The Virginia Cavaliers are back in action Tuesday night for the third game of the Ryan Odom era, as the ’Hoos get set to host the Hampton Pirates. In what will be the third of four straight home games to begin the 2025-26 season, Odom and the Cavaliers are looking to build on two solid performances against Rider and NC Central last week.
Tuesday will mark the 10th-ever meeting between these two programs, with the ’Hoos boasting a 9-0 record against the Pirates. The last time Hampton came to Charlottesville, Kyle Guy dropped a team-high 15 points to lead Virginia to an 82-48 win in December of 2017.
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Vegas has set the ’Hoos as 23.5-point favorites on Tuesday night against their Colonial Athletic Association opponent. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 P.M. EST with coverage on ACC Network.
What to know about Hampton
The Pirates are coached by Ivan Thomas, a Norfolk native with plenty of Commonwealth ties. In his first year steering the ship last season, Thomas led Hampton to a 17-win season (the program’s most since 2018-19) and a 8-10 record in conference play.
Now in year two, Thomas’s Pirates were predicted to finish fifth in the CAA preseason poll and are 1-1 to begin the season. They got their season started with a narrow loss at Milwaukee before blowing out MACU, an NAIA school, 103-43 last Thursday.
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Though Virginia has an average margin of victory of 31.4 points in this series, the Pirates have a little more size than either of the Cavaliers’ first two opponents. Hampton has a pair of centers who each check in at 6-foot-10 or taller (though neither is averaging more than 14 minutes per game so far), and a wing-heavy roster.
The Pirate to know in this one is 6-foot-7 forward Xzavier Long. The senior from Washington, D.C., has played in just one game this season, but he finished with a monster 16-point, 17-rebound, eight-assist stat line. A CAA Preseason Honorable Mention, Long will be the go-to option for Hampton on Tuesday night.
Beyond Long, Hampton has 11 players averaging at least 10 minutes per game. Starting point guard Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt is the only other player seeing over 20 minutes of action per game, averaging 14.5 points and five assists through two contests.
The outlook
As the 23.5-point spread would suggest, the ’Hoos shouldn’t have much of a problem on Tuesday night. Though the Pirates will finally throw some size at UVA, Odom and the ’Hoos should roll to a third-straight win.
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Last time out, Virginia took care of NC Central 81-62. The ’Hoos led by as many as 31 late in the second half, but a sloppy finish made the final score look closer than the game truly felt. Look for the ’Hoos to put added emphasis on playing a complete game against Hampton.
“The last 10 [minutes],” Odom said after Friday night’s game. “We took the foot off the gas a little bit on [offense] and made some uncharacteristic mistakes. And so, we’ve got to clean those up in the next couple of practices.”
Thijs De Ridder, who has topped the 20-point mark in back-to-back games to begin his UVA career, once again led the ’Hoos in scoring (20 points) against NC Central, while Malik Thomas (12 points), Sam Lewis (10 points), and Ugonna Onyenso (10 points) joined him in double-figures.
Tuesday night will give Virginia fans another opportunity to comfortably adjust to the Odom style of basketball. The ’Hoos are averaging 33 three-point attempts so far this season, as they continue to apply full-court pressure and get out in transition.
Prediction
Virginia 84, Hampton 55
