Virginia Basketball Stock Report After Win Over California

These three Virginia Cavaliers had standout performances last night.

Dec 22, 2025; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Chance Mallory (2) drives to the basket as American University Eagles guard Madden Collins (2) defends in the second half at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The Virginia Cavaliers' dominant 84-60 victory over California last night shot their overall record up to 13-2, and they're now running with a 2-1 record in the ACC. To date, their only losses have been to Butler (80-73) and Virginia Tech (95-85). Although the matchup did not go without its flaws, there were quite a few standout performances from the Cavaliers. With that, let's take a look at the top three players who saw their stock rise.

Ugonna Onyenso

Jan 7, 2026; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers center Ugonna Onyenso (33) shoots the ball over California Golden Bears forward Lee Dort (34) during the second half at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Senior center Ugonna Onyenso wrapped up the matchup with the highest number of rebounds (9) out of both programs. However, his most impressive feat of the night was when he logged a game-high of four blocks in nearly 18 minutes of playing time, posting 12 points along the way. During a postgame media appearance, head coach Ryan Odom weighed in on Onyenso's progress, stating:

"I mean, NBA is his ceiling. I mean, I think he can play in the NBA. Hopefully, I know he can continue to play basketball after the University of Virginia for sure. He's just an elite shot blocker, and if he can continue to get better in and around the basket, you know, finishing plays, making free throws, teams need that kind of guy. And if he can get a little bit bigger and stronger, he still can do that..."

Chance Mallory

Dec 31, 2025; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Chance Mallory (2) defends .Virginia Tech Hokies guard Ben Hammond (3) during the first overtime period at Cassell Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

Freshman guard Chance Mallory may not have been the top scorer last night, but he hit a career milestone of his own. Having recorded seven assists and three steals, he hit a game-high in both categories. Mallory is certainly one of the younger stars on the court, but he is an incredibly dynamic player.

"Chance is the real deal. He's a really good player and, you know, he's a competitor, and he's going to play hard for his team and play hard on each possession, and he's amazing," Odom explained. "He can find things that shouldn't be there, and he makes it happen, and on offense and defense, too. All of a sudden, he comes out of nowhere and grabs the ball, you know, and we're off to the races the other way."

Malik Thomas

Dec 22, 2025; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Malik Thomas (1) shoots the ball as American University Eagles forward Chris Eagan (35) defends in the second half at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Malik Thomas showed great strides last night in terms of his defense. To further the matter, he was even more productive on offense, posting a game-high of 20 points. Surprisingly, he scored more points than the Golden Bears' Dai Dai Ames, who is known for his elite scoring abilities. By the end of the night, Thomas had logged four rebounds, three assists and two blocks, in addition to his 20 points.

"Yeah, I think the biggest thing with Malik is on defense. Like today, it was his best defensive performance, and he fouled a couple of times there at the end, but overall that was his best defensive performance, you know, of the year," Odom stated. "And so, he's really worked hard, you know, at that. The coaches have done a great job of watching film with him and really helping him because the way they play defense at San Francisco was just a little bit different than the way that we do it here...."