CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 3 seed Virginia (29-5) plays No. 14 seed Wright State (23-11) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 20. Tipoff at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia is set for 1:50 p.m. on TBS, Westwood One and Virginia Sports Radio Network.
For Openers
- UVA meets Wright State for the first time.
- The Cavaliers earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, while Wright State captured the Horizon League title for the automatic berth.
- Virginia is making its 27th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and seeks its first tournament win since 2019 when the Cavaliers won their first NCAA championship.
- UVA has 29 or more wins for the ninth time in school history.
- Virginia is 13-4 away from John Paul Jones Arena, including a 5-2 record on neutral courts.
- UVA is averaging 80.6 points, most since 85 ppg in 2000-01.
- UVA has scored 80 or more points in 19 games (most since 21 in 2000-01).
- UVA returns to Philadelphia for the first time since losing 61-59 to Villanova on Jan. 29, 2017 at the former Wells Fargo Center.
- UVA advanced to the 1981 Final Four at The Spectrum and is 8-16 all-time in Philadelphia.
Broadcast Information
- The Virginia-Wright State game will be televised on TBS, streamed online at NCAA.com/march-madness-live and broadcast on WestwoodOneSports.com/madness, Westwood One Sports App, NCAA March Madness App, VirginiaSports.com amnd Virginia Sports Radio Network.
- Live statistics are available on NCAA.com/march-madness-live, VirginiaSports.com and 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 251-132, including stops at Utah State (2021-23), UMBC (2017-2021), Lenoir-Rhyne (2016) and 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 (4-0 in 1905-06).
- Odom’s 29 wins are the most wins for a UVA first-year head coach, surpassing Jeff Jones’ 21 wins in 1990-91.
- Odom’s 29 are also the most for a men’s basketball head coach at UVA since Tony Bennett’s 35 in 2018-19.
- Odom’s 29 wins rank second for a first-year head coach in the ACC. The only coach to win more games in his debut season was North Carolina’s Bill Guthridge (34 in 1998).
UVA All-Time in the NCAA Tournament
- The Cavaliers are 35-25 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
- UVA is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance under first-year head coach Ryan Odom and 27th overall.
- UVA earned its first No. 3 seed for the NCAA Tournament.
- UVA won the NCAA championship in 2019 and also made Final Four appearances in 1981 and 1984, respectively.
- Odom is 3-4 in five NCAA tournaments as a head coach (2-1 at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne, 1-1 at UMBC, 0-1 at Utah State and 0-1 at VCU).
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.
- De Ridder leads UVA in scoring (15.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.2 rpg), while Thomas (12.4 ppg), Lewis (10.8 ppg) and Mallory (9.5 ppg) are UVA’s other leading scorers.
- Onyenso leads the team in blocks (3.0 bpg) and Hall leads in assists (4.3 apg).
- UVA is averaging 80.6 points and holding foes to 68.4 ppg.
- UVA’s +12.2 scoring margin is its largest since the 2018-19 NCAA championship squad’s +15.3 margin.
- Seven different Cavaliers have led the team in scoring (Thijs De Ridder, Dallin Hall, Sam Lewis, Chance Mallory, Ugonna Onyenso, Malik Thomas, Jacari White).
- UVA averaged 77.3 ppg and held foes to 69.6 ppg in ACC play.
ACC Tournament Recap
- Virginia advanced to its 11th ACC Tournament final against top-ranked Duke with wins over No. 7 seed NC State (81-74) and No. 3 seed Miami (84-62).
- No. 1 seed Duke edged the Cavaliers 74-70 in the final.
- Ugonna Onyenso and Sam Lewis were named ACC All-Tournament First Team, while Malik Thomas and Thijs De Ridder were named to the second team.
- Onyenso set a tournament record with 21 blocks, while Lewis (15 ppg), Thomas (16.3 ppg) and De Ridder (12 ppg) led the team in scoring in the three games.
- UVA drilled 12 3-pointers against NC State and 11 vs. Miami.
- UVA out-rebounded NC State (34-33) and Miami (38-26).
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.
Last Time in the NCAA Tournament
- No. 10 seed Virginia suffered a 67-42 loss to No. 10 seed Colorado State in the 2024 NCAA First Four in Dayton, Ohio.
- Colorado State jumped to 27-14 lead at the half and started the second half on a 7-0 run to seal the win.
- Joel Scott (23 points, 11 rebounds) and Nique Clifford (17 points, 10 rebounds) each had double doubles for the Rams.
- CSU shot 55% (26 of 47) and out-rebounded UVA 43-24.
- Reece Beekman led the Cavaliers with 15 points in his final game of his stellar four-year career.
- UVA shot an NCAA low 25 percent (14 of 56) and committed 13 turnovers in the loss.
Cavaliers Against the NCAA Tournament Field
- Virginia competed against nine teams which qualified for the 2026 NCAA Tournament, posting a 10-3 record.
- UVA went 3-0 vs. NC State, 2-0 vs. Miami, 1-0 Louisville, 1-0 vs. Ohio State, 1-0 vs. Queens, 1-0 vs. SMU, 1-0 vs. Texas, 0-2 vs. Duke and 0-1 vs. North Carolina.
Hoos Among ACC Leaders
- Virginia ranks first in the ACC in blocks (6.5 bpg) and offensive rebounding (13.2), second in rebounding (40.2), field goal percentage defense (39.5%), third in scoring defense (68.4 ppg), scoring margin (+12.7), rebounding margin (+7.4), 3-point field goal percentage defense (.309) and fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (35.9%), assists (16.6 apg), 3-pointers (10.1), defensive rebounds (27.0 rpg) and assist/turnover ratio (1.53).
- Thijs De Ridder ranks 16th in scoring (15.5 ppg), ninth in field goal percentage (50.8%) and 17th in rebounding (6.2 rpg).
- Dallin Hall ranks first in assist/turnover ratio (3.3) and 11th in assists (4.3 apg).
- Ugonna Onyenso leads the ACC in blocks at 3.0 bpg, while Johann Grünloh ranks third in blocks at 2.2 bpg.
- Chance Mallory ranks second in assist/turnover ratio (3.2), eighth in steals (1.6 spg), 13th in assists (3.6 apg) and 15th in free throw percentage (78.6%).
- Jacari White ranks 14th in 3-pointers made per game (2.1).
On The Horizon
- The Virginia-Wright State winner advances to the NCAA Tournament second round vs. No. 6 seed Tennessee or No. 11 seed Miami (OH) on Sunday, March 22. Tip time and television designation is TBA.