Thijs De Ridder had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Virginia ran away with an 87-53 win against Rider to open the Ryan Odom era on Monday night in Charlottesville, Va.
Odom, who spent the past two seasons coaching at VCU, replaced interim coach Ron Sanchez and brought in a dozen new players to replace most of last season’s 15-17 squad.
De Ridder, a 6-foot-9 freshman from Belgium, made 10 of 14 shots from the field. Johann Grunloh, a 7-foot freshman from Germany, added 12 points. Chance Mallory, Jacari White and Sam Lewis each scored 11 for the Cavaliers.
Rebounding at both ends of the floor helped the Cavaliers offset 26.7% 3-point shooting (8 of 30). Virginia turned 22 offensive rebounds into 26 second-chance points and finished with a 49-32 edge on the glass.
The Cavaliers never trailed and compiled decisive advantages in points in the paint (42-16) and points off turnovers (22-6) while turning the ball over only six times.
Flash Burton scored 17 to lead Rider, which was outscored 45-21 after intermission. The Broncs shot just 32.7% from the field and 25.0% (3 of 12) from deep.
Virginia scored the first 11 points of the second half, part of a 28-3 run that blew things open. A 3-pointer by Mallory, a true freshman from Charlottesville, made it 70-35 with 8:15 left.
The Broncs’ first field goal of the second half was a jumper by Burton with 12:52 remaining.
The Cavaliers’ largest lead was 83-44 on White’s 3-pointer with 2:23 to play.
The faster pace of play in Odom’s debut was in stark contrast to the deliberate, patient offenses of the Tony Bennett era. It was Virginia’s highest-scoring game since an 89-42 win against Monmouth on Nov. 11, 2022.
Virginia took its first double-digit lead at 14-4 on three free throws by White. Poor 3-point shooting kept the Cavaliers from pulling away, however, and the lead was still 10 at the half at 42-32.
–Field Level Media
