Five takeaways from Virginia basketball’s road win at NC State

Save for the first several minutes of the second half, the No. 21 Virginia Cavaliers dominated NC State on Saturday afternoon to pick up their first ACC win of the year, 76-61. Sam Lewis led all scorers with 23 points, 20 of which came in the first half as he alone matched NC State’s first-half output.

A 40-20 halftime lead gave the Cavaliers the cushion they needed to handle a big NC State run to begin the second half. The ’Hoos allowed the lead to slip to just nine points, but they responded with a run of their own that restored the lead to 22 points. The Wolfpack were unable to respond again, and the Cavaliers cruised to victory down the stretch.

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From the first ACC win of the year, here are five takeaways:

This was a much-needed win for Virginia.

The Cavaliers were on the road again for their second straight game to begin ACC play. After an underwhelming performance in Blacksburg on Wednesday resulted in a triple overtime loss, getting a win in Raleigh was a must. Doing so in a largely dominant fashion was the cherry on top.

The Cavaliers jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead and looked to be headed for a comfortable win. The Wolfpack responded with a 15-4 run to begin the second half, far from what Ryan Odom would have liked to see from his team. However, the ‘Hoos promptly responded with a 20-6 run that restored the 20-point lead.

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Thijs De Ridder was the catalyst in that stretch, scoring a few tough buckets in the paint and drilling a three-pointer. The Belgian big man totaled 12 points and six rebounds in the second half.

Sam Lewis bounced back from a poor shooting performance vs. Virginia Tech.

For the first time all season, Ryan Odom started Devin Tillis over Sam Lewis against the Hokies on Wednesday. Neither player shot the ball well – Tillis went 3-of-12 from the floor, Lewis was 0-for-5 – and the Cavaliers suffered a triple overtime loss to their rival.

Odom went back to the lineup he’s used most of the year, starting Lewis against…

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Publish date : 2026-01-03 19:02:00

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