Virginia and Texas will meet for the first time ever on Wednesday night as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge in Austin, Texas.
The Cavaliers (6-1) are playing their first true road game of the season on Wednesday against the Longhorns (6-2), who are 4-0 at home.
Head coach Ryan Odom is in his first season at Virginia and counterpart Sean Miller is in his first season at Texas.
Both coaches have implemented fast-paced styles, with the Longhorns averaging 90.9 points per game and coming off back-to-back wins with 100-plus points. The Cavaliers are averaging 87.6 points per game — nearly 23 more than last season (64.8).
Texas has been idle since a 102-97 victory over another ACC member, then-No. 23 NC State, on Nov. 26 at the Maui Invitational. Jordan Pope tallied a season-high 28 points with seven 3-pointers.
Dailyn Swain leads four Longhorns scoring in double figures with 16.5 points. Seven-footer Matas Vokietaitis adds 15.5 points and 7.0 rebounds, Pope averages 12.1 points and 3.6 assists, and Tramon Mark contributes 10.5 points.
Miller said he learned a lot about his team by playing three games in three days in Hawaii, which began with a one-point loss to Arizona State.
“You notice on your team who sticks together, who maybe doesn’t stick quite together, who you’re going to go with, who you’re going to go with a little bit more,” Miller said.
Virginia rebounded from its only loss with a 94-69 win Friday against Queens, its third game with 90-plus points already this season. Before that, the Cavaliers had not topped 90 in a game since December 2018.
For the fifth time this season, freshman Thijs De Ridder topped Virginia with 21 points against Queens. He leads four Cavaliers averaging double-digit points with 18.0 per game, followed by Malik Thomas (13.4), Chance Mallory (11.3) and Sam Lewis (10.4).
Odom said his team will have to play tougher defense against a Texas team that shoots 51.1% from the floor.
“We’ve got to play harder, and it’s got to mean a little bit more,” Odom said. “The guys understand that because the competition is going to continue to increase as we go about the season. So, the guys understand and are excited about where they’re headed, but certainly not satisfied about with where we are right now.”
