Virginia Cavaliers Basketball Details
Led by head coach Tony Bennett, the Virginia Cavaliers had a very up-and-down season in 2016, finishing the year 23-12 and 5th in the regular season ACC standings. With an 11-7 record in conference, the Cavaliers couldn’t get past the stronger teams like Duke, UNC, and text in last year’s conference tournament, but still made it to the NCAA Tournament as a #5 seed. Virginia was bested by 4th seed Florida in the second round of the tournament 65-39 in a game that showed an immense flaw in the Cavaliers’ offense. Those 39 points matched the fewest by a major conference team in the tourney since 2000. The team ranked in the bottom third of the nation in points per game, but has a stellar defense that ranked atop the nation. Guard London Perrantes exits the team after a solid senior season that saw him average 12.7 points and 3.8 assists per game. Also leaving the team is Marial Shayok, who transferred to Iowa State after last season, as well as Darius Thompson and Jarred Reuter who both also transferred.
Returning to the team for the 2017-18 season is guard Devon Hall, who finished his junior year averaging 8.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Also returning is senior forward Isaiah Wilkins, who had a respectable 2016-17 season where he averaged 6.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per contest. Incoming freshemn Marco Anthony, Francesco Badocchi, and Austin Katstra will look to bring sparks to a depleted Virginia squad. Playing out of John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, the Cavaliers will look to have another great season at home. The team went 12-4 in front of its home crowd last year.