With its season set to tip off in just 117 days, Virginia’s 11-game non-conference slate was officially announced on Monday.
After UVa did a great job managing a difficult non-conference slate in 2022-2023, the Wahoos will once again be tested this season, with five “major” opponents, three neutral-site games, and one road contest, as well as a challenging home contest in a new conference challenge.
Below, we’re breaking down each of the non-conference opponents in what looks to be a very competitive slate.
Tarleton State (Monday, November 6 in Charlottesville)
UVa will open the 2023-2024 season at home against Tarleton State and if fans don’t know much about the opponent, that’s understandable. Tarleton just completed its third season as a D1 program, going 17-17 before losing in the first round of the CBI.
TSU did knock off Boston College early in the season and played a competitive game at Arizona State. The Texans may be an unfamiliar foe but UVa fans may remember their head coach, Billy Gillispie, from his time at Kentucky and Texas Tech. Gillispie helped shepherd the Texans to the D1 level ahead of its trips to JPJ to open the year.
Florida (Friday, November 10 in Charlotte)
The first tough test and road trip will come in the first week of the season as the Hoos face the Gators in an early-season showcase, one of three contests being played at the Spectrum Center (Virginia Tech versus South Carolina and Charlotte versus Liberty being the others).
UVa has a troubled postseason history against UF but doesn’t have a recent regular-season meeting. Florida is coming off of a rebuilding season of sorts, finishing with a 16-17 record in its first season under head coach Todd Golden, who upset the Cavaliers in the 2020-2021 season when he was at San Francisco.
Expectations should be higher for Florida this year though, after Golden made a bunch of additions via the transfer portal: Walter Clayton (Iona), Micah Handlogten (Marshall), Zyon Pullen (UC Riverside) and Tyrese Samuel (Seton Hall).
North Carolina A&T (Tuesday, November 14 in Charlottesville)
UVa will take on four HBCU’s in the non-conference slate, starting with the Aggies, who will come to Charlottesville for an early-season contest under the direction of new head coach Monte Ross. The former assistant at Temple was also the head coach at Delaware, leading them to an NCAA Tournament appearance. The Aggies, meanwhile, are coming off of a 13-19 season in 2022-23 and were sub-300th nationally in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
Texas Southern (Thursday, November 16 in Charlottesville)
The first opponent of the 2023-24 season that participated in the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Texas Southern will travel to JPJ for a buy game just a couple of days after UVa takes on NC A&T.
Texas Southern has been one of the top-performing HBCUs in recent years, making NCAA Tournament appearances in five of the last seven seasons. Its trip to the Big Dance in March was unexpected, however, as the Tigers went on a run in the SWAC Tournament after a 11-20 regular season. TSU would lose to eventual giant killer Fairleigh Dickinson in the First Four. Texas Southern is coached by former LSU coach Johnny Jones.
Wisconsin (Monday, November 20 in Fort Myers)
Fans can once again brace for a barrage of snarky comments about low-scoring games before (and maybe after) the November contest against the Badgers.
UVa and Wisconsin have played three times in the last decade, with the Wahoos winning 60-54 in 2013, losing 48-38 the following year, and beating the Badgers 53-46 in 2018-19, so obviously points have been at a premium.
Like Florida, the Badgers had a bit of a down 2022-23, going 20-15 and missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 (not counting the 2020 Tournament that was called off). Wisconsin returns a good amount of its production from last season, including guard Chucky Hepburn who led the Badgers in scoring and assists.
This is the first of two contests UVa will play in the Fort Myers’ Tip-Off, this year’s early-season tournament of choice.
SMU or West Virginia (Wednesday, November 22 in Fort Myers)
Depending on the result of their game against Wisconsin, the Cavliers will either head to the Fort Myers’ Tip-Off championship or its consolation game, and play either SMU or West Virginia.
SMU is coming off of a tough 2022-23 season, going 10-22 in the first year under Rob Lanier, who was formerly at Georgia State and was once an assistant at Virginia. WVU, meanwhile, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons this summer, with coach Bob Huggins’ legal trouble causing the administration to make leadership changes and Huggins to fight back against them. Who knows where the Mountaineers will be by the time this game is played, and their roster has suffered some late attrition with all of the ongoing turmoil still circling the program. WVU slugged it out last season in a brutal Big 12 before its season ended with a First-Round loss to Maryland.
Texas A&M (Wednesday, November 29 in Charlottesville)
The toughest stretch of UVa’s non-conference schedule continues following Thanksgiving, with a different set of Aggies traveling to JPJ for the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge.
ESPN did away with the ACC/B1G Challenge as the B1G leaves the TV network in its new rights deal, and UVa’s first SEC opponent in the new challenge should be a tough one.
Buzz Williams has done a nice job rebuilding the A&M program after leaving Blacksburg for College Station in 2019. The Aggies went 25-10 last year and made it to the SEC Tournament title game but had a disappointing NCAA Tournament appearance, getting blown out by 10-seed Penn State in the first round.
A strong case could be made that A&M is the best team on UVa’s non-conference slate, especially after super-senior Tyrese Radford, a former Hokie, announced he’ll be back with the Aggies for next season after an All-SEC campaign in 2022-23.
NC Central (Tuesday, December 5 in Charlottesville)
NC Central comes to town for an early December matchup and is the first and only non-conference opponent to appear on UVa’s schedule in both 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Virginia got a bit of a scare from the Eagles in last season’s opener, with Central erasing the deficit in the second half, cutting it to a two-point game with under 15 minutes to play. UVa eventually cruised to a 73-61 win, and the Eagles went on to have a solid season at 18-12 and 10-4 in the MEAC.
LeVelle Moton had an older team last season but historically his program has been one of the best in its conference and will be well prepared.
It’s also worth noting that this game follows a six-day break in the non-con schedule but typically the ACC holds its first league games in the first weekend of December, so the Hoos will likely play NC Central coming off of their conference opener at the weekend.
Northeastern (Saturday, December 16 in Charlottesville)
UVa will have the annual December exam break following the game against NC Central, with 11 days off before Northeastern comes south to JPJ.
The Huskies have had some solid teams in relatively recent history and made the NCAA Tournament in 2019, but the last two years have been rough; Northeastern went 9-22 in 2021-22 and 10-20 last season, and struggled mightily in their conference (CAA).
Memphis (Thursday, December 19 at Memphis)
UVa has one true road game on the non-conference slate, and it comes after the exam break. The Wahoos will travel to Bluff City for the first half of a home-and-home series, with the Tigers coming to Charlottesville in 2024-25.
Memphis is coming off of its best season under Penny Hardaway, going 26-9 and finishing 20th in KenPom before a quick First-Round exit in the NCAA Tournament to eventual regional champion FAU.
While the roster is often young and turns over a lot because of the caliber of players Hardaway has brought in, the Tigers should once again be able to compete with the roster they’re projected to have this year. They are bringing in four four-star recruits in the 2023 class, including Penny’s son Ashton Hardaway; they also added former FSU guard Caleb Mills and intriguing D2 transfer Jonathan Pierre from the portal.
Morgan State (Wednesday, December 27 in Charlottesville)
UVa will wrap up non-conference play with Morgan State. The Bears are coming off of a 15-16 season in 2022-23, their fourth under the direction of coach Kevin Broadus. UVa usually plays at least one MEAC team per year, and this season Morgan State will be the third on the slate. The Bears last came to JPJ on Dec. 3, 2018, when the Hoos demolished them 83-45.
