Jacari White Hits Six 3s, Scores 26 as Virginia Survives Wright State 82-73

PHILADELPHIA — Virginia spent most of Friday afternoon looking like a program that had forgotten how to win in March. Then Jacari White reminded everyone. The graduate transfer scored a season-high 26 points on 10-of-12 shooting, and the third-seeded Cavaliers used a late 11-0 run to beat 14th-seeded Wright State 82-73 in a Midwest Region first-round game at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

It was Virginia's first NCAA Tournament win since April 8, 2019, when it beat Texas Tech for the national championship. In the years between, the Cavaliers lost in the first round or the First Four in 2021, 2023 and 2024, according to The Associated Press. For much of this one, Wright State looked ready to add to the list.

The Raiders Come Out Firing

Wright State came in as an 18 1/2-point underdog, per BetMGM, and played like it had not read the line. The Raiders hit eight 3-pointers in the first half. Solomon Callaghan made three early and another late in the half to put Wright State ahead 39-36, and the Horizon League champions went to the break up 43-38.

Virginia did not help itself early. Sam Lewis took a hard fall and briefly left in the first half before returning to finish with 12 points. Virginia coach Ryan Odom said afterward that the Raiders threw something unexpected at his team.

"They played lights out. They gave us everything that we could handle throughout the game," Odom said in his postgame news conference. "They played a little bit differently than we were expecting going into the game and how we prepared."

A Nine-Point Swing, Then an 11-0 Answer

Virginia looked like it had finally taken control when Thijs De Ridder made two free throws to make it 67-61 with 8:18 left. Wright State answered with nine straight points, and two Callaghan free throws with 5:32 to play pushed the Raiders' lead to 70-67.

That was as close as Wright State got to the second round. White drove for a basket at the 4:07 mark to give Virginia a 71-70 lead it never gave back, part of an 11-0 run that ended with his sixth 3-pointer, according to Virginia's postgame recap. Freshman center Johann Grünloh scored four of his eight points in the final 3:15 and finished with seven rebounds and three blocks.

Michael Imariagbe hit a late 3 to pull the Raiders within 78-73, but Wright State did not score again. "Jacari basically saved the game for us," De Ridder said, per the school's recap.

White's Long Road Pays Off

White, a transfer from North Dakota State playing in his first NCAA Tournament, went 6 of 8 from 3-point range. His six 3s tied the Virginia record for an NCAA Tournament game, set by London Perrantes against Syracuse in 2016, according to the school. Virginia shot 51.9 percent from the floor and 50 percent from deep, and both teams finished with 13 3-pointers.

"It feels good knowing that I can have a performance like that and help us win a game," White said. "For it being my last year, I didn't want for it to end so early."

Malik Thomas admitted the stage got to the Cavaliers early. "As a team, we were a little bit nervous," he said. Odom, who coached the UMBC team that beat Virginia as a 16 seed in 2018, joked, according to the AP, that "Now we actually have some footage" of a Virginia tournament win.

Raiders Go Out Proud

Imariagbe finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in his final college game, a double-double built on an unlikely outside barrage. He went 5 of 9 from 3 after attempting only six 3-pointers all season before the tournament, Virginia noted. Callaghan added 18 points, TJ Burch had 15 and freshman Michael Cooper scored 13 off the bench.

"I don't think they wilted," Wright State coach Clint Sargent said, according to the AP. Callaghan pointed to the group's closeness: "We were well connected off court, which brought it on court."

Wright State finished 23-12 in its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2022 and fifth overall. Virginia improved to 30-5 in Odom's first season and moved on to face sixth-seeded Tennessee in the second round on Sunday.

Photo Credit: Dylan Aguilar/Undrafted