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Longhorns host Virginia at Moody Center as part of ACC/SEC Challenge (8:15 pm tip, ESPNU)

by: Keenan Womack12/03/25

The Texas Longhorns get their second shot in a row at a lower-level ACC contender tonight as they take on the Virginia Cavaliers in another game that tips at 8:15 PM CST, otherwise known as “past my bedtime.”

Like Texas’ last game, a win against NC State in Maui, this matchup will feature a battle of newly minted head coaches, as both Sean Miller and Ryan Odom each completed the first month of their respective new jobs, both with winning records, as well as some ups and downs.

On paper, this matchup is about as even as you could want as a neutral observer – both are top 40 in KenPom (Texas, 40; UVA, 38) and have comparable resumes. They both also badly need some non-conference momentum, though Texas may need it more considering how much tougher the SEC will be this season than the ACC, which is much more top-heavy and consists of more easy conference wins.

Virginia lineup

The Cavs went heavy in the transfer portal and overseas this offseason, adding their most impactful player, forward Thjis De Ridder, a former professional basketball player from Belgium. He is a 22-year-old freshman averaging 18.0 points on 56% from the field and 44% from three.

Frankly, he has too much professional experience in my opinion to qualify as a first-year collegiate basketball player, but those are the rules, and my opinions are inconsequential; we’re all just dust in the wind anyway, aren’t we?

Their three-pronged back court of Chance Mallory, Dallin Hall (BYU) and Malik Thomas (San Francisco) strike a balance between scoring and distribution, with Mallory also providing an electric ability to force live-ball turnovers and get the Cavs into transition.

7-foot center Johann Grunloh is another European professional transplant, though much younger and rawer than De Ridder. Despite this, his size and youth have generated buzz for him in NBA Draft circles, and he currently leads Virginia in rebounds (7.7) and blocks (3.3) per game. Think Walker Kessler as a rough player comparison.

Other contributors on the roster are guards Sam Lewis (Toledo) and Jacari White (North Dakota State), center Ugonna Onyenso (Kansas State), and forward Devin Tillis (UC Irvine).

Virginia offense

Odom’s offense, like Miller’s is a “pace and space” system, though some of the emphases are different; one primary difference is that Miller often runs four-out while Odom prefers five-out. They both want three-point attempts as well as shots at the rim with some aversion to midrange shooting, though Odom pushes for threes even more than Miller does. De Ridder’s ability as a knockdown shooter at power forward makes him perfect for the offensive system.

Virginia will employ a number of dribble handoffs, Princeton offensive concepts (Iverson cuts and backdoor screens), and drag screens early on in possessions, versus Miller, who will use some variation of high horns and short roll reads. Miller’s offense is more rigid with concepts while Odom’s is more free flowing and dependent on players making reads on the fly.

Virginia defense

Defensively, Odom’s system tries to deny straight-line drives to the basket, doing so utilizing gap help and communicative rotations. Ideally, the opponent shoots a lot of midrange shots, especially ones UVA can more easily contest inside the arc. It has some similarities to the Tony Bennett “pack line” defense, but in Odom’s case, uses more switching to defend opponent’s ball screens.

The best way to get to Odom’s defense is to attack the bigs in drop coverage using pick-and-pops; unfortunately, Texas lacks big men outside of Dailyn Swain that can shoot the ball effectively from distance, so the next-best option would be to use Jordan Pope on some pull-up jumpers, using empty-side ball screens to spring him loose.

In general, Texas should look to screen off the ball as much as possible, using Iverson cuts, flex actions, and stagger screens to create discord amongst a defense heavily reliant on communication. Though they occasionally rotate, the goal of Odom’s defense is to avoid this as much as possible. Texas can force the issue by running ball reversals and other strategies to get UVA into rotations early.

Overall thoughts

They key for Texas in this matchup is how they are going to guard De Ridder. His frame, handle, and ability to shoot from deep makes him so dangerous; this feels like a Swain assignment, and should be an excellent test of the Xavier transfer’s defensive ability against a potential NBA player. The battle between Grunloh and Matas Vokietaitis will also be notable give each player’s size and skillset.

Jordan Pope will also play a major role in this game due to the setup of Odom’s defense. Though you can’t expect him to replicate his 28-point outing against NC State, his effectiveness in hitting shots on empty-side actions will make him invaluable against Virginia.

The ‘Horns are favored over the ‘Hoos by 2.5 points and are -148 on the money line with an over/under of 150.5.

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