Virginia vs. Texas Southern Game Preview, Score Prediction

UVA hosts Texas Southern in one final tune-up game before heading to Florida for the Fort Myers Tip-Off next week

Before the Cavaliers travel to Florida next week for the Fort Myers Tip-Off, a tournament in which they'll face Wisconsin and then either West Virginia or SMU, Virginia gets one final tune-up game against Texas Southern on Thursday night at JPJ. Read on for a full preview of Virginia vs. Texas Southern, including game details and notes, an opponent scouting report, what to watch for, and a prediction for Thursday night's matchup. 

Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (3-0) vs. Texas Southern Tigers (0-2)

When: Thursday, November 16th at 7pm ET

Where: John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA

How to watch: ACC Network

How to stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)

How to listen: SiriusXM 391, SXM App 981 | Virginia Sports Radio Network - click here for affiliates

All-time series: First-ever meeting between Virginia and Texas Southern

Last meeting: N/A

Game Notes

• Thursday night marks the first-ever meeting between Virginia and Texas Southern. 
• Texas Southern hails from the Southwest Athletic Conference (SWAC). This is the first time UVA has faced a SWAC opponent since 2016. 
• Virginia owns a 4-0 record against SWAC member teams.
• UVA is 168-50 (.771) in non-conference play under Tony Bennett. 

Opponent Scouting Report: Texas Southern

2022-2023: 14-21, 7-11 SWAC, lost in NCAAT First Four
2023-2024: 0-2

Johnny Jones is the head coach of the Texas Southern Tigers. Jones was formerly the head coach at North Texas and LSU and is now in his sixth season at Texas Southern. The Tigers have made it to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons and overcame long odds to keep that streak going last March. Texas Southern had an unremarkable regular season and limped into the SWAC Tournament as the No. 8 seed, the lowest-seeded team that even made the field. The Tigers then proceeded to knock off No. 1 seed Alcorn State, No. 5 Alabama A&M, and No. 2 Grambling State in the title game to win the SWAC Tournament Championship for the third-consecutive season. Texas Southern then fell to Fairleigh Dickinson in the First Four and we all know what happened next. 

This season, Texas Southern started the year with a lopsided 92-55 loss at New Mexico State, but then gave Arizona State a good fight in a 63-52 loss last Saturday in Tempe. It's early, but the metrics aren't high on the Tigers, who rank No. 226 in the Kenpom ratings.

Like Virginia, Texas Southern had to replace a great deal of production this offseason and did so by bringing in six newcomers from the transfer portal. The expected best player on the team is a returning player, though, and that's PJ Henry, the SWAC Preseason Player of the Year. A 5'10" senior guard, Henry has played in four consecutive NCAA Tournaments and averaged 18.6 points per game in Texas Southern's SWAC Tournament run last season. He's gotten off to a cold start shooting the ball, making just three of his 17 three-point attempts through two games, but he made 53 triples a season ago. 

Henry shares the scoring lead (9.5 ppg) with 6'1" senior guard Jonathan Cisse, a transfer from Incarnate Word. Another player to keep an eye on is Jahmar Young Jr., a 6'11" redshirt senior forward and a transfer from Memphis. Texas Southern has some decent size, with 6'8" forwards Kenny Hunter and Shaqir O'Neal joining Young in the front court, and 6'6" Kehlin Farooq and 6'5" Deon Stroud giving the Tigers size on the wings as well. With Virginia continuing to tinker with its lineups, it'll be interesting to see how Tony Bennett and company choose to counter Texas Southern's size.

What To Watch For

What's the status of Isaac McKneely?

With a couple of major conference matchups looming next week, the most important storyline to follow on Thursday is the status of Isaac McKneely. The sophomore shooting guard injured his ankle in the first half against North Carolina A&T and did not play in the second half, returning to the bench with a small boot on his left foot. Tony Bennett said after the game that McKneely didn't break anything according to the initial X-rays, but they didn't know the extent of the injury at that time. McKneely almost definitely won't be playing no matter what the severity of the injury is, but hopefully Tony Bennett will have positive things to say about McKneely's expected availability for Wisconsin on Monday. 

Ripple effects of McKneely's likely absence.

With Isaac McKneely expected to be out, what does Virginia do in the starting lineup? Dante Harris started for McKneely in the second half, but that was against a smaller team in North Carolina A&T. Texas Southern has some decent size, so Virginia could counter with a larger lineup - maybe starting Leon Bond III at the three? He has certainly been playing well enough to earn it. Regardless of who starts, UVA will certainly miss McKneely's three-point shooting and scoring production and will need players like Bond, Harris, and Andrew Rohde to step up, both in this game and possibly moving forward if McKneely ends up missing an extended period of time. 

Prediction

Even without Isaac McKneely, the Cavaliers should be able to take care of business similar to the way they did on Tuesday. It might not be a 30-point game at halftime, but Virginia should win this one comfortably. 

Score prediction: Virginia 75, Texas Southern 53

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