Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball

Virginia Cavaliers
2023–24 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team
University	University of Virginia
First season	1905–06
All-time record	1719–1204–1 (.588)
Athletic director	Carla Williams
Head coach	Tony Bennett (15th season)
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Location	Charlottesville, Virginia
Arena	John Paul Jones Arena (Capacity: 14,623)
Nickname	Cavaliers (official) Wahoos (unofficial)
Student section	Hoo Crew
Colors	Orange and blue [1]
Uniforms
Home Away
NCAA tournament champions
2019
NCAA tournament Final Four
1981, 1984, 2019
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1981, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1995, 2016, 2019
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1993, 1995, 2014, 2016, 2019
NCAA tournament round of 32
1976, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019
NCAA tournament appearances
1976, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024
Conference tournament champions
1976, 2014, 2018
Conference regular season champions
1922, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023
NIT tournament champions
1980, 1992

The Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Virginia. The school competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Virginia has won the NCAA Championship, two National Invitation Tournaments, and three ACC tournament titles. The team is coached by Tony Bennett and plays home games at the on-campus John Paul Jones Arena (14,623) which opened in 2006. They have been called the Cavaliers since 1923, predating the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA by half a century.

Virginia won its first NCAA Championship in 2019, and won the last third-place game ever played at the Final Four in 1981. The Cavaliers have been ranked in the Top 5 of the AP Poll more than 100 times since 1980, ^[2] and have received seven No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. ^[3]

Virginia was a top program in the early years of college basketball under the tutelage of Pop Lannigan from 1905 to 1929 and a consistent winner under multi-sport coach Gus Tebell from 1930 to 1951, but the Cavaliers struggled through the 1950s and 1960s before Terry Holland arrived in 1974 to win their first ACC Championship and earn their first NCAA tournament appearance in just his second year. The program has since won 11 ACC season titles, third-most in conference history. In the recent 18-game ACC era (2012–2019), Virginia had four out of the five ACC teams that finished 16–2 or better in conference play. ^[4] As of 2024, Virginia has had 13 consecutive winning ACC seasons, the longest active streak among ACC programs. ^[5]

History

The Wahoos , as they are unofficially known, began their history under the tutelage of a Welshman and American immigrant known best as "Pop", Henry Lannigan. Lannigan began the program in 1905 after training Olympic Games hopefuls in track and field and quickly brought the basketball program into near-dominant form. ^[6] He led the Cavaliers to a perfect record of 17–0 in 1914-15 and a Southern Conference title in its inaugural season of 1921–22. After reaching prominence the team was invited to help the nationally known Kentucky Wildcats showcase their new Alumni Gymnasium. Virginia dominated Kentucky, 29–16. ^[6] Inviting Kentucky back to Memorial Gymnasium in 1928, Virginia again won, 31–28. ^[6] Lannigan held the Virginia record for best career winning percentage by a head coach (254–95 (.728)) until he was surpassed by Tony Bennett, who was hired 104 years after the start of the program.

After Lannigan's sudden death in 1930 and with limited administration interest at the onset of the Great Depression, Virginia basketball did not maintain its momentum into the next several decades. Buzzy Wilkinson scored 32.1 points per game in 1954–55 and is still the all-time ACC leader in scoring per game for both the single-season and career (28.1) categories. ^[7] He was selected by the Boston Celtics in the 1955 NBA draft. Unfortunately, Virginia teams of the era were not as great at defense and high scoring did not lead to many wins. Likewise, Barry Parkhill was named ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year in 1971–72 and was drafted in the first round by the Portland Trail Blazers but the program had not regained its early standing.

Terry Holland won UVA's first ACC Tournament championship, and led UVA to its first two NCAA Final Fours.

Terry Holland was hired from Davidson in 1975, and with star Wally Walker surprised the ACC in just his second year as head coach when his sixth-seeded Virginia defeated AP No. 17 NC State, No. 9 Maryland and No. 4 North Carolina en route to winning the school's first ACC Championship. Played in Landover, Maryland, it was also and fittingly the first ACC Tournament held outside of North Carolina. Athletic, quick, and seven-foot-four, Ralph Sampson was perhaps the most desired high school recruit in college basketball history when he chose to play with Jeff Lamp at Virginia over Kentucky in 1979. ^[8] He lived up to that hype would become one of the most dominant college players the game has ever known, winning three consecutive Naismith College Player of the Year awards to tie him with Bill Walton as the most awarded individual player in NCAA history. Virginia would attain its first AP Top 5 rankings and go to its first Final Four in Sampson's era, but would be stonewalled by Dean Smith and North Carolina both in that Final Four and in ACC tournaments. Carolina notoriously held the ball in a four corners offense for most of the last seven minutes of the game, despite having UNC's most celebrated NBA superstars Michael Jordan and James Worthy on the floor, to defeat Virginia in the 1982 ACC tournament 47–45. ^[9] Both the shot clock and three-point line were implemented into college basketball during the same decade in part to combat such shenanigans. ^[9] In 1984, after Sampson was drafted first in the 1983 NBA draft, Virginia made a Cinderella run back to the Final Four. There they lost 49–47, in overtime, ^{[lower-alpha 1]} to a Houston team led by the first pick of the 1984 NBA draft, Hakeem Olajuwon, who then joined Sampson to form the original Twin Towers of the NBA on the Houston Rockets.

