Preview: UVa Hoops open the season tonight against Campbell

Campbell (1-0, CAA) at Virginia (0-0, ACC)

7pm, ACCNX

Basketball season is finally here in Charlottesville. Although this one will be very different from what UVa fans have become accustomed to. When the Wahoos open the 2024-2025 season tonight against the Campbell Camels, they will do so without Tony Bennettled by a different coach in a season opener for the first time in 16 years.

Bennett’s surprise retirement resets the cards for the Hoos ahead of this campaign, now led by interim head coach Ron Sanchez. The former Charlotte head coach wants to earn the job full-time and prove he can win with Bennett’s 24-25 roster. Sanchez will try to strike the delicate balance between sticking to the Bennett formula that worked so well and was so revered by Cavalier faithful, while also striking out on his own and making adjustments to try and put his own stamp on things and hopefully get a win. lots of games in the process.

UVa’s expectations are less positive entering this season than they have been in the past, and given Bennett’s departure, it seems like folly to try to predict where this season will go. UVa has a new selection, built around junior guard Isaac McKneeleyalong with several new pieces in key roles. Virginia’s projected starting lineup could feature as many as three newcomers, all transfers from other major programs.

First on that team will be Campbell, who already has a win to his name this year. The Camels, who moved from the Big South to the CAA prior to last season, defeated D3 Pfeiffer 96-49 at home on Monday. The Camels rode along with that, but Wednesday’s game should be a completely different affair; Campbell is just 1-37 all-time against ACC competition.

Campbell dominated their season opener, leading by 20 points at the break en route to a nearly 50-point win. The Camels scored 96 points, but did so on just three made 3-pointers, scoring 56 points in the paint and 29 more at the line. That’s likely a result of their opponent being outmatched against D1 competition, but it was an impressive and dominant effort nonetheless. Campbell also made a ton of mistakes, creating 23 turnovers and outscoring Pfeiffer 26-2.

The Camels are ranked No. 307 in Kenpom heading into tonight’s game, one of five sub-300 ranked programs on UVa’s non-conference schedule. Campbell was picked to finish 13th in the CAA, second to last, in the preseason poll. Last year, Campbell struggled a bit in their new conference, going 14-18 overall and 8-10 in league play before losing top players Anthony Dell’Orso And Laurynas Vaistaras in low season.

Bragi Gudmundsson, Forward

Campbell’s leading scorer in the season opener, Bragi Gudmundsson, comes to Buies Creek after spending a year at Penn State. Gudmundsson played sparingly with the Nittany Lions, seeing action in just seven games. Gudmunsson, born in Grindavik, Iceland, scored 15 against Pfeiffer in his debut as a Camel, in just 18 minutes of game action. He made all three field goal attempts and scored 8 of his points at the line.

Terren Frank, Forward

Terren Frank, a 6-foot-2 graduate student from LA, is now in his fourth school. Before joining the Campbell program, Frank had stops at Idaho, Vanderbilt and TCU, where he played sparingly for most of his collegiate career. However, Frank got his chance to break through last year when he played at Idaho. He started the first six games of the season before suffering a season-ending injury, and played quite well, including a 24-point game. In Monday’s opener, Frank scored 10 points in 15 minutes, going 5-for-8 from the floor with five rebounds.

Elijah Walsh, guard

Walsh, a native of England, is one of several Camels returnees who will take on a bigger role this year. Walsh, a 6-foot-1 guard from Leeds, played in all 32 games with 25 starts last year, playing an off-ball spot. He averaged 9.4 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in CAA play, including a career-high 18 points against UNCW. Walsh was quiet against Pfeiffer with just two points on one shot attempt.

UVa really needs to sort things out here. It would be a tough start for Sánchez if they can’t get the season off to a good start, especially against a Campbell team that has some intriguing new pieces but looks very beatable. Often the intrigue in season openers comes down to what UVa’s lineup and new pieces will look like when they play together, as fans try to get a sense of what the team could look like as the season progresses. And in this draft, Virginia fans should be curious to see what the playing style adjustments will be with a new face leading the program. UVa should hope the drama and intrigue ends there Wednesday night, and we predict it will.