Breaking down UVa's 2022-2023 non-conference hoops schedule

While football season is right around the corner, it also won’t be long until basketball season gets here. The Cavaliers are headed to Italy in a few weeks to play a few games and work on their chemistry with several new faces. And before we know it, the season will be tipping off.

The ACC released each team’s non-conference schedule yesterday, though thanks to some quality reporting we knew all 10 of UVa’s non-conference opponents going in.

Taking a quick glance at the matchups, this will clearly be a more challenging non-conference slate than the Hoos see in a typical year and is probably one of the most-challenging non-conference schedules nationally.

UVa will take on a few of the programs that have been among the elite in the sport over the past half-decade or so, and will play three games away from JPJ.

Today, we’re taking a look at how UVa’s non-conference schedule will provide an opportunity to grab some wins at home, while also testing the team against some of the nation’s best programs.

NC Central

Monday, November 7 at JPJ

Virginia will open the season hosting NC Central after dropping the season opener last year against Navy. The returning Wahoos certainly won’t overlook the Eagles in this one. Simply put, this is a game that UVa should be able to handle and do so comfortably. Levelle Moton has done a great job turning the NC Central program into a formidable opponent for MEAC rivals, and made three straight NCAA Tournaments from 2017 to 2019. The 2021-2022 Eagles went 16-15 and finished 285th in KenPom, with their season ending in the MEAC Tournament semifinals. Guard Justin Wright who led NC Central in scoring with 13.7 points per contest will be the player to watch for the Eagles in the season opener.

Monmouth

Friday, November 8 at JPJ

As part of the Roman Main Event, UVa gets a home game with Monmouth in addition to the games in Vegas. Former UNC player King Rice has led the Monmouth program for a decade now, taking the Hawks to a couple of NITs and several winning seasons. In the spring, Monmouth lost in the MAAC Tournament title game by six to eventual Cinderella Saint Peter’s. Monmouth picked up some solid wins last season, including victories on the road against Pitt and a solid Towson team, but UVa should be able to take care of this one and move to 2-0.

Maryland Eastern Shore

Friday, November 25 at JPJ

Virginia will host its second MEAC program of the season on Black Friday, when Maryland Eastern Shore heads south to Charlottesville. Frankly, this looks like UVa’s easiest game of the season, and the most-likely win. UMES plays in a conference that is almost always rated at or near the very bottom of KenPom’s conference rankings, and the Hawks are near the bottom of that conference almost every season. Most years, they fail to reach double-digit wins, though they did go 11-16 in 2021-2022. UMES ranked near the very bottom nationally in offensive efficiency (353rd out of 358), and if they don’t make some improvements this upcoming season, it could be a long night for the Hawks against the pack-line.

James Madison

Tuesday, December 6 at JPJ

Virginia will have revenge on its mind before the Hoos head into the exam break when JMU comes to JPJ. UVa lost in Harrisonburg last season as the Dukes christened their new arena, and some of their fans were not so kind to the visiting Cavaliers. JMU finished the season a forgettable 15-14 and 6-12 in CAA play, further underscoring the damaging nature of that loss for Virginia. JMU coach Mark Byington seems to be building an improved program, now with the facilities to match, but this is still a must-win for UVa especially given last year’s loss. Hopefully if UVa can take care of business, the Dukes will have a better season which would make the victory a bit more meaningful.

Albany

Wednesday, December 28 at JPJ

The Cavaliers wrap up non-conference play between Christmas and New Years, when the Albany Great Danes come to town. By this point in the season we should have a pretty good idea what this UVa team is capable of, as the Hoos head into ACC play. Albany is coming off of a 13-18 season, the first under the direction of former Marquette assistant Dwayne Killings. Killings has a rebuilding project on his hands but the Albany program has had some success in recent years, making the NCAA Tournament as a 14-seed in 2015. Still, it’s unlikely their rebuilding project will be done by the time December 28th rolls around.

