Thijs De Ridder scored 23 points and Virginia rode an explosive 61-point first half to a 104-78 victory against Marshall on Saturday in Charlottesville, Va.
The Cavaliers (4-0) never trailed during their season-opening four-game homestand under first-year head coach Ryan Odom, whose up-tempo style is already rewriting the school record books.
Malik Thomas scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half, Dallin Hall added 18 points and Johann Grunloh chipped in 16 in Virginia’s first 100-point game since beating Marshall 100-64 on Dec. 31, 2018.
Landen Joseph scored 22 points, Matt Van Komen tallied 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Wilson Dubinsky and Noah Otshudi each added 10 points in the first loss of the season for the Thundering Herd (3-1).
Virginia led 61-33 after its highest-scoring first half ever at John Paul Jones Arena, which opened in 2006.
The Cavaliers scored fewer than 61 points in 10 games last season under interim coach Ron Sanchez. They scored fewer than 61 in 15 games during coach Tony Bennett’s final season in 2023-24.
Grunloh’s first 3-pointer of the season gave Virginia a 75-43 lead with 14:57 remaining.
Marshall did not get within 20 points in the second half until Joseph’s free throw made it 81-61 with 8:16 left.
The closest the Thundering Herd got down the stretch was at 83-65 on Van Komen’s dunk with 7:00 to play.
Virginia hit the century mark on De Ridder’s jumper for a 100-74 lead with 1:56 remaining.
Marshall entered the game averaging 13.3 made 3-pointers but finished 7 of 24 from long range.
Thomas tallied 13 of his points during an early 16-2 run that gave the Cavaliers a 21-6 advantage.
Virginia broke the 50-point barrier with 4:26 remaining in the first half on Hall’s 3-pointer.
That bucket was part of a 15-0 run that gave the Cavaliers their largest lead of the half at 53-21.
–Field Level Media
