods. The game wasn’t going their way, but they continued to drive to the cup, draw fouls, crash the offensive glass and keep possessions alive. There are no moral victories, but there are things head coach Ryan Odom can turn to and hit on that will keep this team playing at a high level. In the second overtime, they were trailing by seven points, and Malik Thomas came in and provided a spark, then Chance Mallory hit the late tip-in with time dwindling to force an improbable third overtime.

2. Virginia struggles from three point range

The Cavaliers came in as one of the best shooting teams in the nation from beyond the arc, shooting it at a 39% clip. On Wednesday afternoon, the Hoos shot 10-45 from three-point range and couldn’t hit it from distance like they normally do. Part of that was not having their sharpshooter, Jacari White, who is out for some time with a fractured wrist. They also changed the starting lineup, which usually has Sam Lewis in the starting five. He came off the bench and didn’t have the same rhythm he usually has. Lewis went 0-5 from the field. It could just be an anomaly, but Virginia will need to shoot it better from beyond the arc, especially in ACC play.

3. Where was Malik Thomas?

Thomas barely played in the extended periods of the game for the Cavaliers, which was a bit of a head-scratcher. Thomas was a big part of the scoring in the second half that allowed the Hoos to take the lead and some control of the game. 12 of his 26 points came in the second half of the game. Thomas was 5-10 at one point in the game, but went cold when he was left on the bench for the majority of the overtime periods. When you have a veteran player like Thomas playing at a high level, you have to lean on him, especially when your team is struggling from the field.

4. Offense limited outside of Thomas and Thijs De Ridder

It wasn’t a great shooting night for any of the Cavaliers, but only three scorers hit double figures on Wednesday. It was a struggle for the rest of the Hoos. Lewis and Elijah Gertrude didn’t make a basket. Johann Grunloh finished with nine points on 4-10 shooting. Devin Tillis had eight points on 3-12 shooting. The Cavaliers only had 17 bench points when they usually average around 30 points from the bench. With scoring being limited affected the Cavaliers' ability to pull away when they had some momentum in the game.

5. Offensive rebounds were a problem

When Virginia did get stops, they did a poor job of securing the glass on Wednesday. The Hokies had a number of possessions where they had four opportunities to get a bucket. One of the thorns in their side was Christian Gurdak, who had seven offensive rebounds. Amani Hansberry was the other who dominated the glass with eight offensive rebounds. That is 15 offensive rebounds between two players. As a team, Virginia Tech had 22 points off second-chance opportunities. Virginia has to be better in that area if they want to pick up wins in conference play.

More Virginia Basketball News:

•The Maryland Plus/Minus: Virginia Runs Away from the Terps

•Everything Ryan Odom Said After Virginia Basketball’s Victory Over Maryland

•Five Key Takeaways From Virginia's 80-72 Win Over Maryland