John Crotty and Bryant Stith took the darkhorse 1988–89 team to the Elite Eight after defeating AP No. 2 (and No. 1 seed) Oklahoma which returned most of its lineup (including Stacey King and Mookie Blaylock) from the team that reached the 1988 NCAA Tournament Championship Game. After Holland retired the next year, the Cavaliers were coached by Jeff Jones for eight years, Pete Gillen for seven, and Dave Leitao for four. Highlights of those teams include a Jones team headlined by Cory Alexander and Junior Burrough that also reached the Elite Eight after a first-place finish in the ACC standings of 1995. There were no championship teams under Gillen, but his recruits Sean Singletary and J. R. Reynolds led the 2007 team to Virginia's next conference-topping finish in Leitao's second season. While there were flashes of brilliance under each of the three coaches, the program regained and expanded its national prominence under the coach who followed them.

Tony Bennett arrived in March 2009 and got to work in building "a program that lasts." ^[10] His 2013–14 team led by Joe Harris and Malcolm Brogdon brought Virginia its first ACC Tournament Championship in 38 years and its first Sweet Sixteen appearance in 19 years. The 2014–15 squad, led by Justin Anderson and Brogdon, started 19–0 and was even more dominant throughout the season as this team more than doubled up the scores of Georgia Tech and Wake Forest, only the second and third times in history that one ACC team scored twice as many points as another ACC team in official competition. However, Anderson broke his finger against Louisville and did not return until the NCAA Tournament where he was much diminished and the team bowed out to Michigan State in the second round. Brogdon led the 2015–16 team to the Elite Eight, but they fell just short of the elusive Final Four after a late rally by Syracuse. Shocking the basketball world twice in two years, Virginia lost to 16-seed UMBC in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament only to come back and win the 2019 NCAA tournament championship the very next year. ^[11] ESPN called Virginia's 2018–19 campaign "the most redemptive season in the history of college basketball." ^[12] CBS This Morning called it "basketball's ultimate redemption story" the morning after the national championship match. ^[13]

As of 2023, Bennett has led Virginia to the program's first NCAA Tournament Championship, third Final Four, second and third ACC Tournament Championships, and six of eleven seasons Virginia has finished first in the ACC season standings. He holds the single-season wins record with 35 from the 2018–19 season, breaking his own previous record of 31.

NCAA Final Four teams

Virginia is 3–2 at Final Four events and won the 2019 NCAA tournament championship.

1981: Sampson and Goliath

Led by Coach Terry Holland, National Player of the Year Ralph Sampson and his first team All-ACC teammate Jeff Lamp, the Cavaliers rolled to their best season in school history. After beginning the season with a 23–0 record, the Cavaliers would claim the ACC Regular Season title before falling in the ACC Tournament Semifinals. Despite the loss, UVA still entered the NCAA tournament as the 1 seed in the East Regional of the 1981 NCAA tournament.

UVA received a first-round bye and squeaked by Villanova 54–50 in the 2nd round. They then handled both Tennessee and Brigham Young by 14 points each in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 respectively to clinch a berth in the program's first ever Final Four in Philadelphia. Although UVA swept North Carolina in the ACC regular season, the Tar Heels defeated the Cavaliers when it mattered most, in the national semifinals. Virginia closed the season on a high note, however, defeating Louisiana State in the national third-place game to cap the program's most successful season to that point.

1984: Virginia plays Cinderella

Following the loss of their vaunted All-American in Sampson, the Virginia basketball team took a step back in 1983–84, at least in the regular season. The Cavaliers limped into the ACC tournament with a 17–10 (6–8) record, promptly falling to Wake Forest in the first round. Their record was good enough to ensure them an NCAA tournament invite and they were awarded the 7-seed in the East Regional.

After escaping 10th-seeded Iona 58–57 in the first round, Virginia drew Southwest Conference champion and 2nd-seeded Arkansas in the 2nd round. The Cavaliers dispatched the Razorbacks 53–51 in an overtime affair before cruising past 3rd-seeded Syracuse 63–55 in the Sweet Sixteen. In a low-scoring, defensive affair, the Cavaliers defeated Bobby Knight's 4th-seeded Indiana Hoosiers 50–48 in the Elite Eight to clinch the school's second Final Four appearance in 4 seasons.

In the National Semifinals, Virginia drew the Hakeem Olajuwon-led Houston Cougars at the Kingdome in Seattle. The Cavaliers gave the vaunted Phi Slama Jama lineup all they could handle, but eventually fell 49–47 in overtime, ending a surprisingly-successful postseason run.

2019: Redemption National Championship

Further information: 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game

See also: Tony Bennett (basketball) § 2018–19: The Redemption National Championship

Kyle Guy converted all three free throws with less than a second left in the Final Four game against Auburn; UVA won by one point.

