White's 26 points fuels UVa's 82-73 win over Wright State
It hasn’t often been easy for UVa this season but when it has, it’s looked a lot like the last 5:32 of Friday’s NCAA Tournament First Round matchup against Wright State looked.
The Wahoos closed the game on a 15-3 run and, fueled by 26 points from Jacari White on 6-for-8 shooting from long range, beat the Raiders 82-73.
With the win, Virginia (30-5) picked up its first victory in the NCAA Tournament since cutting down the nets in Minneapolis in 2019.
For most of the game, though, Friday afternoon looked far too much like several of those UVa losses in March have since the title team. But White refused to be denied, assembling the “Jacarmy” and doing exactly what his team needed.
On a day when Wright State’s Michael Imariagbe—who was 1-for-6 on the year from long range—made five of his nine attempts from 3-point land, UVa needed the shooting of White, who finished 10-for-12 from the field.
Along with White’s big game, UVa also got 12 points from Sam Lewis, 11 from Malik Thomas, and 10 from Thijs De Ridder.
Aside from Imariagbe’s team-high 19 points, the Raiders (23-12) got 18 from Solomon Callaghan, 15 from TJ Burch, and 13 from Michael Cooper.
While everything early looked like it was going Wright State’s way early, the Raiders finished one for its last nine shots from the floor.
UVa, which had three turnovers in its first four possessions, didn’t score until a De Ridder drive at the 17:21 mark. Callaghan, meanwhile, had eight of his team’s first 13 points and 11 of the first 16, going 3-for-4 from long range.
By halftime, the Raiders were up five and had only turned it over once. On the other side of the break, though, they turned it over three times in the first four possessions. A 5-0 UVa run tied it 43-43, forcing a Wright State timeout with 17:39 left.
Yet when the game reached the under-12 with 11:08 left, Wright State led UVa 60-58. The Hoos had a golden opportunity after a Flagrant 1 was called on Imariagbe. Dallin Hall made both free throws but instead of being able to make it a four- or five-point possession, a five count on the ensuing inbounds turned it over and then the Raiders got a 3 on the other end.
A 9-0 run by the Cavaliers gave them a 67-61 advantage with 7:52 left, as they had made six of their last seven. But the Raiders again refused to go away. By the time the final media timeout came with 2:59 left, the lead was three thanks to a Johann Grunloh lay in as part of a 6-0 UVa run.
That run came as part of the larger 15-3 finish, as the Wahoos put the first rounder to bed and could finally turn their full attention to Sunday, when they’ll face the winner of Tennessee/Miami University.
