Virginia basketball non-conference schedule confirmed, heavyweight battles abound

Ryan Odom's Cavaliers have some high-stakes games ahead of them

Virginia has a high-stakes duel with UConn set for late December. | Courtesy Virginia Athletics

Monday, Virginia men’s basketball officially released its 2026-27 non-conference slate — featuring several high-profile matchups with a few mid-major matchups mixed in. These non-conference games make up a sizable portion of the Cavaliers’ season. They hope to power past this slate and live up to the potential of a top-10 team.

Some big matchups were confirmed — including games with SEC powers Arkansas and Kentucky, as well as the Big East’s UConn, Villanova, Marquette and Xavier. The Razorbacks and Huskies should be ranked opponents, hence the occupation of valuable ESPN television slots.

Those high-major matchups were known in advance. Some new information comes from how Virginia filled its other non-conference slots. A few potential blowouts were scheduled with programs like Drexel, Bethune-Cookman and Western Carolina, among others. The home opener, as of now, has also been confirmed.

Here is the full non-conference schedule for the Cavaliers:

• Oct. 22 at Villanova (Thursday)
• Nov. 3 vs. Drexel (Tuesday)
• Nov. 6 vs. Northeastern (Friday, 4:06 p.m.)
• Nov. 8 vs. Arkansas (Sunday, 1 p.m. on ESPN in Washington, D.C.)
• Nov. 10 vs. Bucknell (Tuesday)
• Nov. 13 at Maryland (Friday)
• Nov. 17 vs. Old Dominion (Tuesday)
• Nov. 20 vs. Loyola Maryland (Friday)
• Nov. 25 vs. Marquette (Wednesday, 12 p.m. in Nassau, Bahamas)
• Nov. 27 vs. Xavier (Friday, 11 a.m. in Nassau, Bahamas)
• Dec. 2 vs. Kentucky (Wednesday)
• Dec. 8 vs. Bethune-Cookman (Tuesday)
• Dec. 13 vs. Western Carolina (Sunday)
• Dec. 20 vs. UConn (Sunday, 3 p.m. on ESPN in New York, New York)

Mar 22, 2026; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Chance Mallory (2) shoots the ball against the Tennessee Volunteers in the second half during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

ACC play usually does not start well into December, so this non-conference slate should look like a near-finalized early stretch for Virginia. Picking up early wins against Villanova and Arkansas could be a massive boost for the Cavaliers’ ranking — especially given that they have a few multi-week stretches of inferior opponents.

Last season, Ryan Odom's Virginia team had a few notable non-conference games (Texas, Ohio State and Dayton) but broadly had a titan-free schedule. This year, everything has changed. There are at least three ranked teams on this non-conference lineup, plus a few promising high-majors who could feasibly play in the NCAA Tournament.

Only a few of these games currently have TV designations — but it is certainly possible that more Cavaliers games end up on national primetime broadcasts, especially if Virginia ends up being a consistent top-10 team. For now, many tip-off times and TV designations have yet to be announced.