Coming off a loss to 16-seed UMBC a year prior, the Virginia team returned with a vaunted Bennett defense along with the three-pronged offensive attack of De'Andre Hunter, Kyle Guy, and Ty Jerome. ^[14] The Cavaliers began and ended the season ranked in the AP Top 5, with a 28–2 regular season record and both losses to Zion Williamson's AP No. 1 ranked Duke squad under Coach Krzyzewski. ^{[15] [16]} Those two Virginia–Duke matchups during the ACC regular season were the most watched college basketball games of the regular season with 3.8 million and 3.3 million viewers for their games in Durham and Charlottesville respectively. ^[17] In the ACC Tournament, Virginia defeated bubble team NC State 76–56 before being defeated by Florida State, 69–59. ^{[18] [19]} Entering the NCAA Tournament, Virginia was a No. 1 seed in the South region, Duke was the No. 1 overall seed and placed in the East region, while North Carolina also received a No. 1 seed but in the Midwest region. The only No. 1 seed from another conference was Gonzaga in the West, later to be defeated by Texas Tech in the Elite Eight.

Virginia was the sole No. 1 seed of the tournament to advance to the Final Four after defeating Purdue. After first defeating Gardner-Webb, Oklahoma, and Oregon, they met the Boilermakers in the Elite Eight. Purdue's Carsen Edwards scored 42 points against Virginia, setting an individual scoring record against a Bennett-coached team. ^{[20] [21]} With Virginia down by three points with 5.9 seconds to play, Ty Jerome stepped to the line for two free throws, ^[21] converting the first but missing the second. Mamadi Diakite back tapped the ball into the backcourt where Kihei Clark recovered it and passed back to Diakite with one second remaining in the game. ^[21] Diakite immediately scored, and the game went into overtime. ^[21] Virginia then outscored Purdue 10–5 in the extra period to advance. Jerome, Diakite, and Kyle Guy each made the South Regional All-Tournament team.

De'Andre Hunter shut down Jarrett Culver and scored a career-high 27 points in the National Championship Game; he soon was the No. 4 pick of the 2019 NBA draft.

In the Final Four, Virginia met the Auburn Tigers who had already dispatched Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky to get there. ^[22] This game was a back-and-forth battle as Virginia trailed the Tigers at halftime, 31–28. Virginia led by as many as 10 points in the second half before Auburn retook the lead late in the game. ^[22] Down 61–57 with 7.7 seconds remaining, Guy scored a three-point shot from the right corner. ^[22] Harper then converted one of two free throws to lead 62–60. ^[22] Two controversial ^[23] non-calls (one against Auburn, one against Virginia) by officials preceded Auburn being called for a foul with 1.5 seconds remaining. ^[22] On the in-bounds play Jerome found Guy, again for the corner three, but Guy missed as an Auburn player fouled him by undercutting his lower body. Guy converted all three free throws to put Virginia into the 2019 NCAA Tournament Championship Game. ^[24]

The National Championship match was headlined by two of the top defenses in college basketball, Virginia and the Texas Tech Red Raiders. ^[25] Texas Tech did not score a field goal for the first 7 minutes and 11 seconds of the game, but eventually tied the game at 19 with 7 minutes and 33 seconds remaining in the first half. The teams traded leads until halftime, with Virginia holding a 32–29 advantage at intermission. ^[25] Eventual top-10 picks in the subsequent NBA draft De'Andre Hunter and Jarrett Culver shot 1-for-8 and 0-for-6 from the field respectively in the first half, but Hunter shot 7-for-8 in the second half to end with a career-high 27 points while the NABC Defensive Player of the Year sophomore limited Culver to 5-for-22 shooting and a 15-point total. ^[26] Texas Tech rallied from a deficit to take a late lead before Virginia scored in the closing seconds to take the game into overtime. ^[25] Virginia outscored Texas Tech 17–9 in overtime to win their first national title 85–77. ^[25]

Virginia ended the season with a 35–3 record, breaking the school record for wins in a single-season. ^[25] The team was 29–0 after leading at halftime. ^[25] The Cavaliers were the first first-time champions of the NCAA Tournament since the University of Florida thirteen years earlier. ^[25] In light of the previous year's loss to UMBC, ESPN called Virginia's championship run "the most redemptive season in the history of college basketball," and NBC Sports described it as "the greatest redemption story in the history of sports." ^{[27] [12]}

ACC Tournament championship teams

Virginia has won the ACC tournament three times, defeating Duke or North Carolina in each title game.

1976: Miracle in Landover

The 1975–76 Cavalier season was largely disappointing as they finished 13–11 overall (4–8, ACC) and limped into the ACC tournament as the 6th seed. Played at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, the tournament was the first in ACC history to be played outside the state of North Carolina.

Despite falling to NC State twice during the regular season, the Cavaliers upset the 3rd-seeded Wolfpack 75–63. The Cavaliers then drew 2-seed Maryland, longtime border rivals that had just defeated UVA five days earlier at Cole Fieldhouse. Virginia defeated the AP No. 9 Terrapins, before dispatching top-seeded and AP No. 4 North Carolina 67–62 in the championship game. It marked the first conference tournament title and NCAA appearance for Virginia, as well as only the 3rd time a non-North Carolina-based team won the conference title (following Maryland in 1958 and South Carolina in 1971). Wally Walker scored 21 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in the title game, being named tournament MVP in the process.

