Virginia (5-4) faced a tough challenge as they took on SMU (8-2) in the ACC opener at Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas. The game was a closely contested battle, with SMU emerging victorious with a 63-51 score. Let's take a detailed look at the key moments and takeaways from this exciting encounter.

Virginia's ACC Opener - A Tale of Two Teams

First Half Struggles

Both teams started the game with a wide-open look for their centers rolling to the basket out of a pick and roll. Isaac McKneely found Blake Buchanan for a dunk to get the scoring started, but Samet Yigitoglu was fouled going to the basket and made only 1/2 free throws. Yigitoglu got free again and slammed home a dunk. Dai Dai Ames hit a mid-range jumper to put UVA back in front. However, Yigitoglu scored over Buchanan with a jump hook. Andrew Rohde slashed to the rim and scored with his inside hand. McKneely drove to the rim and scored with a crafty finish. Yigitoglu scored inside yet again for the Mustangs and had all seven of their points. Matt Cross bullies his way past Andrew Rohde and scores on his second attempt despite some good resistance. Kario Oquendo comes in off the bench and hits a sweet step-back three-pointer. Jacob Cofie takes a three for the second possession in a row and gets a friendly roll off the front rim. Saunders is fouled inside and makes 1/2 free throws. Taine Murray attacks in transition and scores off the glass through contact. Oquendo pulls the trigger from the right wing and swishes his second three-pointer. It was a back-and-forth first half, with SMU leading 30-22 at halftime.

Second Half Comebacks and Setbacks

With the shot clock winding down, Rohde makes a great play, driving to his left and hitting a very tough floater off the glass. Yigitoglu dices UVA up out of the pick and roll and scores yet again. Chuck Harris gets a wide-open look from the right wing and swishes the three. It's a nine-point lead for SMU now. McKneely drives baseline and swings a great pass to Rohde, who drains the corner three. Yohan Traore discards Cofie to grab an offensive rebound and finds Yigitoglu for a dunk. SMU leads by eight at the under four-minute timeout. Virginia ends a bit of a scoring drought as Isaac McKneely hit a very deep and well-contested three-pointer at the end of the shot clock. Anthony Robinson is in the game for Virginia and has made a couple of nice plays on the defensive end, collecting a rebound and now drawing an offensive foul on Yigitoglu in the post. Ishan Sharma splashes a three-pointer; he also made a nice defensive play a few possessions earlier, swiping the ball away from Boopie Miller. Elijah Saunders hit a three-pointer, but the refs say it was just after the buzzer. UVA ends the first half on a 6-0 run to enter halftime trailing by just two points.Still no Dai Dai Ames for Virginia to start the second half. Ames played just seven minutes in the first half and exited after landing awkwardly under the basket on a contested layup attempt. McKneely pulls the trigger on a corner three late in the shot clock and drills it, giving the Cavaliers the lead. Yigitoglu is called for two quick fouls early in the second half and he heads to the bench with three personal fouls. Rohde is fouled by Miller on a backdoor cut and makes both free throws. It's now an 11-0 run for Virginia spanning halftime. SMU answers out of the timeout at Matt Cross hits a corner three to stop the Virginia run. Boopie Miller pushes the ball in transition and scores through contact off the glass. It's a quick 5-0 burst from SMU to get back within two. Yigitoglu takes an inadvertent elbow to the face from Buchanan and goes down hard. The refs are taking a look at it.Virginia tries to post McKneely up and he turns it over, leading to a pair of foul shots for Oquendo on the other end as he draws a foul on Sharma in transition. Oquendo misses the first, but makes the second. Buchanan is fouled in the paint and goes to the line for a one-and-one as Virginia is in the bonus. He makes both free throws to end a lengthy UVA scoring drought. SMU uses some great ball movement to free up the best shooter on the floor, Oquendo, for a wide open corner three to tie the game at 47-47. Oquendo gets another good look from the opposite corner and he knocks that one down too. SMU leads 50-47. McKneely is fouled on a drive and makes both free throws. Yigitoglu gets deep positioning on Buchanan and scores off the glass.Chuck Harris is fouled by McKneely and makes both ends of the one and one, stretching the SMU lead to five points. McKneely threads a beautiful pass to Cofie and he blows the wide-open dunk. Saunders draws the fourth foul on Yigitoglu and makes both free throws. Boopie Miller blows by McKneely and scores high off the glass. Sharma commits a costly turnover with a bad pass, but Virginia plays 50 seconds of good defense, forcing a shot clock violation after SMU got a second-chance opportunity. McKneely tries to draw a foul on a three-pointer and misses the heave. Sharma fouls Harris intentionally and he makes both free throws to push the SMU lead to 58-51. Rohde drives baseline, but dribbles the ball out of bounds. Ron Sanchez calls timeout, but that should just about do it.In the end, SMU breaks the press and Sharma fouls Miller, who makes both free throws. Rohde drives and misses a heavily contested layup. Saunders hoists up a three and hits only backboard and that seals it. SMU beats Virginia 63-51.Stay tuned to Virginia Cavaliers On SI for a full recap of the game and see a full play-by-play and live analysis for the game in the thread below.