Virginia basketball set to face Vanderbilt in outdoor exhibition game

CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein reported today that Ryan Odom and hisVirginia Cavaliers will take on Vanderbilt in a unique outdoor exhibition game on September 27th at Credit One Stadium in Charleston, SC.

It'll ultimately be a double-header with The Citadel taking on Charleston in the other game of the day, in what should be an exciting change-up for the college basketball preseason landscape.

Sources: Virginia and Vanderbilt will meet in an outdoor exhibition game on September 27th at Credit One Stadium in Charleston.

The Citadel will meet Charleston in the other game of this exciting and innovative doubleheader.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) July 9, 2026

The school has since confirmed that the game is going to take place:

Just Announced🌴Hoos in Charleston, SC

Exhibition vs Vanderbilt | Sept. 27

Tix 🎟️: https://t.co/tcOpFIziyR
Use code: UVAATCOS#GoHoos pic.twitter.com/0fs7OuQd9h
— Virginia Men's Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) July 9, 2026

The game benefits both the team and Hoos fans

Not only is it going to be fun for Virginia fans to see how the team looks much earlier than they normally would, but it's also going to be extremely benficial to the team itself as the coaching staff has already announced some schematic changes in 2026.

The program is searching for more facilitators, specifically ball-handlers, to help Chance Mallory lead the offense from the perimeter. Coach Odom already said that G/F Sam Lewis will have more of a role as a ball-handler in 2026/2027, and everyone will get to see how that's progressing against a potential top-25 SEC team.

Vanderbilt's high-powered offense will also be a great test for UVA's defense without Ugonna Onyenso inside and Malik Thomas and Jacari White on the perimeter. Virginia's coaching staff already knows that incoming transfer Jurian Dixon can score, but how he performs on defense will be a huge factor in his outlook for 2026.

This heavyweight bout will give the program a huge advantage heading into the regular season for many different reasons.

Other newcomers like Jan Vide, Christian Harmon, Kalu Anya, and Favour Ibe will also be heavily focused on in the matchup, as they could all be seeing the court quite a bit this season. One of the more overlooked storylines of the offseason has been where somebody like Vide will play. He started at point guard for Loyola Marymount in 2025, but it's obvious that he isn't a natural 1-guard.

He has the body and play style of a shooting guard or small forward, but was tasked with leading the offense last year. Maybe Coach Odom feels confident enough in his ability to play legitimate minutes at point guard behind Chance Mallory; we'll see. He's pretty lengthy as well, so he could end up being a legitimate defender for UVA who could guard multiple positions alongside Sam Lewis and Harmon.

Though the exhibition games will most likely be televised, that information hasn't been released yet as of the time of publishing this piece.

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