CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – No. 9 Virginia (2-0) battles No. 12 Arkansas (1-0) in the Skyscanner 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.
For Openers
- UVA meets its first of two SEC opponents in 2026-27.
- The Cavaliers will also battle Kentucky in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Dec. 2.
- UVA is 2-0 for the second straight season under Ryan Odom.
- UVA meets its first ranked opponent in 2026-27 after posting a 1-4 mark vs. ranked foes in 2025-26.
- Ryan Odom meets Arkansas for the first time as a head coach.
- UVA’s 186 points in its first two games are its most since 2001-02 when the Cavaliers scored 190 in their first two contests.
Broadcast Information
- The Virginia-Arkansas game will be televised on ESPN 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 32-6 mark at UVA and has posted a 254-133 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 the 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?
- Virginia retained 10 of its 11 possible players from 2025-26, including three starters (Thijs De Ridder, Johann Grünloh and Sam Lewis) and sixth-man Chance Mallory.
- Lewis (20 ppg), De Ridder (20 ppg), Mallory (14 ppg) and Grünloh (12 ppg) lead the team in scoring this season.
- De Ridder (7.5 rpg) and Grünloh (6.5 rpg) lead the Hoos in rebounding.
- De Ridder (15.6 ppg), Lewis (10.6 ppg), Mallory (9.3 ppg) and Grünloh (7.1 ppg) were four of Virginia’s top-six scorers in 2025-26.
- De Ridder earned All-ACC first-team honors in 2025-26 and was joined by Mallory on the NABC East All-District Team.
- Elijah Gertrude, Martin Carrere, Carter Lang, Silas Barksdale, Desmond Roberts and Owen Odom also return from 2025-26.
- UVA welcomes eight newcomers, including transfers Jurian Dixon (UC Irvine), Kalu Anya (St. Louis), Jan Vide (Loyola Marymount) and Christian Harmon (Arkansas State) and European import Nolan Adekunle (VET CONCEPT Gladiators Trier).
- Virginia added first-year center Favour Ibe along with preferred walk-ons Nick Rotter and Quincy Watson.
All Time vs. Arkansas
- Virginia is 4-3 all-time against Arkansas in a series that dates to 1984.
- The teams will meet for the first time since the Razorbacks defeated the Cavaliers 85-83 at the 1998 Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska.
- The Razorbacks have a two-game win streak in the series and have won three of the last four matchups.
- UVA won the first three meetings in the series, including a 53-51 win in the inaugural contest in 1984.
Last Time vs. the Razorbacks
- Chris Jefferies led five players in double figures with 16 points to lead Arkansas to an 85-83 win over Virginia at the 1998 Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska.
- Sergerio Gipson scored 15 points and Pat Bradley (14), Derek Hood (14) and Jason Jennings (11) also reached double figures for the Razorbacks.
- Chezley Walton tallied a game-high 21 points and Adam Hall added 19 for the Cavaliers.
- UVA scored 26 points off of 18 Arkansas turnovers and shot 46.6% in the loss.
Last Time Out
- Chance Mallory and Sam Lewis scored 20 points apiece to lead No. 9 Virginia (2-0) to a 97-72 win over Northeastern on Nov. 6 at John Paul Arena.
- The 20 points marked a career high for Mallory, who added five assists and four steals.
- Thijs De Ridder added 16 points and Johann Grünloh chipped in 13 points.
- UVA shot 61.3% in the second half and out-rebounded Northeastern 37-27.
- Rashad King led the Huskies (0-2) with 26 points and Louis Bond added 23 points.
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.
All-Time at Capital One Arena
- The Cavaliers are 5-3 all-time at Capital One Arena and return to the venue for the first time since posting a 1-1 mark at the 2024 ACC Tournament.
On The Horizon
- Virginia hosts Bucknell in non-conference action on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 9 p.m. The game will be televised on the ACC Network and broadcast on the Virginia Sports Radio Network.