Hoos Ready to Test Themselves Away From Home

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Technically, the Greenbrier Resort is a neutral site at which the University of Virginia men’s basketball team will not enjoy a home-court advantage this weekend.

The map tells a different story. The Greenbrier, in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., is about a two-hour drive from Charlottesville. The famed resort is approximately 625 miles from Northwestern’s campus in Evanston, Ill., and about 430 from Butler’s in Indianapolis, and so a trip to the Skechers Greenbrier Tip-Off won’t be as easy for most fans of those schools.

Still, UVA (4-0) is about to play away from John Paul Jones Arena for the first time this season, and that brings new challenges. During the preseason, the Cavaliers faced Vanderbilt in an exhibition game in Nashville, Tenn., but the stakes will be higher at the Greenbrier, where they’ll take on Northwestern (4-0) at 5 p.m. Friday and Butler at 2 p.m. Sunday. Both games will air on CBS Sports Network.

Butler (3-1) plays South Carolina (4-0) at 2 p.m. Friday. In the final game of this event, Northwestern meets South Carolina at 5 p.m. Sunday.

The Wahoos are back at JPJ next Friday to host Queens, after which come two games away from Charlottesville: a Dec. 3 visit to Texas for the SEC/ACC Challenge and a Dec. 6 date with Dayton in Charlotte, N.C.

Asked on a Zoom call Wednesday about leaving the friendly surroundings of JPJ, head coach Ryan Odom said, “I think the Vanderbilt game certainly was a good experience for our guys. You learn how you do things in the hotel, the prep for the games, the warmups, the timing of when certain guys are supposed to be at the gym for shooting groups. There’s a lot of things that we do.”

Players work with athletic trainer Ethan Saliba and strength and conditioning coach Mike Curtis, and there are film sessions, Odom noted. “There’s a lot of stuff that goes on in the lead-up to the actual game. And so I think this will be another good experience for the guys … When you go on the road, sometimes you end up getting a little bit closer to one another because you spend time together in the hotel, and I think that’s certainly a goal of ours as well. We want to use these opportunities to make the most of the experience that we all have together.

“I always say it every year, this particular team has one life to live, and there’s going to be some new faces each year on the roster. And so let’s make the most of the time that we have together and be present at every moment. And that’s something that we try to do without taking their phones [away] or any of that kind of stuff. They understand when they’re sitting at a meal that, hey, let’s actually have some good quality conversation and enjoy one another’s company.”

Northwestern, whose head coach is former Duke standout Chris Collins, will be the first Power 4 opponent UVA has faced this season. The Cavaliers have defeated Rider, North Carolina Central, Hampton and Marshall by an average margin of 29.3 points.

The Greenbrier Tip-Off will “be a good test for us,” Virginia guard Jacari White said on this week’s Wahoo Central Podcast, “especially [playing] teams of that level, just to see how far we’ve come and how well we know to trust everything that’s been going on, trust our practice, trust our work, and trust our execution.”

Balanced scoring has been one of the Hoos’ hallmarks this season. Eight players are averaging at least 7.3 points per game each, led by forward Thijs De Ridder (17.3).

“Certainly we emphasize sharing the basketball and moving it quickly, whether it’s in transition or in the half court,” said Odom, who’s in his first year at UVA. “We want to play to our strengths, and certainly we have multiple guys that can score … It’s been different guys each game.”

The bench’s play has been instrumental in the Cavaliers’ strong start. Freshman guard Chance Mallory is averaging 10.3 points per game, and graduate students White and Ugonna Onyenso are at 9.5 ppg each.

Of the 15 players on the roster, only Elijah Gertrude, Desmond Roberts and Carter Long were in the program last season. De Ridder and Johann Grünloh played in Europe last season; Onyenso, White, Malik Thomas, Sam Lewis, Dallin Hall, Devin Tillis and Martin Carrere were at other colleges; and Mallory, Silas Barksdale and Owen Odom were in high school.

During the recruiting process, none of the newcomers was promised a starting job, Odom said, but “I think we all felt like the collection of guys that we brought in could impact the program in a positive way. And so they understood when they chose to come to UVA that it was going to be about the overall program and winning games. And from that perspective, they’ve done a great job so far of not only doing their individual best but being positive and pulling for their teammates as well. And so that’s ultimately what you want in any team. You want a team that is a true team, and we’re trying every day to measure up to that.”

The Cavaliers are shooting 50% from the floor overall and 38.8% from 3-point range. Equally impressive are their defensive numbers. Opponents are shooting 34.9% percent from the floor against UVA and only 28.9% from beyond the arc. Even so, Odom said, his team remains a “work in progress” at that end of the court.

“We’ve gotten a little bit better over the last week and a half to two weeks,” Odom said, “and we need to continue to grow.”

Virginia, whose frontcourt includes two 7-footers in Grünloh and Onyenso, has outrebounded opponents 184 to 126. Moreover, the Hoos are averaging 8.3 blocked shots per game.

“Certainly, the rim protection has been good so far,” Odom said. “The rebounding, while it’s gotten better, still has room for improvement on the defensive boards.”

Northwestern forward Nick Martinelli figures to test UVA’s defense. He led the Big Ten in scoring in 2024-25, when he totaled 676 points, his program’s single-season record, and he’s not the Wildcats’ only weapon.

“This is a well-rounded bunch and a group that expects to win games,” Odom said of Northwestern.

The Hoos are 3-0 all-time against Northwestern. They’re 1-0 against the Wildcats. That game was on March 19, 2016, in Raleigh, N.C., where Virginia won 77-69 in the NCAA tournament’s second round.

White has faced the Bulldogs more recently. He hit a career-high seven 3-pointers last season to help North Dakota State upset Butler 71-68 at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

“That was just a crazy game,” White said. “I feel like everyone there thought we were coming in as the underdogs that game, and to just to go out there and play like that and shock the world was something I’ll always remember.”

ON THE MEND: Tillis, a 6-foot-7 forward who came to UVA from UC Irvine, had a minor knee operation during preseason but has returned to practice on limited basis.

“He’s doing really well,” Odom said. “I think it’s day to day now. He’s beginning to enter the mix in practice. Not live yet, but he’s beginning to get out there with the guys and [doing] shooting drills and some movement things.”

There’s no target date for Tillis’ 2025-26 debut, Odom said. “We’re not going to rush this thing. It’s a long season. If we were in a rush, we probably would have never had the surgery. We’re gonna make sure that he is 100% ready to roll when it’s time for him to get back out there on the court.”

Tillis and Barksdale are only Cavaliers yet to play this season. Barksdale, a 6-foot-9 freshman from Newport News, might end up redshirting, Odom said.

“I think Silas understands how precious and how important each season is as it relates to his overall growth and what’s out there potentially for him here in Virginia,” Odom said, “and he loves being here. He loves the place. He’s confident in his own abilities, but he’s on a roster right now with quite a few older guys that have played a lot of college basketball. And so he understands how hard that is to combat when he’s the youngest guy on the team.”

UVA’s coaches are excited on Barksdale’s potential, Odom said, “and we just want to protect his future and make sure that he has the best chance to be the player that we all know he can be, and then also impact Virginia in a really positive way.”

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