No. 18 Virginia intent on starting fast in encounter vs. Pitt

Coming off its fifth straight road win, No. 18 Virginia looks to start a new streak at home Tuesday night against Pitt in Atlantic Coast Conference action in Charlottesville, Va.

The Cavaliers (18-3, 7-2 ACC) had their 11-game home win streak snapped in an 85-80 loss against then-No. 22 North Carolina in their most recent contest at John Paul Jones Arena on Jan. 24.

Virginia bounced back last week with wins at Notre Dame and Boston College. They fended off the Fighting Irish 100-97 in double overtime last Tuesday and edged the Eagles 73-66 on Saturday to improve to 6-1 in road games.

"It's hard to complain, winning that many games on the road," said head coach Ryan Odom, whose Cavaliers are tied for third in the ACC. "It's not easy to win on the road. It doesn't matter what league you're in. It's difficult."

Virginia trailed at halftime in both wins last week. Down 32-27 at the break against Boston College, the Cavaliers took the lead for good at 55-52 on Jacari White's 3-pointer with about 10 minutes remaining.

"To come away this week with two wins on the road is really, really difficult, and I'm proud of the execution down the stretch," Odom said.

Thijs De Ridder, a freshman from Belgium who turned 23 on Saturday, matched his season scoring average exactly with 17 points against the Eagles. Malik Thomas averages 13.0 points per game and Chance Mallory (10.5) and Sam Lewis (10.2) also are scoring in double figures.

Virginia averages 84.0 points per game in its first season under Odom, compared to 64.8 last season under interim coach Ron Sanchez and 62.9 in Tony Bennett's final season in 2023-24.

Pitt (9-13, 2-7) dropped to 0-2 against Top 25 teams this season with Saturday's 63-52 loss at then-No. 22 Clemson. The Panthers have lost four of their last five games overall and are 1-5 on the road this season.

Pitt's streak of three straight winning seasons is in serious jeopardy at the midway point of the conference campaign. Three of the Panthers' next four games are against ranked opponents, starting with the trip to Virginia.

The Panthers' loss on Saturday was their 15th in a row against Clemson. The Tigers built a 33-16 lead by halftime and completed the season sweep after winning 73-68 in Pittsburgh on Jan. 3.

"We played Clemson close (the first time)," head coach Jeff Capel said Saturday, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "We played them well. That's another one where if we can close around the basket and make some free throws, maybe the outcome is a little bit different."

Roman Siulepa and Damarco Minor led Pitt with 12 points apiece against Clemson. Leading scorer Brandin Cummings (12.5 points per game) came off the bench and was held to just two points.

Cameron Corhen (12.2), Barry Dunning Jr. (11.9) and Siulepa (10.0) also are scoring in double figures this season, with Minor adding 9.5 points and a team-high 3.5 assists.

--Field Level Media