Virginia was awarded the East Region's 7 seed in the NCAA tournament, where they fell to 2nd-seeded DePaul in the first round.

2014: Bennett Ball arrives

Darion Atkins with the Cavaliers in November 2014

After a few years of steady improvement, Tony Bennett finally had a team he had fully recruited and coached. The Cavaliers got off to a forgettable 9–4 start, punctuated by a 35-point road loss at Tennessee. Following a pivotal conversation between star G/F Joe Harris and Bennett, UVA got on track and rolled through the ACC. On March 1, the 12th ranked Cavaliers would defeat #4 Syracuse at John Paul Jones Arena to clinch the ACC regular season title outright for the first time since 1981, allowing them to enter the 2014 ACC men's basketball tournament as the 1-seed.

After cruising against 8th seeded Florida State, Virginia held off 4th-seeded Pittsburgh in the final seconds of the semifinal, setting up a championship game against 3rd seeded Duke at Greensboro Coliseum. The Cavaliers would exact revenge for a regular season loss to the Blue Devils, defeating them 72–63 and claiming their first ACC tournament title in 38 years. Joe Harris was named tournament MVP while Malcolm Brogdon joined him as a 1st team selection. In the process, UVA defeated every ACC opponent at least once in a season for the first time since 1982.

2018: Calm before the storm

London Perrantes

After losing all-conference point guard London Perrantes to graduation and the Cleveland Cavaliers, many expected 2017–18 to be a rebuilding year for Virginia basketball. The team would start the season unranked before getting off to an 11–1 non-conference start and climbing up to No. 13 in the country at the start of conference play. Virginia would then become the first team to go 17–1 in conference play, notably snapping a long losing streak at Cameron Indoor Stadium against Duke, scoring 5 points in 0.9 seconds to stun Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center, and only losing one conference game by a single point in overtime.

They would open the ACC tournament by routing 9th-seeded Louisville 75–58 in the quarterfinals before dispatching 4th-seeded Clemson 64–58 in the semis. They would then rematch with a North Carolina team they had defeated earlier in Charlottesville and claim the ACC championship with a 71–63 win. Kyle Guy was named tournament MVP and was joined on the First team by Devon Hall as the Cavaliers gave Tony Bennett his second ACC tournament title in 5 seasons.

Seasons

Main article: List of Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball seasons

Results by season (1980–present)

Statistics overview

Season	Coach	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Terry Holland (Atlantic Coast Conference)(1974–1990)
1979–80	Terry Holland	24–10	7–7	5th	NIT Championship
1980–81	Terry Holland	29–4	13–1	1st	NCAA Final Four
1981–82	Terry Holland	30–4	12–2	T–1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1982–83	Terry Holland	29–5	12–2	T–1st	NCAA Elite Eight
1983–84	Terry Holland	21–12	6–8	6th	NCAA Final Four
1984–85	Terry Holland	17–16	3–11	8th	NIT Quarterfinals
1985–86	Terry Holland	19–11	7–7	5th	NCAA First Round
1986–87	Terry Holland	21–10	8–6	4th	NCAA First Round
1987–88	Terry Holland	13–18	5–9	6th
1988–89	Terry Holland	22–11	9–5	3rd	NCAA Elite Eight
1989–90	Terry Holland	20–12	6–8	5th	NCAA Second Round
Terry Holland:		326–173 (.653)	111–103 (.519)
Jeff Jones (Atlantic Coast Conference)(1990–1998)
1990–91	Jeff Jones	21–12	6–8	6th	NCAA First Round
1991–92	Jeff Jones	20–13	8–8	5th	NIT Championship
1992–93	Jeff Jones	21–10	9–7	5th	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
1993–94	Jeff Jones	18–13	8–8	4th	NCAA Second Round
1994–95	Jeff Jones	25–9	12–4	T–1st	NCAA Elite Eight
1995–96	Jeff Jones	12–15	6–10	7th
1996–97	Jeff Jones	18–13	7–9	6th	NCAA First Round
1997–98	Jeff Jones	11–19	3–13	9th
Jeff Jones:		146–104 (.584)	59–67 (.468)
Pete Gillen (Atlantic Coast Conference)(1998–2005)
1998–99	Pete Gillen	14–16	4–12	9th
1999–00	Pete Gillen	19–12	9–7	3rd	NIT First Round
2000–01	Pete Gillen	20–9	9–7	4th	NCAA First Round
2001–02	Pete Gillen	17–12	7–9	5th	NIT First Round
2002–03	Pete Gillen	16–16	6–10	6th	NIT Second Round
2003–04	Pete Gillen	18–13	6–10	8th	NIT Second Round
2004–05	Pete Gillen	14–15	4–12	11th
Pete Gillen:		118–93 (.559)	45–67 (.402)
Dave Leitao (Atlantic Coast Conference)(2005–2009)
2005–06	Dave Leitao	15–15	7–9	7th	NIT First Round
2006–07	Dave Leitao	21–11	11–5	T–1st	NCAA Second Round
2007–08	Dave Leitao	17–16	5–11	10th	CBI Semifinals
2008–09	Dave Leitao	10–18	4–12	11th
Dave Leitao:		63–60 (.512)	27–37 (.422)
Tony Bennett (Atlantic Coast Conference)(2009–present)
2009–10	Tony Bennett	15–16	5–11	9th
2010–11	Tony Bennett	16–15	7–9	8th
2011–12	Tony Bennett	22–10	9–7	4th	NCAA First Round
2012–13	Tony Bennett	23–12	11–7	4th	NIT Quarterfinals
2013–14	Tony Bennett	30–7	16–2	1st	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2014–15	Tony Bennett	30–4	16–2	1st	NCAA Second Round
2015–16	Tony Bennett	29–8	13–5	2nd	NCAA Elite Eight
2016–17	Tony Bennett	23–11	11–7	T–5th	NCAA Second Round
2017–18	Tony Bennett	31–3	17–1	1st	NCAA First Round
2018–19	Tony Bennett	35–3	16–2	T–1st	NCAA Champions
2019–20	Tony Bennett	23–7	15–5	T–2nd	Cancelled
2020–21	Tony Bennett	18–7	13–4	1st	NCAA First Round
2021–22	Tony Bennett	21–14	12–8	6th	NIT Quarterfinals
2022–23	Tony Bennett	25–8	15–5	T–1st	NCAA First Round
2023–24	Tony Bennett	23–11	13–7	3rd	NCAA First Four
Tony Bennett:		364–136 (.728)	189–82 (.697)
Total:		1742–1215–1 (.589)	513–553 (.481)
National champion        Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

