Virginia Cavaliers Open 2024-25 Season Against Campbell Under New Leadership

The Virginia Cavaliers are set to begin their 2024-25 college basketball season on Wednesday, November 6, against the Campbell Fighting Camels. This game marks a significant change for the Cavaliers, as they will be playing without legendary head coach Tony Bennett, who surprisingly announced his retirement on October 18, just weeks before the start of the season.

Ron Sanchez, who spent a decade on Bennett’s staff and five years as the head coach at Charlotte, has taken over as the interim head coach for the Cavaliers. Sanchez faces the challenge of maintaining the success of the program while potentially introducing his own coaching style.

The game will tip off at 7 p.m. ET at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, and will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra. The Cavaliers are favored by 17 points, with a moneyline of -1800 for Virginia and +900 for Campbell. The over/under is set at 128.5 points.

Virginia enters the season with a new-look roster, led by junior guard Isaac McKneely, who averaged 12.3 points per game last season. The team also includes Duke transfer TJ Power, a highly touted recruit. The Cavaliers have a strong home record, having won 18 of their last 20 games at John Paul Jones Arena.

Campbell, under head coach Kevin McGeehan, began their season with a dominant 96-49 win over Pfeiffer on Monday. Despite being picked to finish 13th in the Coastal Athletic Conference (CAA) preseason poll, Campbell has shown promise, particularly in their ability to force turnovers and score efficiently in the paint.

Predictive models from various sources, including SportsLine and Dimers, lean towards Virginia winning the game, with Dimers’ model giving Virginia a 95% chance of victory and predicting a final score of 74-57 in favor of the Cavaliers.