The Virginia Cavaliers are 7-1 to open 2025–26 and have topped 80 points in all of their games thus far. For a program long defined by a slow, deliberate pace and box scores in the 50s and 60s, that’s a huge change! For reference, the Cavs reached 80 points just two times in 32 games last season.
The elephant in the room here, of course, is that Tony Bennett is no longer with us, and with his departure, the Pack Line defense and Mover-Blocker offense have gone by the wayside. I shall forever be loyal to Tony and in his debt for a decade of amazing memories, but at the same time, I’m grateful that the University has brought in a new coach with his own style, looking to put his own stamp on the program.
It’s clear that Coach Odom wants to play very differently: the offense is faster and feels more modern, with more threes and fewer long twos. The defense trades the rotation-heavy packline scheme for a more conventional scheme that’s heavily reliant on the rim protection of our centers. And the team itself has changed - the roster turned over almost completely this last season, with transfers and international players making up the bulk of our current rotation.
I’m still not sure how to feel about the last point - one of the joys of college basketball is following your team’s underclassmen and watching them blossom into stars as they learn the ropes and gain opportunities. NIL and the transfer portal have reshaped the sport so that this “conventional” path is all but defunct, and I think college sports are worse off for it. This isn’t Coach Odom’s fault though - he is simply trying to field the best roster he can - but I can’t help but feel a bit sad about how college sports continue to change.
Visualizations
ANYHOO I thought it would be fun to cook up a few charts that illustrate just how much UVA has changed this season! It ended up being a fun exercise because the numbers really do back up the eye test.
Take a peek below, and shoot me a note if you find any of the trends particularly interesting (I spent a while just studying the multi-metric plot before writing this post!)