Postseasons

NCAA tournament results

The Cavaliers have appeared in the NCAA tournament 26 times. Their combined record is 35–25. They were national champions in 2019.

Year	Seed/Region	Round	Opponent	Result
1976	East	First Round	DePaul	L 60–69
1981	#1 East	Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Third Place	#9 Villanova #4 Tennessee #6 BYU #2 (W) North Carolina #1 (MW) LSU	W 54–40 W 62–48 W 74–60 L 65–78 W 78–74
1982	#1 Mideast	Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#9 Tennessee #4 UAB	W 54–51 L 66–68
1983	#1 West	Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	#8 Washington State #4 Boston College #6 NC State	W 54–49 W 95–92 L 62–63
1984	#7 East	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four	#10 Iona #2 Arkansas #3 Syracuse #4 Indiana #2 (MW) Houston	W 58–57 W 53–51OT W 63–55 W 50–48 L 47–49OT
1986	#5 East	First Round	#12 DePaul	L 68–72
1987	#5 West	First Round	#12 Wyoming	L 60–64
1989	#5 Southeast	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	#12 Providence #13 Middle Tennessee #1 Oklahoma #3 Michigan	W 100–97 W 104–88 W 86–80 L 65–102
1990	#7 Southeast	First Round Second Round	#10 Notre Dame #2 Syracuse	W 75–67 L 61–63
1991	#7 West	First Round	#10 BYU	L 48–61
1993	#6 East	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	#11 Manhattan #3 Massachusetts #2 Cincinnati	W 78–66 W 71–56 L 54–71
1994	#7 West	First Round Second Round	#10 New Mexico #2 Arizona	W 57–54 L 58–71
1995	#4 Midwest	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	#13 Nicholls State #12 Miami (OH) #1 Kansas #2 Arkansas	W 96–72 W 60–54OT W 67–58 L 61–68
1997	#9 West	First Round	#8 Iowa	L 60–73
2001	#5 South	First Round	#12 Gonzaga	L 85–86
2007	#4 South	First Round Second Round	#13 Albany #5 Tennessee	W 84–57 L 74–77
2012	#10 West	First Round	#7 Florida	L 45–71
2014	#1 East	Second Round Third Round Sweet Sixteen	#16 Coastal Carolina #8 Memphis #4 Michigan State	W 70–59 W 78–60 L 59–61
2015	#2 East	Second Round Third Round	#15 Belmont #7 Michigan State	W 79–67 L 54–60
2016	#1 Midwest	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	#16 Hampton #9 Butler #4 Iowa State #10 Syracuse	W 81–45 W 77–69 W 84–71 L 62–68
2017	#5 East	First Round Second Round	#12 UNC Wilmington #4 Florida	W 76–71 L 39–65
2018	#1 South	First Round	#16 UMBC	L 54–74
2019	#1 South	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four National Championship	#16 Gardner–Webb #9 Oklahoma #12 Oregon #3 Purdue #5 (MW) Auburn #3 (W) Texas Tech	W 71–56 W 63–51 W 53–49 W 80–75OT W 63–62 W 85–77OT
2021	#4 West	First Round	#13 Ohio	L 58–62
2023	#4 South	First Round	#13 Furman	L 67–68
2024	#10 Midwest	First Four	#10 Colorado State	L 42–67

NCAA Tournament seeding history

Virginia is one of five NCAA programs to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament seven or more times. ^[3]

The NCAA began seeding the NCAA Tournament with the 1979 edition. ^[28] The 64-team field started in 1985, which guaranteed that a championship team had to win six games. ^[29]

