Virginia basketball fans won’t need to hunt very hard to find the Hoos on TV this season.
With both programs coming off NCAA Tournament trips - and both winning at least one game in March Madness - there’s already plenty of momentum around the orange and blue. Add in a pair of First-Team All-ACC standouts in Thijs De Ridder for the men and Kymora Johnson for the women, and the spotlight figures to stay fixed on Charlottesville.
That attention shows up on the schedule, too.
The men will have 30 regular-season games on linear television through the ESPN family of networks or The CW, with one more game set for Peacock. On the women’s side, 15 games are slated for either the ESPN family or The CW, with ACC Network Extra also carrying a long list of matchups.
At ACC Tipoff this week, both head coaches gave fans a peek at what’s ahead.
Ryan Odom said his team is eager to get rolling after keeping key pieces in place and adding more talent to the mix.
“We’re excited about the season. We were able to retain some key guys and guys that played under the lights this past season and had success,” Odom said.
“We’re excited about the new guys coming in, and the guys have been working hard to get prepared for this season, which we know is going to be a great ACC Conference season. Then, also, our non-conference is going to be extremely challenging this year.”
Aaron Roussell, meanwhile, pointed to the process of building chemistry and singled out rebounding as a major indicator of where the women’s season could go in the ACC.
“I think there has to be some building of the chemistry, right? We can say that we have great players, which we do.
We can have talent. We can have all of these things.
Even when you've had groups that have been together for a long time, it takes some time during the season until it really clicks,” Roussell said. “I think that’s what’s always exciting is my staff has heard me say this.
Whether it’s January, whether it’s Christmas time, there’s different times, but you always look at them like, hey, we just figured some things out. I think that is obviously vital to it.”
The men’s TV slate is stacked with familiar ACC heavyweights and a few nonconference tests. Games against Arkansas, Marquette, Xavier, Kentucky, UConn, Clemson, SMU, California, Miami, North Carolina, Virginia Tech home and away, Syracuse, Duke home and away, Louisville, and Florida State will be shown on ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPNU.
The ACC Network will carry matchups with Drexel, Northeastern, Bucknell, Old Dominion, Loyola Maryland, Bethune-Cookman, Stanford, Pittsburgh, and Notre Dame.
The CW will air games against Western Carolina, Boston College, Georgia Tech, and NC State, while the trip to Maryland will be on Peacock.
The women’s list is just as TV-friendly. Mississippi State, Kentucky, NC State, Louisville, and Notre Dame are set for ESPN, ESPN2, or ESPNU. The ACC Network will televise games against James Madison, SMU, Navy, Duke, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Stanford, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech on the road.
Virginia’s home game against Virginia Tech will be on The CW, with ESPN Unlimited also streaming it.
ACC Network Extra is listed for Maryland Eastern Shore, William & Mary, Drexel, Boston College, American, Stony Brook, Norfolk State, Miami, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, California, Syracuse, and Florida State. The Davidson game is scheduled for ESPN+ even though it is not yet on UVA’s schedule page. ODU, Oklahoma, and UAB still do not have television or streaming assignments.
Rain didn’t keep fans away from the sidelines this week, either. Fan(s) of the Week were recognized for cheering through the weather for the Hoos, and the Student Fan(s) of the Week stayed in the rain to root for the Wahoos. The Feature Photo of the Week spotlighted Keke Adams, who smiled through the rain after making two interceptions against Delaware.
In Other News...
Virginia Had To Dig Deep To Avoid A Brutal Home Letdown
Virginias afternoon at Scott Stadium had all the makings of a flat home disappointment before the Cavaliers steadied themselves and found a way to beat Syracuse 28-25. Tony Elliotts team spent much of the game chasing, and the offense did not fully come to life until after halftime, when the Cavaliers finally started to look more like the group that could finish the job in front of its own crowd.
The turning point came when Beau Pribula connected with DaShawn Martin on a 43-yard touchdown pass, a play that helped flip the momentum and open the door for the late push. Jekail Middlebrook added two rushing touchdowns as Virginia clawed back in the second half, a rally that left Elliott praising the teams resilience after a win that could have easily slipped away. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Finally Got The Win It Desperately Needed
Virginia football badly needed a stabilizing win, and it found one in a 28-25 escape over Syracuse that showed why close games have felt so difficult for this team. Virginia trailed at halftime but stayed in it with strong special teams and a defense that kept giving the offense a chance, even as the Cavaliers were outgained and had to navigate penalties and a steady dose of in-game adversity.
Jekail Middlebrook gave Virginia the kind of running game presence it had been searching for, helping the Cavaliers finish the job when the margin was tight. The result offers a measure of relief and a chance to reset, but it also leaves the bigger question hanging over the next stretch of the season: whether this was a true turning point or just a much-needed survival act. [Read more 🡒]
Virginia Women's Soccer Sends A Strong ACC Message On The Road
Virginias womens soccer team kept its strong early-season form rolling with a lopsided road win over SMU, a result that should travel well as ACC play gets tighter and the margin for error shrinks. The No. 14 Cavaliers spread the scoring around and showed the kind of balance that can make a team dangerous over the long haul, with Olivia Rademaker, Sophia Bradley, Jordyn Hardeman, Aniyah Collier and Mackenzie Mize all finding the net in the victory.
For a Virginia group trying to make a statement beyond just one result, the bigger takeaway is how complete it looked away from home. Multiple scorers, steady pressure and a comfortable finish all point in the same direction, even if the full measure of what this performance means in the conference race will become clearer as the schedule moves on. [Read more 🡒]