Late run helps Virginia survive March Madness upset bid in first round

Virginia survived an upset bid in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, beating Wright State 82-73 Friday, March 20.

No. 3 Virginia (30-5) used a 15-3 run over the final 5:32 to hold off the No. 14 Raiders (23-12) to move into the second round.

Virginia will meet the winner of the No. 6 Tennessee and No. 11 Miami ( Ohio ) on Sunday, March 22.

It was Virginia’s first NCAA Tournament win since winning the championship in 2019. Virginia has missed the tournament twice since then, including last season.

Jacari White came off the bench to be the star of the show for Virginia with a game-high 26 points, going 10-of-12 from the field including hitting six 3s. As a team Virginia hit 13 3s, a program record in the NCAA Tournament.

Virginia trailed by as many as six in the first half and was down five at halftime before rallying after the break against Wright State.

Virginia went from the 6:49 mark of the first half to the 15-minute mark of the second half without the lead before Sam Lewis scored to put the Cavaliers back in front. Wright State’s Michael Imariagbe, who had made one 3-pointer all season, hit three in the first half to help put the Raiders up at the break.

But with Wright State up 70-67 following two technical free throws, the Cavaliers got two foul shots from Lewis to start an 11-0 run and finish the game on the 15-3 run.

Lewis finished with 12 points and Malik Thomas had 11 in the win. Virginia also had five blocks, three from Johann Grunloh and two from Ugonna Onyenso .

Virginia shot 52% from the field in the win, going 28-of-54 and survived 14 turnovers.

Virginia vs Wright State NCAA Tournament live score updates

Final

Virginia 82, Wright State 73. Virginia will play Sunday against the winner of Tennessee and Miami (Ohio) in the second round. Cavaliers closed the game on a 15-3 run.

Virginia late run

Virginia's 11-0 run put the Cavaliers up 78-70 before a Wright State bucket. White then scored and Virginia leads 80-73 with 25 seconds left

Wright State answered

Wright State went on its owns 9-0 run, but Virginia is up 71-70 3:45 left in regulation.

Virginia run

Virginia on a 9-0 run over nearly 3 minutes to take a 67-61 lead over Wright State 8:18 second half. Largest lead of game for Virginia

Wright State back in front

Burch with the steal and bucket to put Wright State up 60-58 with 11:08 left in second half. Burch will go to the free throw line to try to complete 3-point play after timeout.

Virginia in front

Virginia takes first lead since six minutes left in first half, going in front 48-47.

Virginia storms into second half

Virginia on a 5-0 run to pull into a 43-43 tie with Wright State at the 17:39 mark of the second half. After turning the ball over just once in the first half, Wright State has committed three turnovers in the second half already.

Haltime stats

Jacari White leads Virginia with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting including three 3-pointers. Malik Thomas has eight points for Virginia.

Solomon Callaghan with 16 points leads Wright State.

Virginia is 15-of-31 from the field, including 7-of-15 on 3s. Wright State is 16-of-35 on field goals and 8-of-18 from 3s. Wright State has just one turnover in the game, while Virginia has turned the ball over seven times in the first half.

Halftime Virginia and Wright State

Wright State leads Virginia 43-38 at halftime in the NCAA Tournament first round

Wright State from deep

Wright's Michael Imariagbe was 1-of-6 from 3-point range this season coming into the NCAA Tournament. He is 3-of-5 today and Wright State has seven from behind the arc to lead Virginia 34-32 3:22 left in the first half.

Back-and-forth

Nine lead changes in the game so far with Wright State leading Virginia 24-23 with 6:58 left in the first half. Virginia did have an 8-0 run to climb out of a six-point hole, but the Raiders responded to regain the lead.

Wright State up early

TJ Burch scored Wright State's first points in the paint to give his team a 19-13 lead over Virginia with 11:03 left in the first half.

Heating up

After the two teams started a combined 2-of-12 from the field, they made their next 10 shots combined. Wright state leads Virginia 16-13 12:24 first half.

Shaky start for UVA

Virginia struggled early with ball handling, turning the ball over three times before it scored, but Thijs De Ridder finally broke the scoring drought with a layup at the 17:25 mark. Malik Thomas then hit a 3-pointer and Virginia leads Wright State 5-2 at the 15:38 mark of the first half.

What channel is Virginia basketball vs Wright State on Friday?

TV: TBS

Play-by-play Andrew Catalon, analyst Steve Lappas and reporter Evan Washburn will have the call.

Also watch on NCAA's March Madness Live

Listen live to Virginia basketball vs Wright State on the radio

The opening round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament game between Virginia and Wright State will be available on the  Virginia Sports Network . John Freeman handles play-by-play and Jimmy Miller is the analyst. WINA 98.9 FM/1070 AM is the flagship station of Virginia sports.

In addition, the game will be broadcast on  VirginiaSports.com  and the  Virginia Sports app .

Also, listen on Westwood One with announcers Scott Graham and Jon Crispin.

What time does Virginia basketball play Wright State?

• Time: 1:50 p.m. ET

• Date:Friday, March 20

• Place: Xfinity Mobile Arena, Philadelphia, PA

More: What channel is NC State vs Texas on tonight? Time, TV channel for March Madness First Four game

More: JMU women’s basketball will face Kentucky, Kenny Brooks in NCAA Tournament

Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips are always welcome. Connect with Patrick (he/him/his) at  phite@newsleader.com  and on Instagram @hitepatrick .  Subscribe to us at  newsleader.com .

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Virginia avoids upset by holding off Wright State in NCAA Tournament