Virginia Battles Dayton on Saturday in Charlotte
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (7-1) plays Dayton (7-2) in a non-conference game on Saturday (Dec. 6) in Charlotte, N.C. Tipoff at Spectrum Center is set for Noon on ESPN2 and Virginia Sports Radio Network.
For Openers
• Virginia meets Dayton for the first time since 2018.
• UVA is 1-1 on neutral courts, winning 83-78 vs. Northwestern and losing 80-73 vs. Butler at the Greenbrier.
• UVA’s Ryan Odom (2023-25) and Dayton’s Anthony Grant (2006-09) each served as head coach at VCU.
• UVA has scored 80 or more points in seven games.
• The Cavaliers are 4-5 at the former Time Warner Cable Arena and current Spectrum Center.
• UVA meets first Atlantic 10 opponent since 2021-22 when the Cavaliers fell 52-51 to St. Bonaventure in the third round of the NIT.
Broadcast Information
• The Virginia-Dayton game will be televised on ESPN2 and streamed on ESPN.com/watch.
• The game will also be broadcast on Virginia Sports Radio Network, VirginiaSports.com and Virginia Sports app.
• Live statistics will be located on VirginiaSports.com and the Virginia Sports app.
The New Head Coach
• Ryan Odom was named the University of Virginia’s Dean and Markel Families Men’s Head Basketball Coach on March 22.
• He spent the last two seasons at VCU, leading the Rams to a 52-21 record and 2025 NCAA Tournament berth.
• VCU won the 2025 Atlantic-10 Tournament and shared the A-10 regular-season championship.
• UVA is Odom’s fifth stint as a collegiate head coach. In 12 seasons, he has compiled a record of 224-127, including stops at Utah State (2021-23), UMBC (2017-2021), Lenoir-Rhyne (2016), Charlotte (2015, interim).
• Odom led UMBC, Utah State and VCU to the NCAA Tournament during his second season at those schools.
• Odom coached UMBC to an upset against Virginia in 2018 NCAA Tournament, marking the first time a No. 16 seed defeated a No. 1 seed in the event’s history.
• Odom is the first UVA coach to start his tenure 5-0, surpassing the Cavaliers’ first coach Henry Lannigan who started 4-0 in 1905-06.
All-Time vs. Dayton
• UVA is 3-0 all-time against Dayton in a series that dates back to the 1986-87 season.
• UVA defeated Dayton 66-59 in the last meeting at the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis on Nov. 22, 2018.
• The Cavaliers topped the Flyers 74-67 in the inaugural meeting in Dayton on Feb. 16, 1987.
• Virginia added a 69-50 win over Dayton at University Hall in Charlottesville on Dec. 9, 1987.
Last Time vs. The Flyers
• De’Andre Hunter scored 23 points to lead then-No. 4 Virginia to a 66-59 win over Dayton on Thanksgiving on Nov. 22, 2018.
• Ty Jerome scored all 15 of his points in the second half and Kyle Guy added 14 for the Cavaliers.
• The Cavaliers out-rebounded Dayton 30-27 behind six rebounds apiece from Braxton Key and Hunter.
• UVA shot 42.9 percent from the field and forced 14 turnovers.
• Josh Cunningham scored 15 points and Obi Toppin added 13 for the Flyers.
Last Time Out
• Chance Mallory scored 16 points to lead Virginia to an 88-69 win in an ACC/SEC Challenge contest at Texas on Dec. 3.
• Thijs De Ridder and Johann Grünloh each scored 15 points and Malik Thomas and Jacari White chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
• UVA made 12 3-pointers, including nine in a dominant first half.
• Dailyn Swain led Texas with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Virginia Standard
• The Virginia Standard is to pursue excellence and is built on the six pillars of humility, passion, unity, servanthood, thankfulness and accountability,
• We play with pace, share the basketball and our defensive style is to dictate and disrupt.
Hoo Are These Cavaliers?
• The 2025-26 roster is highlighted by 12 newcomers, including Dallin Hall (BYU), Malik Thomas (San Francisco), Devin Tillis (UC Irvine), Jacari White (North Dakota State), Ugonna Onyenso (Kansas State), Sam Lewis (Toledo) and Martin Carrere (VCU).
• UVA added European imports Thijs De Ridder (Bilbao Basket), Johann Grünloh (RASTA Vechta) and true freshmen Silas Barksdale (Woodside High School), Chance Mallory (St. Anne’s Belfield) and Owen Odom (Collegiate School).
• Redshirt sophomores Elijah Gertrude, Carter Lang and Desmond Roberts are the lone returners from last year’s team.
• UVA returned four points (all from Roberts) from 2024-25.
• De Ridder leads three players averaging double figures at 17.6 ppg, followed by Thomas (13.1 ppg) and Mallory (11.9 ppg).
• Grünloh leads the team in rebounding (7.4 rpg) and blocks (3.0 bpg), while Hall has a team-best 4.0 assists per game.
• UVA is averaging 87.6 points per game and limiting its opponents to 67.8 ppg.
New Kids on The Block
• Newcomers Johann Grünloh and Ugonna Onyenso provide elite rim protection for UVA.
• UVA ranks second nationally in blocks (7.5 bpg), highlighted by Onyenso’s eight-block effort vs. Butler and Grünloh’s seven-block effort vs. NC Central.
• Grünloh ranks third nationally with 3.0 blocks per game, while Onyenso is sixth at 2.9 bpg.
• Onyenso and Grünloh each had four blocks against Hampton, marking the first time since Dec. 22, 1998, a pair of UVA teammates each had four or more blocks (Kris Hunter 5, Chris Williams 4).
• Grünloh’s seven blocks vs. NC Central were most by a Cavalier freshman since Jason Clark’s eight vs. VMI on Jan. 24, 2002.
• Onyenso’s eight blocks vs. Butler were the most by a Cavalier since Jay Huff’s 10 vs. Duke on Feb. 29, 2020.
• Grünloh has two or more blocks in seven games, while Onyenso has multiple blocks in five games.
Crash The Glass
• Virginia ranks fourth nationally in offensive rebounds (16.3 rpg), 16th in rebounds (43.4 rpg) and 26th in rebound margin (10.4).
• UVA is 6-0 when out-rebounding its opponent.
• The Cavaliers have 49 or more rebounds in four games, out-rebounding Hampton (49-25), NCCU (48-34), Rider (49-32), Marshall (38-35) and Northwestern (49-25).
• UVA has 20 or more offensive rebounds in three games, including 20 or more in back-to-back games (Rider and NCCU) for the first time since November of 2007 (25 at Penn and 20 against Seton Hall).
Let it Fly
• Virginia is averaging a school-record 28 3-point attempts per game, surpassing 22.7 in 2007-08.
• UVA has shot 30 or more 3-pointers in three contests.
• UVA attempted 30 or more 3-pointers in back-to-back games (Rider and NCCU) for the first time since March of 2021 (Syracuse and Ohio).
• UVA’s 36 3-point attempts vs. NC Central were its most since 38 against Virginia Tech on Feb. 10, 2018.
• UVA has made 11 of more 3-pointers in five games, including a season-high 15 vs. Queens, and is shooting 37.9 percent (85 of 224) from 3-point range overall.
• Jacari White leads the team with 19 3-pointers, while Malik Thomas has 13 and Chance Mallory and Sam Lewis have 12 each, respectively.
On The Horizon
• Virginia hosts Maryland Eastern Shore in a non-conference tilt on Tuesday, Dec. 9. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m. on the ACC Network and Virginia Sports Radio Network.