Six takeaways from UVA basketball’s 91-72 win over No. 12 Arkansas

Sunday was supposed to be the first real test. After two warm-up wins at John Paul Jones Arena, No. 9 Virginia traveled to Capital One Arena in Washington to face No. 12 Arkansas, the reigning SEC Tournament champion and a Sweet 16 team under John Calipari. The betting market saw a coin flip. DraftKings opened Virginia as a 2.5-point favorite, and ESPN’s matchup predictor gave Arkansas a 58.1 percent chance to win.

It became clear early this game was not a coin flip. Thijs De Ridder picked up two fouls in the first two minutes and played roughly seven minutes in the first half, and Virginia still led 46-27 at the break. The lead reached 27 in the second half, Virginia led for 86 percent of the game, and all five starters scored in double figures.

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Virginia is 3-0, and it has its first marquee win of the season.

Here are my six takeaways.

This team is legit, and college basketball is on notice

Last season, Virginia won 30 games, the most ever by a first-year Virginia head coach, finished second in the ACC and reached the ACC championship game. But it went just 1-4 against ranked opponents, leading some national analysts to question whether Virginia was overrated and whether its résumé matched its record. On Sunday, three games into the season, Virginia matched last year’s total of ranked wins, and it did so by 19 points on a neutral floor.

This was not a case of an opponent having an off night. Arkansas shot the ball well, especially in the second half, when it made 17 of 28 shots. Overall, it shot 46 percent from the field, the same as Virginia. The difference was everything else. Virginia won the turnover battle 15-9, turned those turnovers into 24 points to Arkansas’ six and grabbed 19 offensive rebounds. That added up to 10 more field goal attempts than the Razorbacks. Calipari saw it coming. “We’re going to be playing a veteran team that’s older, that’s established,” he said before the game. “If we’re not more physical, it’s hard to be in that game.” Despite…

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Publish date : 2026-11-08 21:05:00

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