Years →	'81	'82	'83	'84	'86	'87	'89	'90	'91	'93	'94	'95	'97	'01	'07	'12	'14	'15	'16	'17	'18	'19	'21	'23	'24
Seeds →	1	1	1	7	5	5	5	7	7	6	7	4	9	5	4	10	1	2	1	5	1	1	4	4	10

NIT results

The Cavaliers have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) 14 times. Their combined record is 19–12. They were NIT champions in 1980 and 1992.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1941	Quarterfinals	CCNY	L 35–64
1972	First Round	Lafayette	L 71–72
1978	First Round	Georgetown	L 68–70OT
1979	First Round Second Round	Northeast Louisiana Alabama	W 79–78 L 88–90
1980	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final	Lafayette Boston College Michigan UNLV Minnesota	W 67–56 W 57–55 W 79–68 W 90–71 W 58–55
1985	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	West Virginia Saint Joseph's Tennessee	W 56–55 W 68–61 L 54–61
1992	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final	Villanova Tennessee New Mexico Florida Notre Dame	W 83–80 W 77–52 W 76–71 W 62–56 W 81–76OT
2000	First Round	Georgetown	L 111–1153OT
2002	First Round	South Carolina	L 74–67
2003	First Round Second Round	Brown St. John's	W 89–73 L 63–73
2004	First Round Second Round	George Washington Villanova	W 79–66 L 63–73
2006	Opening Round	Stanford	L 49–65
2013	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Norfolk State St. John's Iowa	W 67–56 W 68–50 L 64–75
2022	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Mississippi State North Texas St. Bonaventure	W 60–57 W 71–69OT L 51–52

CBI results

The Cavaliers appeared in the inaugural College Basketball Invitational (CBI), in 2008. Their record is 2–1.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
2008	#1	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals	Richmond Old Dominion Bradley	W 66–64 W 80–76 L 85–96

Rivalries

Annual Home-and-Away Series

Louisville Cardinals

Following conference realignment, the Cardinals moved from the Big East to the ACC and were designated UVA's home-and-away rivals. The two teams had previously met for four straight years outside of their conferences in the 1980s during an era both programs were highly ranked. The Cavaliers won each of those games in 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1985. In the ACC, the two teams have acted as spoilers to the other with a Cardinal win in 2015 and a 2017 Cavalier win delaying or preventing an ACC regular season title, while an injury to star player Justin Anderson during the 2015 matchup derailed UVA's national championship aspirations. The March 2018 matchup between the two teams ended with Virginia scoring five points in the final 0.9 seconds and dealing what proved to be a mortal blow to Louisville's NCAA tournament hopes. Both teams won recent NCAA Championships — Louisville in 2013 and Virginia in 2019. UVA leads the all-time series 16–5.

Virginia Tech Hokies

As the two Power Conference teams in the Commonwealth, the Cavaliers and Hokies have a long-standing rivalry. While the intensity has picked up since Virginia Tech joined the ACC in 2004, the all-time series record is well in favor of UVA, with the Cavaliers leading the series 95–56.

Other rivalries

North Carolina Tar Heels

As the two oldest universities of the ACC, the UVA–UNC rivalry spans many sports and has persisted to varying degrees since the late 1800s. The early 1980s were a particular highlight for the basketball series as all-time greats Ralph Sampson and Michael Jordan led two Top 5 programs of the era. The Tar Heels have dominated much of the all-time series and lead 131–60, but Virginia is 11–4 against the Heels since the Cavaliers began their rise back to national prominence under Tony Bennett in the 2012–13 season. The two teams defeated each other for ACC Tournament Championships in 2016 and 2018, and the winner of those conference title matches went on to win NCAA Championships the following year (UNC in 2017 and UVA in 2019).

Maryland Terrapins

Thanks to the proximity of these two long-time ACC members, and their status as Tobacco Road outsiders, Maryland and Virginia have a long-standing rivalry that spans many decades. Traditionally, these two schools would meet in the last game of the season, and acted as spoilers to each other as they sought ACC season championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. This rivalry has been diminished in recent years, thanks to Maryland's move to the Big Ten Conference. They did match up in the 2014 and 2018 ACC-Big Ten Challenges, ending in 76–65 and 76–71 victories both won by Virginia on the road in College Park.

Coaches

Memorial Gym, UVA's home court from 1924 until 1965

Virginia has had 11 head coaches lead the Cavaliers. ^[30] The longest tenure was Pop Lannigan, who coached the team for 24 years starting in 1905.

Head coach	Years	Win–loss	Pct.
Henry Lannigan	1905–1929	254–95–1	.727
Roy Randall	1929–1930	3–12	.200
Gus Tebell	1930–1951	241–190	.559
Evan "Bus" Male	1951–1957	67–88	.432
Billy McCann	1957–1963	40–106	.274
Bill Gibson	1963–1974	120–158	.432
Terry Holland	1974–1990	326–173	.653
Jeff Jones	1990–1998	146–104	.584
Pete Gillen	1998–2005	118–93	.559
Dave Leitao	2005–2009	63–60	.512
Tony Bennett	2009–present	364–136	.728

