John Calipari didn’t waste any time finding out what his new Arkansas team is made of. He opened the season by putting the Razorbacks in the deep end, and now that test gets a lot bigger.
No. 12 Arkansas heads to Washington, D.C., for a 1 p.m.
ESPN matchup with No. 9 Virginia in one of November’s marquee games.
It’s a top-15 nonconference showdown with a lot of intrigue baked in: Virginia is built on continuity, while Arkansas is leaning hard into fresh talent and upside.
The Cavaliers’ ranking comes from what they already have in place. Ryan Odom brought back four key pieces from last season’s 30-6 team: first-team All-ACC forward Thijs De Ridder, guards Sam Lewis and Chance Mallory, and center Johann Grunloh. That kind of stability has already shown up in the first week of the season.
Virginia opened with an 89-60 win over Drexel, then followed it up Friday night with a 97-72 rout of Northeastern. In both games, the Cavaliers turned defense into chaos, using a full-court press to pile up steals and force mistakes. They had 18 steals and 21 turnovers forced against Drexel, then added 19 turnovers created and 12 steals against Northeastern.
“The goal is not to steal it,” Odom said, “but this team we feel like has the ability, the potential I guess is the better word, the potential to be a really disruptive team.”
Arkansas has taken a similar approach through two games, even if the roster looks completely different. The Razorbacks have only one returning starter in Billy Richmond, with the rest of the rotation made up of freshmen and transfers. Seven of the 10 Arkansas players who logged double-figure minutes in Tuesday’s 106-61 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff were freshmen, and two others were transfers.
That youth hasn’t stopped the Razorbacks from pressing and forcing turnovers of their own. Against Pine Bluff, Arkansas recorded 18 steals and forced 24 turnovers.
Calipari’s latest group is loaded with talent, starting with guard Jeremiah Wilkinson, who scored 23 points and had five steals in the opener. Wilkinson was the 2025 ACC Sixth Man of the Year at Cal and played last season at Georgia. Freshmen Jordan Smith, Mikka Muurinen and Abdou Toure combined for 42 points in the win, and the class as a whole was ranked No. 1 nationally by the 247 Sports composite.
Arkansas’ preseason buzz also comes from the players who are no longer there. The top three scorers from last season’s Sweet 16 team - Darius Acuff, Meleek Thomas and Trevon Brazile - were all top-35 picks in June’s NBA draft. Acuff, the SEC Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, was a first-team All-American and went seventh overall.
Still, Calipari knows this version of Arkansas is still taking shape.
“Look, we’re going to be playing a veteran (UVA) team that’s older, that’s established,” Calipari said during his postgame news conference. “They’re a top-10 team.
We’ve got work to do. We do.
If we’re not physical, it’s hard to be in that game. You’re going to have to be physical.
It means you’re going to have to hold your position.
“You can’t always be the one that’s getting bounced and then fumbling balls and then not get a rebound. You hit first.
You hit first. We’re still not there.
We still don’t have that mentality.”
Virginia’s edge is experience, but the Cavaliers are hardly short on athleticism or pressure defense. Along with De Ridder, Lewis and Mallory, Odom has gotten meaningful production from 24-year-old German import Nolan Adekunle, veteran reserve Elijah Gertrude and transfers Kalu Anya and Jurian Dixon. That group has helped UVA defend with a level of physicality that should fit right into this matchup.
Lewis and De Ridder are both averaging 20 points per game, while Mallory posted a career-high 20 against Northeastern. Gertrude has also given the Cavaliers strong minutes off the bench on both ends.
“We’re asking them to do a lot of things,” Odom said. “We’re asking them to press.
We’re asking them to crash (the glass). We’re asking them to play transition defense and pick-and-roll and share the ball and all these different things.
And play fast. And it can be tiring.”
That’s what makes Sunday feel like a collision of similar styles, even if the rosters were built in different ways. Both teams want to speed things up.
Both want to pressure the ball. Both want to turn defense into offense.
“It’s just who’s stronger and who wants it more, really,” Mallory said. “I feel like who’s more mentally prepared to be able to handle a press while also getting into a press (will win).”
Calipari sees the same thing from the other sideline.
“They get out and run,” Odom said. “They’re really aggressive in transition.
They have a tremendous amount of talent. They share the ball really well.
They can shoot it. They’ve got big guys by the rim.
If you’re attacking them, they’ll throw it over your head and they’ll dunk it. So we’re going to have to be on our game to have a chance to win.”
In Other News...
Virginia Showed Off A New Strength In Another Fast Start Win
Virginias second win of the season came with a different kind of statement, one that went beyond the final margin. After a slow start and even a halftime deficit against Northeastern, the ninth-ranked Cavaliers flipped the game in the second half and rolled to a 97-72 victory, showing a burst of pace and physicality that has not always been the calling card for this program in recent years. Chance Mallory, Sam Lewis and Elijah Gertrude helped fuel the turnaround as Virginias energy began to snowball.
The numbers from the final 20 minutes told the story, with the Cavaliers shooting 61.3% after the break and repeatedly turning hustle plays into momentum. Coach Ryan Odom praised the teams effort and energy afterward, and it was the kind of win that can matter in November because it hints at a broader offensive gear without asking Virginia to abandon what it already does well. The part that stood out most, though, was how quickly the Cavaliers found another strength when the game started to slip away. [Read more 🡒]
Virginias Rotation Question Is Only Getting Bigger For Ryan Odom
Through Virginias first two games against Drexel and Northeastern, Ryan Odom has leaned into a deep bench and treated the early schedule like a laboratory, mixing and matching lineups to see what sticks. The Cavaliers have already gotten encouraging flashes from players such as Sam Lewis and Gertrude, while Nolan Adekunle has emerged as a steady piece on the wing, giving the staff at least one spot it can feel good about as the season settles in.
The bigger question now is how the rest of the rotation takes shape, especially with several freshmen and transfers still looking for a meaningful foothold. Odom has plenty of season left to sort it out, and Virginias depth means there should be chances for someone to seize a role, but the early returns have only made the competition for minutes more crowded. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Faces An Early Test That Could Define This Team
Virginias early-season schedule is about to offer a much clearer read on where this group stands. A non-conference meeting with Arkansas in Washington, D.C., brings together two teams that have opened well, with Virginia leaning on its usual defensive identity and an experienced starting five while Arkansas brings the kind of offensive punch that can stress a game in a hurry under John Calipari.
For Virginia, the matchup is less about the familiar all-time edge in the series and more about whether the Cavaliers can sustain their level when the game gets stretched and the rotations get tested. The starters give Tony Bennetts team a solid foundation, but this is the sort of game that can expose whether the supporting cast is ready to hold up when the pace and pressure rise. [Read more 🡒]