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If Virginia’s football team brought raised expectations into its season, the hype around the men’s basketball squad is even higher. And we’ll get an early look at whether that optimism is justified.
Sunday’s outdoor exhibition game against Vanderbilt at Credit One Stadium in Charleston, S.C. (noon, ESPN+) will offer our first view of the 2026-27 Cavaliers, who are coming off a 30-6 mark in Ryan Odom’s first season as coach.
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And it figures to offer an excellent early measuring stick for Virginia’s most important players.
The Cavaliers are rated 12th in ESPN’s latest Way Too Early preseason rankings, and the Commodores (27-9) are 24th. Unlike Virginia, which returns over 60 percent of its scoring, Vanderbilt will have a mostly new starting lineup, thanks to coach Mark Byington’s busy offseason in the transfer portal.
The Commodores’ most notable returnee, though, is junior guard Tyler Tanner, who earned first-team all-Southeastern Conference honors a year ago, averaging 19 points and five assists per game. He’ll be quite a challenge for Virginia sophomore Chance Mallory, who moves into the starting point guard role after coming off the bench effectively last season.
Mallory was the only Cavalier regular with more steals (57) than turnovers (41) last year. He’ll be giving up a couple of inches to Tanner and will have to work hard against him on both ends of the floor. But it figures to be an excellent test of Mallory’s growth as a player.
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Along those lines, it will also be interesting to see how much Johann Grunloh progresses in his second season in Charlottesville. The 7-foot German showed good athleticism, shot-blocking prowess and even a decent 3-point shot as a freshman, but a broken wrist limited his effectiveness late in the season and allowed Ugonna Onyenso to blossom into an NBA draft pick.
Odom has raved about Grunloh’s expanded strength and skill set, and we’ll get to see a glimpse of it on Sunday. But the Commodores have a pair of tall transfers…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/well-early-clue-just-good-152128495.html
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Publish date : 2026-09-25 15:21:00
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