Statistics

Overall [31]
Years of basketball	118
First season	1905–06
Head coaches (all-time)	11
All Games [31]
All-time record	1719–1204–1 (.588)
20+ win seasons	29 (1928, 1972, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023,2024)
30+ win seasons	5 (1982, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019)
Home Games [31]
John Paul Jones Arena (2006–present)	232–54 (.811)
University Hall (1965–2006)	402–143 (.738)
Memorial Gymnasium (1924–1965)	279–157 (.640)
Fayerweather Gymnasium (1905–1924)	134–19 (.876)
Conference Games [31]
Southern Conference Record (1921–1937)	73–79 (.480)
SoCon Regular Season Championship	1 (1922)
ACC Record (1953–present)	500–546 (.478)
ACC Regular Season Championships	10 (1981, 1982, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023)
ACC tournament championships	3 (1976, 2014, 2018)
ACC Players of the Year	5 (Parkhill 1972; Sampson 1981, 1982, 1983; Brogdon 2016)
NCAA Tournament
NCAA Appearances	26
NCAA W–L record	35–25 (.583)
Sweet Sixteen	10 (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1993, 1995, 2014, 2016, 2019)
Elite Eight	7 (1981, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1995, 2016, 2019)
Final Four	3 (1981, 1984, 2019)
National Championships	1 (2019)
National Invitation Tournament
NIT Appearances	14
NIT W–L record	19–12 (.613)
NIT Championships	2 (1980, 1992)
Accurate through 2023 season

Individual honors

Notable alumni

Name	Position	Year	Notes
Cory Alexander	PG	1995	1995 NBA draft 1st Round Pick—San Antonio Spurs (29th), Denver Nuggets, Orlando Magic, Charlotte Bobcats
Justin Anderson	G	2015	2015 NBA draft 1st Round Pick—Dallas Mavericks (21st), Texas Legends, Philadelphia 76ers
Darion Atkins	F	2015	New York Knicks, Westchester Knicks, Hapoel Holon, SIG Basket
Malcolm Brogdon	G	2016	2016 NBA draft 2nd Round Pick–Milwaukee Bucks (36th). 2016-2017 NBA Rookie of the Year
Junior Burrough	SF	1995	Boston Celtics, Charlotte Hornets
Herb Busch	C	1959	New York Knicks
Rick Carlisle	PG	1984	Player: Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets; Coach: Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers
Steve Castellan	C	1979	Boston Celtics
John Crotty	PG	1991	Charlotte Hornets, Utah Jazz, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Portland Trail Blazers, Seattle SuperSonics, Detroit Pistons
Frank DeWitt	F	1972	Buffalo Braves
Kenton Edelin	C	1984	Indiana Pacers
Mustapha Farrakhan Jr.	G	2011	Bakersfield Jam, Iowa Energy, Sioux Falls Skyforce, Idaho Stampede, Melbourne Tigers, Oklahoma City Blue
Gus Gerard	C	1974	Carolina Cougars, St Louis Spirits, Denver Nuggets, Buffalo Braves, Detroit Pistons, Kansas City Kings, San Antonio Spurs
Anthony Gill	F	2016	Yeşilgiresun Belediye, BC Khimki, Washington Wizards
Kyle Guy	G	2019	2019 Final Four Most Outstanding Player, 2019 NBA draft 2nd round pick—Sacramento Kings (55th)
Devon Hall	G	2018	2018 NBA draft 2nd round pick—Oklahoma City Thunder (53rd), Cairns Taipans
Joe Harris	G	2014	2014 NBA draft 2nd Round Pick—Cleveland Cavaliers (33rd), Canton Charge, Brooklyn Nets
De'Andre Hunter	F	2019	2019 NBA draft 1st round pick—Atlanta Hawks (4th)
Marc Iavaroni	PF	1978	Player: New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz; Coach: Memphis Grizzlies
Ty Jerome	G	2019	2019 NBA draft 1st round pick—Phoenix Suns (24th), Oklahoma City Thunder
Jeff Jones	PG	1982	Player: Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors; Coach: Virginia, American, Old Dominion
Andrew Kennedy	F	1987	Philadelphia 76ers, 1996 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP
Jeff Lamp	SG	1981	1981 NBA draft 1st Round Pick—Portland Trail Blazers (5th), Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs
Bill Langloh	G	1977	Boston Celtics
Lewis Lattimore	F	1981	Milwaukee Bucks
Roger Mason	SG	2002	Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards, San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, Miami Heat
Scott McCandlish	C	1972	Portland Trail Blazers
Jim Miller	F	1985	Utah Jazz
Akil Mitchell	F	2014	Houston Rockets, Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Olympique Antibes, New Zealand Breakers, Long Island Nets, Maccabi Rishon LeZion
Cornel Parker	G	1994	Golden State Warriors
Barry Parkhill	G	1973	1973 NBA draft 1st Round Pick—Portland Trail Blazers (15th), Virginia Squires, St Louis Spirits
London Perrantes	G	2017	San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers, Hapoel Gilboa Galil of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Olden Polynice	C	1987	1987 NBA draft 1st Round Pick—Chicago Bulls (11th), Seattle SuperSonics, Los Angeles Clippers, Detroit Pistons, Sacramento Kings, Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers
Lee Raker	F	1981	San Diego Clippers
J.R. Reynolds	PG	2007	Guerino Vanoli Basket, ASVEL Basket, NSB Napoli, Cimberio Varese, Orléans Loiret Basket, Maine Red Claws, BCM Gravelines, Bnei HaSharon, BCM Gravelines, Limoges CSP, Budućnost Podgorica, Stelmet Zielona Góra, Torku Konyaspor
Craig Robinson	F	1983	Boston Celtics
Jamal Robinson	SF/SG	1997	Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat
Ralph Sampson	C	1983	1983 NBA draft 1st Round Pick—Houston Rockets (1st), Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, Washington Bullets
Mike Scott	PF	2012	2012 NBA draft 2nd Round Pick—Atlanta Hawks (43rd), Washington Wizards
Tom Sheehey	F	1987	Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls
Sean Singletary	PG	2008	2008 NBA draft 2nd Round Pick—Sacramento Kings (42nd), Phoenix Suns, Charlotte Bobcats
Curtis Staples	SG	1998	Player: United States men's national basketball team (1997 Summer Universiade); Coach: Virginia Episcopal School
Bryant Stith	SF	1992	1992 NBA draft 1st Round Pick—Denver Nuggets (13th), Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers
Ricky Stokes	PG	1984	Coach: Virginia Tech, East Carolina
Mike Tobey	C	2016	Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte Hornets, Valencia BC, CB 1939 Canarias
Wally Walker	SF	1976	1976 NBA draft 1st Round Pick—Portland Trail Blazers (5th), Seattle SuperSonics, Houston Rockets
Buzzy Wilkinson	G	1955	Boston Celtics
Othell Wilson	PG	1984	Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings

