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Virginia will get two shots at rival Duke in 2026-27, according to the conference schedule released by the Atlantic Coast Conference on Wednesday.
The Blue Devils finished first and the Cavaliers second in last season’s ACC standings and are expected to be among the top contenders again this winter. They were designated as “Variable Partners” for 2026-27, meaning they’ll meet twice during the regular season.
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The first showdown will come on Feb. 6 at John Paul Jones Arena and the rematch will be held on March 1 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C., just a week before the ACC tournament — where there’s a possibility of a third showdown in a repeat of last year championship game, won by the Blue Devils.
As usual, the Cavaliers also will play state rival and “Primary Partner” Virginia Tech twice: Jan. 30 in Charlottesville and Feb. 23 in Blacksburg. Because the ACC is a 17-team league and each school plays 18 conference games, Virginia does not have a regular-season contest scheduled against Wake Forest.
The Cavaliers return more than 60 percent of the scoring from a team that went 30-6 in coach Ryan Odom’s first season in charge. All-ACC forward Thijs De Ridder is back after averaging a team-high 15.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Also returning are starting guard Sam Lewis (10.6 points per game) and center Johann Grunloh (7.1), along with sophomore point guard Chance Mallory, who averaged 9.3 points and 3.4 assists off the bench as a freshman and will step into the starting point guard role.
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Odom also imported a strong transfer class that includes guards Christian Harmon, Jurian Dixon, and Jan Vide, and frontcourt players Kalu Anya and Nolan Adkunle.
Virginia opens its ACC schedule on Dec. 29 at Clemson and plays its first conference home game on Sept. 2 against SMU before departing on a West Coast swing to Stanford and California. Other highlights of the league schedule include back-to-back games at expected ACC contenders Miami (Jan. 16) and…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/initial-thoughts-virginia-basketballs-2026-185554994.html
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Publish date : 2026-09-09 18:55:00
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