Virginia vs. Villanova Live Updates | NCAA Men's Basketball

Score updates and live analysis for the UVA basketball game against Villanova on Friday evening at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, Maryland

The Cavaliers will look to improve to 3-0 as they face off against the Villanova Wildcats. / Virginia Athletic

The Virginia Cavaliers (3-0) defeated the Villanova Wildcats (2-3) on Friday evening at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore, Maryland. See below for a full play-by-play and live analysis for the game. Updates are in reverse chronological order with the most recent updates at the top of the page.

Stay tuned to Virginia Cavaliers On SI for more postgame coverage.

Read five key takeaways from the game here: Virginia Basketball Storms Past Villanova 70-60 | Key Takeaways

Virginia 70, Villanova 60 | FINAL

Virginia 70, Villanova 60 | FINAL

Villanova makes four straight free throws, attempting to cut the lead. Villanova makes another bucket cutting the lead to 12. On the press, Virginia finds the open man with Cofie slamming it down. He then went to the line hitting both to extend the Cavaliers lead and reach double digits for the third game in a row. Virginia closes it out. Virginia wins 70-60.

Virginia 66, Villanova 52 | 1:26 Second Half

Villanova makes four straight free throws, attempting to cut the lead.

Virginia 66, Villanova 48 | 1:43 Second Half

Rohde misses a free throw as Virginia before Isaac McKneely hits an and one three. He now has 23 and is on absolute fire for the Hoos. Buchanan then finds Cofie in transition who slams it for Virignia. The Cavaliers have begun to pull away before Buchanan heads to the bench after picking up his fifth foul and fouling out.

Virginia 60, Villanova 48 | 4:07 Second Half

Cofie misses a wide open three before Rohde misses an open three before Dai Dai Ames knocks down a turnaround jumper. Dixon makes another three, Saunders got hurt on the play.

Virginia 58, Villanova 45 | 8:29 Second Half

Brickus fires back with a jumper as the Virginia lead is slowly cut down before McKneely responds with another three. McKneely has 19 points tonight.

Virginia 55, Villanova 43 | 8:29 Second Half

Brickus knocks down both free throws before Andrew Rohde responds with a jumper. Ames misses a floater before Cofie grabs a block. Jordan Longino fires off back-to-back threes to cut the lead to eleven before Rohde stops the bleeding. Sharma then draws the foul and makes one before Boakye scores to cut the lead further.

Virginia 50, Villanova 33 | 12:13
Buchanan knocks down a free throw to extend the lead to 17. 11-0 Run for the Hoos,

Virginia 49, Villanova 33 | 12:30

TJ Power gets on the board to extend the Virginia lead. Cofie cashes another three for the hoos after nice ball movement around the arc. Timeout Virginia. Saunders comes up hurting.

Virginia 44, Villanova 33 | 15:20 Second Half

McKneely gets the Hoos started with an under the basket layup. Villanova responds before Buchanan knocks down a three. Dixon knocks down another bucket before McKneeley responds with another bucket from fading away. Dixon continues to keep the Wildcats in the game with another bucket before Buchanan fires back with a fadeaway hook. McKneely has caught fire with another three as West Virginia native is 7/7 tonight. He has 15 tonight.

Virginia 31, Villanova 26 | Halftime

Villanova fires back to chip the Virginia lead before Ames responds with an and one layup before Rohde draws a charge. Ames tries to push pace after a steal but is unable to come down with the bucket. Brickus fires back with a three to cut the Wildcats lead to nine before Dixon hits an and one three with four seconds left. Tough end to the half for the Cavaliers.

Andrew Rohde leads the way for the Hoos with nine points
Isaac McKneely eight points

Virginia 28, Villanova 16 | 3:38 First Half

McKneely hits another three as the Cavaliers. 8/13 from three. He has eight points tonight.

Virginia 25, Villanova 16 | 4:53 First Half

Brickus responds with a three to stop the bleeding for the Wildcats before Rohde responds with a three of his own. Rohde has nine points tonight, 3/3 from three point land.

Villanova responds with a layup from Dixon before Ames is called for a travel as turnovers continue to plague the Hoos. Saunders then lays it in in response.

Virginia 20, Villanova 11 | 7:26 First Half

Villanova forces another Virginia turnover, Cavaliers have four tonight before Boakye grabs another offensive board for the Wildcats. Hoos two problems tonight, turnovers and Villanova dominating the boards.

Jacob Cofie checks back in before Elijah Saunders hits another three before Cofie makes one of his own. 18-2 run for the Hoos. Virginia is 6/10 from beyond the arc tonight.

Virginia 14, Villanova 11 | 9:13 First Half

Ishan Sharma checks in for the Hoos as Rohde hits another three, but reaches for his back, which ruled him out last game against Coppin State. Next possesion, McKneely buries a three, 12-2 run for the Cavaliers. Virginia is letting it fly from three early and often.

Virginia 8, Villanova 11 | 11:28 First Half

Andrew Rohde checks in for the Hoos and immediately knocks down a three. Villanova continues to dominate the offensive boards, a concerning sign for Virginia. Wildcats take advantage with a bucket from Longino. Multiple missed shots ensue from both sides.

Virginia 5, Villanova 9 | 15:27 First Half

Isaac McKneely gets the Hoos rolling with a jump shot from the elbow before Jordan Longino fires back with a three for the Wildcats, finding the open man on a double team. Blake Buchanan fouls Enoch Boakye as he gets his own rebound before going up a second time, he makes both. Jacob Cofie checks in and immediately forces a Villanova turnover before the Cavaliers pick up its second turnover in two possessions.

Villanova continues its run before Dai Dai Ames knocks home a three to scratch a 9-0 run for the Wildcats. 9-5 Villanova.

Virginia 0, Villanova 0 | 20:00 First Half

Virginia Staters: Dai Dai Ames, Isaac McKneely, Elijah Saunders, TJ Power and Blake Buchanan

Villanova Starters: Jhamir Brickus, Wooga Poplar, Jordan Logino, Enoch Boakye and Eric Dixon

As we await the 5pm tipoff for Virginia vs. Villanova in Baltimore, read a full preview of the game here: Virginia Basketball vs. Villanova Game Preview, Score Prediction

Pregame Notes for Virginia vs. Villanova

• Virginia leads Villanova 5-3 in the all-time series, which dates back to 1981.
• The Wildcats won the most recent meeting between the two programs, knocking off the Cavaliers on a buzzer-beating putback by Donte DiVincenzo on January 29th, 2017 when Villanova was ranked No. 1 in the country.
• The year prior, Virginia defeated Villanova 86-75 in December of 2015 in Charlottesville, but the Wildcats went on to win the National Championship that season.
• UVA is 2-0 against Villanova at neutral sites, including a 54-50 victory in the round of 32 in the 1981 NCAA Tournament, which was the first-ever meeting between these two programs, and a 73-65 win in December of 1989 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
• Virginia is 29-37 all-time against current members of the Big East. UVA faces a Big East opponent for the first time since defeating Providence 58-50 on November 23rd, 2021 in Brooklyn.

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