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Virginia Basketball vs. Campbell Game Preview, Score Prediction

Matt Newton

Virginia Athletic
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The post Tony Bennett era of Virginia basketball will officially get underway on Wednesday night, when Virginia hosts Campbell in the 2024-2025 season opener at John Paul Jones Arena.

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

Game Details

Who: Virginia Cavaliers vs. Campbell Fighting Camels

When: Wednesday, November 6th at 7pm ET

Where: John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA

How to watch: ACC Network Extra/ESPN+

How to listen: SiriusXM 371, SXM App 371 | Virginia Sports Radio

All-time series: first meeting

Game Notes

  • This is the first-ever meeting between Virginia and Campbell.
  • UVA has won 13 of its last 15 season-opening games and 24 of its last 26 season-openers.
  • Virginia is 96-23 in all-time season-openers.
  • UVA is opening its 120th season of men's basketball and currently has a 1,743-1,215 all-time record (.589)
  • Virginia is 102-30 all-time against teams who are currently members of the Coastal Athletic Association.
  • Wednesday's game will be the first for Virginia without Tony Bennett on the sideline, as the three-time National Coach of the Year and the program's all-time winningest head coach announced his retirement on October 18th after 15 seasons coaching UVA.
  • Ron Sanchez was named the interim head coach for the 2024-2025 season. Sanchez has been on Bennett's staff at Virginia for 10 total seasons and also served as the head coach at Charlotte for five seasons from 2018-2023, turning in a 72-78 overall record.

Opponent Scouting Report: Campbell

2023-2024 record: 14-18, 8-10 CAA (9th)

This will be the second game of the season for Campbell, who opened the 2024-2025 campaign with a 96-49 victory over Pfeiffer on Monday. Head coach Kevin McGeehan, who is in his 12th season at the helm of the Fighting Camels, has the tough challenge of replacing Anthony Dell'Orso, who averaged 19.5 points per game last season before transferring to Arizona.

Senior guard Jasin Sinani is the team's leading returning scorer and one of the few notable returners on this Campbell squad. Sinani was joined in the starting lineup on Monday by a quartet of transfers: 6'5" guard Cam Gregory (St. Francis), 6'5" guard Nolan Dorsey (Holy Cross), 6'8" forward Caleb Zurliene (McKendree), and 6'9" forward Eric Van Der Heijden (UNC-Wilmington).

Just as we wouldn't expect to glean many meaningful takeaways from a blowout win by Virginia on Wednesday, it's difficult to draw any significant conclusions from Campbell's dominant win over Pfeiffer. In that game, Penn State transfer guard Bragi Gudmundsson was Campbell's leading scorer with 15 points off the bench. He was one of just three Fighting Camels to knock down a three in the game, as Campbell shot just 3/17 from beyond the arc as a team.

What to Watch For

What's the starting five?
With a significant amount of roster turnover this offseason and an influx of transfers, Ron Sanchez and company will likely be tinkering with lineups quite a bit during non-conference play. It'll be very interesting to see who runs out as the starting five and who comes in first off the bench. For what it's worth, we think the starting five will likely be Isaac McKneely, Blake Buchanan, Elijah Saunders, TJ Power, and Dai Dai Ames, who should slot in at point guard with Jalen Warley entering the transfer portal last week.

Speaking of point guard...
For the first time in several years, Virginia enters a season without guaranteed star or even a known commodity at point guard, as the Hoos transitioned seamlessly from London Perrantes to Ty Jerome to Kihei Clark to Reece Beekman for the last decade. UVA's point guard situation got more difficult with Jalen Warley entering the portal, as he would have brought much-needed experience to the position. Instead, it'll be up to Kansas State transfer Dai Dai Ames, redshirt freshman Christian Bliss, and junior Andrew Rohde to facilitate the offense by committee.

Opening act for Ron Sanchez
Though he carries the interim tag, this season is very much an audition for Sanchez to earn the full-time head coaching gig moving forward. His message has been that Virginia basketball is still Virginia basketball even without Tony Bennett. Only time will tell if that's the case and Wednesday night will be the first opportunity for Sanchez to prove he's worthy of the torch.

Prediction

Though there are many questions surrounding this roster, there should be more than enough talent for Virginia to take care of business and win this game handily.

Score prediction: Campbell 58, Virginia 79

More Virginia Basketball News & Content

UVA Basketball: Five Pressing Questions for Virginia in 2024-2025

Column: Virginia Should Look to College Basketball's Recent Trailblazers

Virginia Basketball: Isaac McKneely "Excited" to Play for Ron Sanchez

UVA Basketball: How Jalen Warley's Departure Affects Virginia's PG Situation

UVA Basketball: Three Breakout Candidates for the 2024-2025 Season

Why Did Tony Bennett Retire? UVA Basketball Coach Explains Decision

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.