Northern Iowa

Monday, November 14 at JPJ

This might seem like a “should-be win” to some fans but Northern Iowa is always a solid program worthy of respect. Ben Jacobson has had the Panthers relevant more often than not since taking over, and in 2015, they finished 18th in KenPom and earned a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament. Last year, UNI went 20-12, finishing 91st in KenPom but beating seven top-100 Kenpom teams including No. 29 Loyola Chicago. Northern Iowa ended up in making it to the second round of the NIT, before falling at BYU.

This is a game that Virginia will need to be up for, and should be a nice test for the Hoos before they head to Vegas. UNI ranked 43rd last season in offensive efficiency, so they could certainly give UVa a scare at a minimum.

Houston

Saturday, December 17 at JPJ

Virginia’s marquee non-conference home game is another revenge opportunity for the Wahoos. The Houston Cougars will fly east to complete the second leg of their home-and-home series, after burying UVa at home last year. And unlike the loss to JMU, this one didn’t look worse as the season went along. The Cougars finished the season 32-6, losing to Villanova in the Elite Eight, nearly completing back-to-back Final Four trips.

The Cougars project to be a national title contender yet again, so this will be a tough game to say the least. In ESPN’s “Way Too early” Top 25, Houston ranks third, behind UNC and Gonzaga. The Cougars returns a pair of very talented and experienced guards in Marcus Sasser and Jamal Shead, and then add 2022 five-star forward Jarace Walker to the roster.

This is a game that UVa could lose and it shouldn’t be too upsetting to the team or fans. But this is also a major opportunity game for the Wahoos to earn a season-defining victory in mid-December.

Roman Main Event: Two of Illinois, UCLA or Baylor

Friday, November 18 and Sunday, November 20 in Las Vegas

Virginia will participate in one of the best early-season tournaments this year, when the Hoos head out to Las Vegas for the Roman Main Event. They have a stellar track record in these tournaments around the Thanksgiving holiday, but they will have to play great basketball over two games to take this trophy.

UVa will play two games against the likes of Illinois, Baylor, or UCLA in Las Vegas, with the matchups still TBD at this point. Regardless, UVa is going to get two quality games out of the weekend and viewers will be treated to some high-level basketball early in the season. Like Houston, UCLA, Baylor, and Illinois (and UVa for that matter) all appear in ESPN’s early Top 25. Baylor comes in at No. 8, UCLA at No. 9, and Illinois at No. 25.

Baylor returns several key players from a team that had some untimely injuries late in the season last year, and ultimately lost to UNC in the second round. They also add Keyonte George, another five-star prospect the Hoos will duel with this season. UCLA lost Johnny Juzang to the pros, but return Jaime Jaquez, Tyger Campbell, and others, and five-star Amari Bailey joins the Bruins as well. Finally, Illinois lost some of their key players but grabbed Terrence Shannon (Texas Tech) and Matthew Mayer (Baylor) from the transfer portal, and flipped guard Skyy Clark from Kentucky.

Virginia will surely go into the tournament hoping to win it, but even a 1-1 split would be a pretty good result for the Hoos on a neutral floor.

Michigan

Tuesday, November 29 in Ann Arbor

The Cavaliers will play an ACC/Big Ten Challenge game away from home for the first time since going to Purdue on Dec. 4, 2019. They will travel to Michigan for their first game against the Wolverines in the Challenge in more than a decade. Last season the Wolverines shrugged off Juwan Howard’s handshake line drama and suspension and made it to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to Villanova.

This will be another challenging game for the Cavaliers, likely just days before their ACC opener. This is the only true road game on the non-conference schedule and seems to be a matchup of two relatively even teams. Michigan returns star forward Hunter Dickinson—a former recruiting target—but loses a few key contributors from last year’s team. The Wolverines did add transfer guard Jaelin Llewellyn from Princeton, a Virginia native that UVa recruited once upon a time as well.

Between Houston, the two Vegas games and this Michigan contest, UVa will have plenty of opportunities for statement wins. The Hoos don’t have to win them all but finding a way to split them somewhat evenly or better would be a great start to the season before diving into ACC play.