CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 21 Virginia (11-1) opens ACC action at Virginia Tech (11-2) on Wednesday, Dec. 31. Tipoff for the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash is set for 2 p.m. on the ACC Network and Virginia Sports Radio Network.
For Openers
- No. 21 Virginia opens its 73rd season of ACC action.
- UVA is 36-36 all-time in ACC openers.
- UVA is 3-1 away from home this season.
- UVA has scored 80 or more points in 11 games, most since 11 in 2007-08.
- The Cavaliers are averaging 87.2 points, second-most in school history (89.8 ppg in 1954-55).
- UVA is 23rd in kenpom.com and 24 in NET rankings.
- The Virginia-Virginia Tech game is part of the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash, which is a head-to-head, points-based athletics competition between the schools.
- Head coach Ryan Odom served as an assistant coach at Virginia Tech from 2003-10.
Broadcast Information
- The Virginia-Virginia Tech game will be televised on the ACC Network 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. Virginia Tech
- Virginia is 99-61 all-time vs. Virginia Tech, including a 24-34 mark in Blacksburg, in a series that dates to 1914-15.
- UVA and Tech split a pair of games last season with each team winning road contests.
- Virginia Tech defeated Virginia 75-74 on Feb. 1 at JPJ, while the Cavaliers beat the Hokies 73-70 on Feb. 15 at Cassell Coliseum.
- UVA and VT have split the two-game series between the teams in each of the last four seasons.
- The Cavaliers are 5-5 against the Hokies in their last 10 games.
Last Time vs. the Hokies
- Isaac McKneely scored 22 points to lead Virginia to a 73-70 win at Virginia Tech in a Commonwealth Clash on Feb. 15, 2025.
- Anthony Robinson (4 of 5 FGs & 7 of 8 FTs) added career bests in points (15) and rebounds (7) as UVA earned the season split against its in-state rivals.
- UVA drilled 11 3-pointers and outrebounded the Hokies, 30-28.
- Tobi Lawal led the Hokies with a game-high 23 points.
Last Time Out
- Thijs De Ridder scored a career-high 27 points as No. 21 Virginia beat American 95-51 on Dec. 22 at John Paul Jones Arena.
- De Ridder netted 21 points as UVA built a 45-25 halftime lead.
- Malik Thomas (11), Elijah Gertrude (11), Sam Lewis (11) and Chance Mallory (10) also reached double figures.
- UVA shot a season-high 62.3 percent and dominated the glass with a 45-23 advantage.
- Julen Iturbe led the Eagles with 13 points.
More on the Commonwealth Clash
- The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash is a rivalry between Virginia and Virginia Tech across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line.
- The school that accumulates 11 points or more will be crowned the winner of the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash trophy.
- The UVA-VT game is worth a half point in the Clash and the Cavaliers lead this year’s Clash 5.5-0.5.
- UVA captured the Clash in 2015, 2016, 2019, 2023, 2024 and 2025, while Virginia Tech won the Clash in 2017, 2018 and 2022. The 2020 and 2021 clashes were canceled due to the pandemic.
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, Chance Mallory and Owen Odom.
- 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 UVA in scoring at 16.1 ppg, followed by Mallory (11.1 ppg), Thomas (11.1 ppg) and White (10.9 ppg).
- Grünloh leads the team in rebounding (7.2 rpg) and blocks (2.6 bpg), while Hall has a team-best 4.1 assists per game.
- UVA is averaging 87.2 points per game and limiting its opponents to 66.5 ppg.
New Kids on The Block
- Newcomers Johann Grünloh and Ugonna Onyenso provide elite rim protection for UVA.
- UVA ranks fourth nationally in blocks (6.5 bpg), highlighted by Onyenso’s eight-block effort vs. Butler and Grünloh’s seven-block effort vs. NC Central.
- Grünloh ranks 11th nationally with 2.6 blocks per game, while Onyenso is 14th at 2.5 bpg.
- 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 eight games, while Onyenso has multiple blocks in six games.
Crash The Glass
- UVA ranks 13th nationally in offensive rebounds (14.6 rpg), 26th in rebound margin (9.8) and 30th in rebounds (41.6 rpg).
- UVA is 9-0 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 26.5 3-point attempts per game, surpassing 22.7 in 2007-08.
- UVA ranks 15th nationally in 3-point shooting percentage (39.6%) and 22nd in effective shooting percentage (.583).
- UVA’s 39.6 percent (126 of 318) 3-point shooting percentage ranks second on UVA’s single-season list (40.3% in 2015-16).
- UVA has shot 30 or more 3-pointers in four 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 seven games, including a season-high 15 vs. Queens. - UVA had a school-record eight players make at least one 3-pointer in its win at Texas on Dec. 3.
- In 2025-26, Jacari White (50%), Devin Tillis (46.7%), Chance Mallory (44.1%), Thijs DeRidder (43.8%), Dallin Hall (41.9%), and Sam Lewis (40.9%) are UVA’s 3-point shooting leaders.
- White set a UVA record with 12 consecutive made 3-pointers during a three-game stretch from Nov. 28-Dec. 6.
- White leads the team with 30 3-pointers, while Malik Thomas and Mallory each have 15.
On The Horizon
- No. 21 Virginia travels to NC State on Saturday, Jan. 3. Tipoff at Lenovo Center is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN2.