Us @ UM has to be the marquee game for 11/29.
4 Likes
Biiiig time OOC this year. Can’t wait for some of the new guys to blow up in those games and see Sheds and Reece come into their own by December
9 Likes
It is and a decent balance. Houston at home, Michigan on the road, the other 2 biggies neutral
6 Likes
Actually, this one was pretty predictable. Of those schools predicted to finish in the B1G at a comparable spot to Virginia’s predicted finish in the ACC (both predicted #2, if I am not mistaken), Michigan was the only one due a home game. This year, Virginia was going to be on the road. This matchup could be seen a mile away.
Not worried? I am.
We could be much better and still be on the outside looking in with this schedule.
Yup. Throw in two games against UNC (not totally sold on them) it’s a brutal schedule
Hopefully that means that we could be one of those 10+ loss teams that the rankings are still really high on 
4 Likes
I don’t think there’s too much downside to racking up Q1 opportunities. The ones that hurt you at selection time seem to be the non-Q1 losses. Last season we really could have used 1-2 more chances at a Q1 win.
And as a fan, these are the kind of games that tell you more about what the team is capable of, so I like it.
15 Likes
Hoos Place fills in a few others, plus the dates:
It’s a schedule with a lot of opportunities, for sure. I think it would’ve been a better fit for our 14-19 teams, and not as great a fit for a team with less lofty goals (IMO: let the kids get their feet wet, get back to the tourney, gravy from there), but I’ll always vote for fun hoops, and this schedule will give us lots of opportunities for fun, meaningful hoops, with lots of national eyes.
Also, I think they’re wrong on the rest being midmajors. Maybe one, but probably not. The rest will be buy games.
5 Likes
Loving this OOC schedule. The ACC is probably better than last year, but not brutal. With a veteran team, I like our chances much better than if we were depending on a bunch of new pieces.
2 Likes
if uva finds consistent shooting at the wings, i think it’ll be a fruitful year. big if tho
6 Likes
Like the ambitious schedule. Hope the young dudes get an early taste of big-time college ball.
3 Likes
If Virginia were to lose a game to a Baylor, UCLA, Illinois, or Michigan in the OOC portion of the schedule, it would not be nearly as detrimental as the home loss to Navy, the loss to JMU, or the home loss to Clemson. IMO, without those three losses, UVa probably makes the NCAA tournament. The seeding wouldn’t have been great, but Virginia would have likely played. Winning any, or all, of these new contests helps exponentially. These games are great opportunities!
8 Likes
Honestly we really need the ACC middle class to be good this year. What is killer is when you can’t pick up those Q1 wins where you beat a decent but not great team at their place
3 Likes
You have to break it out a bit more. There are 4 top 25 caliber games: Michigan, Houston, 2 of UCLA/Illinois/Baylor.
- 4-0: Amazing
- 3-1: Great
- 2-2: Not bad…
- 1-3: Hmmm…
- 0-4: Oh…
That’s the statistical breakdown, anyway
5 Likes
I would be happy with one win given the roster we will be putting out there
2 Likes
This is why I’m a bit “uhh … ohh… I don’t maybe? … but … hmmm …” when I look at this schedule. O/U is probably between 1 and 2, but 1 win may mean little margin of error for the tourney. That’s why I want folks to think a bit more about the “what’s the downside?” question. The downside is we get curb stomped and Tony decides it’s time to play “core 6 + BVP” all season. And I have a pretty good idea of how that story ends … (or where it ends: Dayton).
3 Likes
I think an upperclassmen heavy rotation is very probably regardless
1 Like
Plenty of downside.
Tougher games means shorter bench. Which means less opportunity for player development. Which leads to disgruntled first years. Which hurts continuity.
Not to mention 6-4 OOC or worse would eliminate any margin for error in conference play.
I love playing a tough schedule but I don’t think this is the roster to be doing it with.
No choice now though. Let’s see what we got.
3 Likes
I’m a huge fan of trial by fire. At the worst we know where we are and know what it takes by conference play
17 Likes