Veteran Cavaliers embracing a gauntlet of a men's basketball schedule

Adding Arkansas to a challenging slate should prepare Virginia for the postseason

Feb 3, 2026; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Chance Mallory (2) talks with head coach Ryan Odom in the second half against the Pittsburgh Panthers at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

With great talent comes great responsibility. At least that's the way Virginia's men's basketball program seems to be thinking.

This week's news that the Cavaliers plan to face Arkansas at Capital One Arena in Washington this season adds to what was already a challenging nonconference schedule that should prepare them well for another expected NCAA tournament appearance.

Virginia already had scheduled a Dec. 20 game at Madison Square Garden against last season's national runner-up, UConn. The Cavaliers also were assigned to host perennial power Kentucky on Dec. 2 in the ACC/SEC Challenge.

All three of those opponents were listed in ESPN's Way Too Early Preseason Top 25: UConn at No. 5, Arkansas at No. 11, and Kentucky at No. 17. (Virginia checks in at No. 14 in the same rankings.)

Virginia also has nonconference games scheduled with what should be a vastly improved Maryland team in coach Buzz Williams' second season and at home against Old Dominion. And the Cavaliers should face strong competition in the Battle 4 Atlantis in a field that includes Marquette, Texas A&M, Xavier, Mississippi State, Memphis, Penn State and Wake Forest.

Four of Virginia's ACC opponents made ESPN's preseason Top 25: Duke (No. 2), Louisville (13), Miami (20) and North Carolina (25). The Cavaliers also will play a preseason exhibition against No. 19 Vanderbilt in Charleston, S.C.

That gauntlet of top competition virtually guarantees the Cavaliers will finish with more losses this season than they absorbed in coach Ryan Odom's first year, when they finished 30-6. But any setbacks should toughen a veteran team in its bid for an extended NCAA tournament run.

Last season's nonconference schedule featured Butler, Texas, Maryland, Dayton and Ohio State. None were weaklings, but the Cavaliers weren't consistently challenged the way they figure to be this winter, and they eventually in the second round of the NCAA tournament as a third seed to No. 6 see Tennessee.

In an era of nearly unlimited movement, Odom managed to retain three of the top five scorers from last season, led by all-ACC forward Thijs De Ridder (15.6 points per game) and Sam Lewis (10.6). He also imported a strong transfer class that features guards Jurian Dixon (15.7 at UC Irvine) and Christian Harmon (12.8 at Arkansas State). Chance Mallory will step into the starting point guard role after starring off the bench as a freshman.

That talent and experience makes Virginia a dark horse national title contender, according to many analysts. With the NCAA tournament expanding from 68 to 76 teams, it would be a major shock if the Cavaliers weren't included in the 2027 field, even if they have double-digit losses.

Odom prefers to test his team as often as possible, and this schedule should do exactly that.