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Jamie Holt/Virginia Athletics

No. 9 Men’s Basketball Hosts Northeastern on Friday at 5 p.m.

No. 9 Virginia (1-0) hosts Northeastern in non-conference action on Friday, Nov. 6. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is slated for 5 p.m. The game will be televised on the ACC Network Extra and broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 9 Virginia (1-0) hosts Northeastern in non-conference action on Friday, Nov. 6. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is slated for 5 p.m. The game will be televised on the ACC Network Extra and broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network.

For Openers

  • Virginia meets Northeastern for the first time since 2023.
  • UVA meets its second straight Coastal Athletic Association foe after defeating Drexel in its season opener on Nov. 3.
  • UVA is 113-11 at JPJ in non-conference play since 2009-10.
  • UVA’s 18 steals vs. Drexel marked a John Paul Jones Arena record and tied for fourth-most in school history.
  • Preseason ACC Player of the Year Thijs De Ridder netted his 13th career 20-point game with a game-high 24 points against Drexel.

Broadcast Information

  • The Virginia-Northeastern game will be televised on the ACC Network and streamed online at 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.

Our Leader

  • Head coach Ryan Odom enters his second season at Virginia after leading the Cavaliers to a 30-6 overall record, a 15-3 second-place mark in the ACC and a second NCAA Tournament appearance in 2025-26.
  • Odom’s 30 wins are the most wins for a Virginia first-year head coach, surpassing Jeff Jones’ 21 wins in 1990-91.
  • Odom has a 31-6 mark at UVA and has posted a 253-133 overall mark in 13 seasons of coaching. He has led Virginia (2026), VCU (2025), Utah State (2023), UMBC (2018) and Lenoir-Rhyne (2016) to NCAA tournament appearances.
  • 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 30 wins were the most for a UVA men’s basketball head coach since Tony Bennett’s 35 in 2018-19.
  • Odom’s 30 wins rank second for a first-year ACC head coach in his debut season, trailing only North Carolina’s Bill Guthridge (34 in 1998).
  • Odom has led his teams to the conference championship game in each of the last four seasons (Utah State 2023, VCU 2024 and 2025 and UVA 2026).

The 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?

All Time vs. Northeastern

  • Virginia is 2-0 in the all-time series against Northeastern.
  • The Cavaliers meet the Huskies for the first time since posting a 56-54 win in the last meeting between the teams on Dec. 16, 2023, at John Paul Jones Arena.
  • UVA also defeated Northeastern 82-60 at University Hall on Nov. 24, 1989.

Last Time vs. the Huskies

  • Reece Beekman made a driving layup to lift No. 22 Virginia past Northeastern 56-54 on Dec. 16, 2023, at John Paul Jones Arena.
  • Beekman’s 21 points (9-of-18 shooting) led all scorers and marked a career-high, besting his previous career-best of 20 points against Clemson on Dec. 22, 2021.
  • UVA trailed 30-24 at halftime, but rallied with a comeback led by Beekman, who added six rebounds, five assists and two steals in the win.
  • Jake Groves added eight points and Leon Bond III chipped in six points as UVA improved to 9-1.
  • UVA had 19 points off turnovers and committed five turnovers.
  • Joe Pridgen led Northeastern with 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Cavaliers Ranked No. 9 in AP Preseason Poll

  • Virginia’s No. 9 AP preseason ranking is its highest since a No. 4 ranking to start the 2020-21 season.
  • The Cavaliers’ No. 9 ranking marks its first AP top-25 preseason ranking since their No. 18 preseason ranking in 2022-23.
  • UVA received two votes in the 2025-26 preseason AP Top-25 poll and finished 17th.
  • UVA hasn’t been ranked in the AP Top-25 since a No. 21 ranking on Feb. 17, 2024.

Somebody’s Watching Me

  • Thijs De Ridder was named to the preseason 2027 NABC Player of the Year and Naismith Trophy watch lists.
  • Chance Mallory (Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year ), Thijs De Ridder (Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year) and Johann Grünloh (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year) were named to other preseason position watch lists.
  • Players can play their way onto and off the list at any point in the 2026-27 season. In late January, the watch list of 20 players for the awards will be narrowed to 10, and then in late February, to just five. In March, the five finalists will be presented to the Naismith Hall of Fame selection committees to determine the winner for each award.

There’s No Place Like Home

  • Virginia is 273-64 (.810), including a 1-0 mark (0-0 in ACC play) in 2026-27, in 21 seasons at John Paul Jones Arena.
  • The Cavaliers are 57-11 in their last 68 games at JPJ.
  • UVA is 113-11 in non-league action at JPJ since 2009-10.
  • UVA has won 10+ home games for 17 straight seasons.
  • UVA is 25th nationally and third among ACC schools with a an .830 home winning percentage since 2009-10.
  • UVA is 17-1 at home under head coach Ryan Odom.
  • UVA is celebrating its 20th anniversary of JPJ this season as the building opened on Nov. 12, 2006.

On The Horizon

  • Virginia battles No. 12 Arkansas in the Capital Showcase on Sunday, Nov. 8 in Washington, D.C. Tipoff at Capital One Arena is set for 1 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN and broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network.