Virginia Basketball vs. American Game Preview, Score Prediction

Matt Newton | 10 Hours Ago

Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Virginia will conclude the non-conference portion of its schedule when the Cavaliers host American on Sunday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena.

Read on for a full preview of Virginia vs. American, including game details and notes, an opponent scouting report, what to watch for, and a score prediction for Sunday's matchup.

Virginia vs. American Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers (6-5) vs. American Eagles (6-5)

When: Sunday, December 22nd at 2pm ET

Where: John Paul Jones Arena (14,623) in Charlottesville, VA

How to watch: ACC Network

How to listen: Sirius XM 371, SXM App 371 | Virginia Sports Radio Network

All-time series: Virginia leads 5-1

Last meeting: Virginia defeated American 91-70 on December 28th, 2006 at John Paul Jones Arena.

Virginia vs. American Game Notes

• Virginia leads American 5-1 in the all-time series that dates back to February 10th, 1938.
• All five of UVA's wins against American have come in Charlottesville, while the Eagles defeated the Cavaliers in their lone road trip to Washington, D.C., which occurred on February 3rd, 1951.
• The most recent meeting between these two programs, a 91-70 victory for Virginia on December 28th, 2006, took place in the first season the Cavaliers played at John Paul Jones Arena. Sean Singletary (33 points) and J.R. Reynolds (26 points) combine to score 59 points in that game.
• This is the second Patriot League opponent UVA has faced this season, having previously defeated Holy Cross 67-41 on November 29th.
• Virginia is 39-35 all-time against current members of the Patriot League.

Scouting Report: American

2023-2024: 16-16, 10-8 Patriot League (2nd)
2024-2025: 6-5

American finished second in the Patriot League last season, but lost its first game in the conference tournament to end the season. Now, the Eagles are in their second year under head coach Duane Simpkins, a Maryland alum who served as an assistant at George Mason for eight years before becoming head coach at American in 2023.

American lost four its first five games to start this season, including a 107-55 loss at North Carolina, then rattled off five-straight wins. The Eagles had their momentum disrupted by a two-week break between games and when they returned from that hiatus, their five-game winning streak was snapped in a lopsided 84-57 loss at Saint Joseph's last Wednesday. American is 1-5 in true road games this season.

The top player to watch for American is 6'9" senior forward Matt Rogers, who was an All-Patriot League First-Team selection last season and was voted the Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year coming into this season. He is averaging 14.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game so far, leading the Eagles in both categories.

American has an experienced roster, returning seven of its nine leading scorers from last season and its three leading rebounders. 6'2" senior guard Colin Smalls is the team's best perimeter shooter at 45.0% on four attempts per game and the team's second-leading scorer at 12.5 points per game. Smalls is joined in the backcourt by 5'9" senior guard Elijah Stephens, who averages 11.6 points and 3.1 assists per game. Manning the front court in addition to Matt Rogers are 6'6" forward Greg Jones (8.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg) and 6'7" forward Matt Mayock (7.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg). Look out for 6'0" guard Geoff Sprouse, who returned to the floor this week after missing a month with an ankle injury. Sprouse takes the most threes of any Eagle, converting on 34.2% of the 6.3 attempts he takes from beyond the arc and averaging 8.3 points per game.

What to Watch For in Virginia vs. American

Reshuffling the UVA front court?
Ron Sanchez gave Jacob Cofie his first-career start against Memphis, but he wound up playing just 14 minutes and scoring only six points as he dealt with foul trouble throughout the game. Despite that outcome, the move to replace Blake Buchanan with Cofie in the starting lineup in such an important game gives us a glimpse of how Sanchez and the coaching staff view the front court situation. It should also be noted that Anthony Robinson gave Virginia a huge lift in the first half when both Cofie and Buchanan were in foul trouble, particularly on the defensive end, but he then played just two minutes in the second half. As Virginia closes out non-conference play and prepares for the full ACC slate, how will things shake out for the Cavalier front court? Elijah Saunders is locked in as a starter, but there are questions about who should start at center between Buchanan and Cofie, how many minutes (if any) should be given to TJ Power, and whether Anthony Robinson will get more chances to prove himself.

Positive momentum after a loss?
In terms of straight up wins and losses, Virginia dropped to 0-4 against ranked opponents with its 64-62 loss to Memphis on Wednesday night. But beyond the final score, the Cavaliers did something they hadn't done yet this season: play competitively with a good team for a full 40 minutes. If Virginia wants to get this season pointed in the right direction, it's imperative that the Hoos sustain that momentum into this game and deliver that wire-to-wire dominant performance against an overmatched opponent, another objective which has largely eluded them so far this season.

Final tune-up before ACC play
Virginia will have more than a week off before its next game against NC State on New Year's Eve. Time is running out for the Cavaliers to "figure things out" and given how non-conference has played out for them, the margin for error is extremely slim for UVA entering ACC play. We've already discussed the front court, but there are lots of things Virginia has to smooth out entering the new year. UVA's defense took a step in the right direction against Memphis, but still has work to do. The point guard and ball-handling situation is still in flux - will Christian Bliss ever make his debut? Can Virginia establish an identity on either end of the floor under Ron Sanchez? None of this can be totally solved against American, but a sharp showing from the Hoos in a comfortable victory will at least have them feeling like things are progressing in the right direction.

Virginia vs. American Prediction

UVA starts strong and wraps up non-conference play by cruising to a dominant win.

Score prediction: American 43, Virginia 71

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