Virginia: 24-6, 13-5 in the ACC
Head Coach: Tony Bennett
Leading Scorer: Malcolm Brogdon (18.4 PPG)
Season Recap: With a preseason No. 6 ranking in the AP poll and a projected second-place finish in the ACC, Virginia has remained steadily strong throughout one of the most competitive college basketball seasons in recent memory. After dropping their second game of the year at George Washington, the Cavaliers went on a tear in nonconference play, recording key resume wins against then-No. 14 West Virginia, then-No. 12 Villanova and California in back-to-back-to-back games in December before entering conference play.
Despite a two-point loss on the road Jan. 4 at rival Virginia Tech—which sits at 87 in the RPI—the Cavaliers avoided any catastrophic results at John Paul Jones Arena this season. With key wins on the road at Louisville and Pittsburgh, and home victories against Miami, Notre Dame, North Carolina and the Cardinals, Bennett’s squad landed the No. 2 seed in the tournament, and could find itself in a similar position—or better—come Selection Sunday.
Redshirt seniors Malcolm Brogdon and Anthony Gill lead Virginia into the double-bye after winning three straight games and 11 out of the team’s last 13, which includes a loss on the final shot at Duke and a 3-point nail-biter against the Hurricanes. Brogdon—the ACC Player of the Year—has proven deadly from beyond the arc this season, shooting at a 41.1 percent clip en route to his team-high 18.4 points per game. On the block, Gill has cleaned up the glass for 6.1 rebounds per game and is second on the team with 13.6 points per contest. If the two dominant Cavaliers are struggling, they can look to guard London Perrantes to pick up the slack with his 11.2 points and 4.1 assists per game and lights-out 50.8 percent clip from downtown.
How they make a run: Virginia sits inside the top 10 of basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy's offensive and defensive efficiency metrics. That balance catapults the Cavaliers into the double-bye position as they try win their second ACC tournament title in three seasons. Virginia will face either Clemson or Georgia Tech in the quarterfinals—Yellow Jackets already defeated the Cavaliers earlier this season—but all signs pointing to Bennett's physical, pack-line defense stifling opponents on a neutral court, provided Brogdon and Perrantes can hit shots from the perimeter.
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