Virginia basketball notes: Cavaliers will have a primetime campaign + other things from 2026 ACC Tipoff

At ACC Tipoff in Charlotte, N.C., Virginia Coach Ryan Odom addressed the media along with Thijs De Ridder, Chance Mallory, Sam Lewis and Johann Grunloh.

VIRGINIA TO PLAY ON DOZENS OF NATIONAL BROADCASTS

“All players want to play in big games, all coaches want to coach in big games, and we’ve certainly provided these guys with that opportunity this year,” Odom said.

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Thirty of Virginia’s games will be on national broadcasts this season. The Cavaliers are currently scheduled to play just one game on streaming (Nov. 13 clash with Maryland, on Peacock).

DUKE RELOADS WITH IMPACT FRESHMEN

In each of the past two seasons, Duke’s basketball strategy has revolved around a freshman who went on to win national player of the year honors. First it was Cooper Flagg, then Cameron Boozer.

The 2026-27 Blue Devils have another strong first-year class, led by 7-foot freshman Cameron Williams, the No. 4 overall prospect in the high school recruiting class of 2026. But he’s unlikely to give Duke a player of the year three-peat, given the fact that this year’s roster has more experience than most of coach Jon Scheyer’s previous squads.

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The Blue Devils are again ACC preseason favorites, but they may have a slightly different look.

“I don’t know if they’re going to have an immediate impact at the level that we’ve seen. I mean, we’ve seen historic impact with our freshmen, but they’re going to be contributors to winning,” Scheyer said Wednesday at the annual ACC Tipoff preseason media event.

“I think they really have had — they’re fortunate they have more experience in the building to look to where guys can help guide them. I think there’s been great — there’s not separation between freshmen and upperclassmen. I think these guys have really connected. They’re going to grow and be big parts of what we do going forward.”

Scheyer was asked if he embraced taking a new approach to building his game plans.

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“Am I looking forward to not coaching Cooper Flagg of Cameron…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/virginia-basketball-notes-cavaliers-primetime-181317315.html

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Publish date : 2026-10-07 18:13:00

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