CHARLOTTESVILLE — On an afternoon that celebrated an author of ACC basketball lore, two centerpieces of the conference’s auspicious future were center stage.
And man, did Virginia and Miami put on a show Saturday.
“That was a Sweet 16, Elite Eight-type of game,” Hurricanes coach Jai Lucas said.
Indeed, the No. 14 Cavaliers’ 86-83 victory at John Paul Jones Arena showcased NCAA Tournament-caliber teams competing fiercely, making clutch, contested shots and riveting a sellout crowd.
Chance Mallory scored the decisive points on three free throws with 3.6 seconds remaining, and Thijs De Ridder sealed the outcome by stealing Malik Reneau’s pass on the final possession.
That Mallory played such an oversized role — the 5-foot-10 freshman from Charlottesville finished with 12 points, all in the second half, and team-highs of six rebounds and six assists — was beyond fitting, for he is the only player in Virginia’s regular rotation recruited by Saturday’s guest of honor.
The Cavaliers in 2019 are the ACC’s most recent national champion, and during a brief pregame ceremony, the university dedicated the JPJ court to the architect of that team: Tony Bennett.
Accompanied by his wife, sister, two children and a host of former players — Malcolm Brogdon, Anthony Gill, Joe Harris, London Perrantes and Jay Huff were the most notable — Bennett thanked legions, deflected credit and revealed that etched within his signature on the court are the names of every player and staff member from his 15 years guiding the program.
“It was just a blessing, obviously, to be recruited by him and be a part of all of what he’s done,” Mallory said. “It was cool to look at the court and see all the names written down on there. It was a great way to end the night.”
Like Bennett, first-year UVA coach Ryan Odom is the son of a coach, and during the ceremony, Odom presented Bennett a painting by Kyan Patel of Bennett and his dad, Dick, a renowned coach at Green Bay and Wisconsin. Patel is a Richmond artist and Wake Forest student.
This is the painting that Ryan Odom presented to Tony Bennett. (UVA)
“It was so cool,” said Odom, the son of former UVA assistant and Wake Forest big whistle Dave Odom. “I was honored to be on the court with him in that moment. … He’s been so supportive of the guys and me personally. He’s what college basketball is all about in terms of the coaching perspective.
“He was all about the right things. He proved that you could win at the ultimate level, at the highest level and do it with dignity and class and integrity and a ferociousness from a competitive standpoint.”
Which is why Bennett, despite the occasional defensive lapses that he abhorred as a coach, surely appreciated what he witnessed Saturday, two-plus hours of intensity that included 14 ties and 12 lead changes.
Uncomfortable with the untamed forces driving college sports, Bennett retired 16 months ago, just as Miami’s Jim Larranaga did two months later. Both elevated their programs to new heights, and under new management, the Cavaliers and Hurricanes are striving to replicate that success.
As Saturday demonstrated, there’s reason to be bullish on both and, therefore, an ACC product that has waned the past three years.
Odom and Lucas are central to a new generation of coaches in the league. Duke’s Jon Scheyer headlines the group, which also includes NC State’s Will Wade and Florida State’s Luke Loucks.
All but Scheyer arrived last March, inherited a program fresh off a losing season and have made considerable progress. None quite like Odom and Lucas.
An accomplished mid-major head coach who has long mined overseas connections, Odom stocked his roster with imports (De Ridder and Johann Grunloh) and mid-major transfers (Malik Thomas, Jacari White, Sam Lewis and Devin Tillis, the latter sidelined Saturday by a knee injury).
True to his recent experience as an assistant at Duke, Kentucky and Texas, Lucas landed splashier transfers such as Tre Donaldson from Michigan and Reneau from Indiana, plus five-star high school signee Shelton Henderson.
Contrasting approaches, similar results.
Virginia rolled into Saturday on a seven-game heater that included four road tests and a neutral-site conquest of Ohio State. The competition wasn’t the sternest — we’re looking at you, Georgia Tech — and some of the performances were uneven, but those are first-world issues.
The object is to win, and entering the weekend, the only high-majors with a better winning percentage than Virginia were Michigan, Arizona, Duke and Connecticut.
Roiled by injuries and Larranaga’s in-season exit, Miami last year posted the worst record, 7-24, in program history. So Lucas’ pedigree notwithstanding — his father, John, is a former Maryland All-American and NBA head coach — the Hurricanes’ exponential improvement is surprising.
They arrived in Charlottesville on the heels of their three most impressive victories of the season — at home against a full-strength North Carolina, at NC State and home versus Virginia Tech.
So there were Reneau, Henderson, Donaldson and Tru Washington combining for 67 Miami points. And there was 6-foot-11 Ernest Udeh bruising UVA for nine rebounds, four on the offensive end as the Hurricanes (21-6, 10-4 ACC) punished the Cavaliers, the ACC’s best offensive rebounding team, in second-chance points 18-2.
But there was Virginia countering with six double-figure scorers, led by White’s 17 on 5-of-8 shooting beyond the arc. The Cavaliers (24-3, 12-2) made half of their two dozen 3s, none bigger than White’s over a lunging Udeh with 1:16 remaining.
Virginia guard Jacari White (6) celebrates after defeating Miami in an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026, in Charlottesville, Va. (AP Photo/Robert Simmons)
Mallory and White teamed for 29 points, 11 assists and two scant turnovers off the bench. Lucas called them Virginia’s “swagger and personality,” and he’s not wrong.
The Cavaliers are two games clear of third-place Miami and NC State in the conference standings entering a week in which they host the Wolfpack on Tuesday and play at first-place Duke on Saturday.
Bennett’s UVA teams “were well-balanced and knew who they were and knew what they needed to do to win,” Odom said.
So does this one.
David Teel, david.teel@virginiamedia.com
