Five Takeaways From Virginia Basketball's 73-57 Win at Pitt

Five Takeaways From Virginia Basketball’s 73-57 Win at Pitt

Posted by author February 4, 2025 Basketball

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Virginia (11-12, 4-8 ACC) played by far its best game of the season and dominated Pittsburgh (14-8, 5-6 ACC) from start to finish to come away with an impressive 73-57 victory on Monday night at Petersen Events Center.

After suffering a brutal one-point loss at home to Virginia Tech on Saturday, not many (myself included) thought the Cavaliers would be able to play well enough on the road, where they have struggled mightily this season, to win a game against a tough, but desperate opponent just 48 hours later. Not only were the Hoos up for the challenge, they delivered by far their best and most consistent performance of the season from the opening tip to the final buzzer. Pitt took an early 4-1 lead, but never led again after that, as the Cavaliers put together a 17-0 run, which became a 23-3 run, and the Panthers didn’t get to double digits until the five-minute mark of the first half. Virginia’s defense was connected and physical and the Cavaliers kept their foot on the gas on the offensive end for the duration of the game. There is no overstating just how well Ron Sanchez’s group played on Monday night in Pittsburgh.

Coming into this game, Dai Dai Ames was averaging 6.2 points per game and had scored in double figures just once in ACC play. His career-high was 16 points and he matched that in the first half, accounting for seven of Virginia’s 13 made field goals by halftime. Ames finished with 27 points, two assists, two rebounds, and one steal in 35 minutes played. He scored at all three levels, knocking down 3/6 three-pointers, getting great separation on his stepback mid-range jumpers that were money all night, and maneuvering to the rim for layups on dribble drives and off-ball cuts as well. It was typically Ames who came up with the big basket every time Pitt threatened to get back in the game. What a night for the Kansas State transfer.

It will fly under the radar a bit because of the astonishing performance Virginia got from Ames, but Andrew Rohde came very close to a triple double against Pitt, finishing with nine points, nine assists, and seven rebounds. Ames carried the scoring load, but Rohde ran the offense exceptionally well, distributing those nine assists with zero turnovers. Despite the losses, Rohde has been playing excellent basketball recently. Over the last 11 games, Rohde has racked up 57 assists to just eight turnovers; that’s an assist-to-turnover ratio of 7.1. It was also great to see him playing with such confidence and poise after missing the game-winning shot against Virginia Tech on Saturday.

This was as good of a game as the Virginia bigs have played all season. Still without the services of Elijah Saunders, who has missed the last three games with an injury, things have been tough for UVA’s trio of centers – Blake Buchanan, Jacob Cofie, and Anthony Robinson – who have each had to play out of position and on this night, frequently got switched onto smaller guards. Well, the Cavaliers handled that aspect of the game as well as they could have hoped for. Blake Buchanan posted his second double-double of the season, finishing with 10 points (4/7 FG) and 11 rebounds to go along with two blocks and two steals. Most impressively, Buchanan kept himself on the floor, only picking up two fouls, resulting in by far a career-high of 38 minutes played. Anthony Robinson was awesome off the bench, making three of his four field goals and posting career-highs of nine points and six rebounds in 17 crucial minutes. The Cavaliers won the rebounding battle 33-21, limited Pitt to four offensive boards, and outscored the Panthers 28-18.

Postseason prospects have been nonexistent for Virginia for quite some time. And given how this season has gone off the rails, it wouldn’t have been surprising if the Cavaliers were lacking in competitiveness or intensity, especially after suffering such a painful loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday. But based on the way Virginia played against Pitt, this season still means something to this team, including the players and the staff. Not only was this UVA’s first Quad 1 of the season, on the road against a Panther squad fighting for its life for NCAA Tournament positioning, but this was also a crucial win for the Cavaliers’ hopes of making the ACC Tournament. 15 of 18 ACC teams will make the bracket. At 4-8 in ACC play, UVA is solidly in 15th and two games ahead of the trio of teams – Boston College, NC State, and Miami – who are beneath them in the standings.

Up next, Virginia returns home to take on Georgia Tech on Saturday, February 8th at 5:30pm ET.

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