UVA Basketball: The best lineups, and then, the most frequent lineup

UVA Basketball coach Ryan Odom uses lots of different lineup combinations – 168 in all, per numbers from CBB Analytics.

For reference, Tony Bennett, in the 2018-2019 national title season, used 89; Bennett’s last ACC title team, the 2022-2023 group, used 113.

The 2019 champs had four lineups over 100 possessions – all involving, no surprise here, the trio of De’Andre Hunter, Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy.

Odom, to this point in the 2025-2026 season, has one go-to – the five-man combo of Dallin Hall, Malik Thomas, Sam Lewis, Thijs de Ridder, Johann Grunloh, his starting lineup, so that one gets a 27-possession head start on the rest, but.

That one has been on the floor for 346 possessions, per CBB Analytics – 19.1 percent of the overall possessions to date, through 27 games.

The next most-used lineup: Chance Mallory, Dallin Hall, Malik Thomas, Thijs de Ridder, Johann Grunloh, which has been on the floor for 66 possessions.

Neither are the best lineups in terms of net rating, according to the CBB Analytics data.

That honor, among lineups with 25 or more possessions together:

• Chance Mallory, Jacari White, Sam Lewis, Thijs de Ridder, Johann Grunloh: with a net rating at +65.8.

Quick explainer: net rating is the point differential per 100 possessions.

The rest of the top five:

• Chance Mallory, Dallin Hall, Jacari White, Thijs de Ridder, Johann Grunloh: +57.4
• Dallin Hall, Jacari White, Sam Lewis, Thijs de Ridder, Johann Grunloh: +43.2
• Chance Mallory, Dallin Hall, Jacari White, Devin Tillis, Ugonna Onyenso: +42.9
• Chance Mallory, Dallin Hall, Sam Lewis, Thijs de Ridder, Ugonna Onyenso: +41.3

Net rating for the starting lineup: +22.0

The starting lineup ranks 14th among the 21 UVA lineups with 25 or more possessions together.

Deeper dive

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I ran some tests to get a sense of lineup metrics against tougher opponents.

CBB Analytics gives you the ability to break down by, lots of things.

Great resource, that website.

The one I’m most interested in: Quad 1 and 2 games.

The ones you’re going to need to win in March.

Here are the top five lineups in Quad 1 and 2 games:

(Minimum: 20 possessions)

• Chance Mallory, Dallin Hall, Jacari White, Thijs de Ridder, Johann Grunloh: +72.7
• Chance Mallory, Jacari White, Sam Lewis, Thijs de Ridder, Johann Grunloh: +59.9
• Chance Mallory, Malik Thomas, Sam Lewis, Thijs de Ridder, Johann Grunloh: +29.0
• Chance Mallory, Jacari White, Sam Lewis, Thijs de Ridder, Ugonna Onyenso: +25.3
• Chance Mallory, Dallin Hall, Sam Lewis, Thijs de Ridder, Johann Grunloh: +17.3

Net rating for the starting lineup in Quad 1 and 2 games: -0.6

The starting lineup has been on the floor for 181 possessions in Quad 1 and 2 games – 17.8 percent of the total possessions in those games.

Notes

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• Thinking out loud: could the 0.6 net rating for the starting lineup explain the slow starts and midgame lulls in Quad 1 and 2 games?
• Chance Mallory, who doesn’t start, is in each of the Top 5 lineups in Quad 1 and 2s, along with Thijs de Ridder.
• Jacari White, another bench guy, is in the Top 2, and three of the Top 5.

Final note

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I’m just a dude who has never coached above YMCA ball with time to break down numbers from an analytics website.