National honors

University Hall, UVA's home court from 1965 until 2006

Ralph Sampson, Virginia's most decorated player

Naismith College Player of the Year
1981	Ralph Sampson
1982	Ralph Sampson
1983	Ralph Sampson
Oscar Robertson Trophy
1981	Ralph Sampson
1982	Ralph Sampson
1983	Ralph Sampson
John R. Wooden Award
1982	Ralph Sampson
1983	Ralph Sampson
Adolph Rupp Trophy
1981	Ralph Sampson
1982	Ralph Sampson
1983	Ralph Sampson
NABC Defensive Player of the Year
2016	Malcolm Brogdon
2019	De'Andre Hunter
Lefty Driesell Award
2015	Darion Atkins
All-American
1915	William Strickling
1955	Buzzy Wilkinson
1972	Barry Parkhill
1973	Barry Parkhill
1980	Jeff Lamp & Ralph Sampson
1981	Jeff Lamp & Ralph Sampson *
1982	Ralph Sampson *
1983	Ralph Sampson *
2008	Sean Singletary **
2012	Mike Scott
2015	Malcolm Brogdon & Justin Anderson
2016	Malcolm Brogdon *
2018	Kyle Guy
2019	Kyle Guy, De'Andre Hunter & Ty Jerome **
Academic All-American
1973	Jim Hobgood
1976	Wally Walker
1980	Lee Raker
1981	Jeff Lamp & Lee Raker

^* Consensus First-Team All-American.

^** AP Honorable-Mention All-American.

Retired numbers

Main article: List of NCAA men's basketball retired numbers

The Cavaliers have retired eight numbers to date: ^[32]

Ftr: Jeff Lamp, Malcolm Brogdon, Barry Parkhill, and Wally Walker, whose numbers were retired by Virginia

Virginia Cavaliers retired numbers
No.	Player	Pos.	Career
3	Jeff Lamp	SG	1977–81
14	Buzzy Wilkinson	G	1951–54
15	Malcolm Brogdon	G	2011–16
20	Bryant Stith	SG	1988–92
40	Barry Parkhill	G	1969–73
41	Wally Walker	F	1972–76
44	Sean Singletary	PG	2004–08
50	Ralph Sampson	C	1979–83

Retired jerseys

The University of Virginia's athletic department has issued the following statement distinguishing "retired jerseys" from "retired numbers": "Jersey retirement honors Virginia players who have significantly impacted the program. Individuals recognized in this way will have their jerseys retired, but their number will remain active." ^[33]

Virginia Cavaliers retired jerseys
No.	Player	Pos.	Career
5	Curtis Staples	SG	1994–1998
44	Sean Singletary	PG	2004–2008

All-time leaders

Main article: Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball statistical leaders

Notes

1. This is the only NCAA Tournament game that Virginia has lost in overtime. UVA's record in NCAA Tournament overtime periods is 4–1 as of 2019.

References

1. "Athletics Color Palette". University of Virginia Consumer Product Brand Standards (PDF). Retrieved January 16, 2023.
2. Men's Basketball Appearances in the AP Top 5: 1980–81 to Present, accessed November 21, 2022.
3. NCAA Tournament All-Time No. 1 Seeds History, NCAA, accessed January 27, 2021.
4. Cavs' in league of their own in ACC, accessed August 15, 2019
5. David Teel. "Victory over UNC elevates UVA's Bennett into rare company". Richmond Times-Dispatch , February 13, 2021. Accessed August 26, 2021. Note that the article mentions it was the second-longest at the time, before Duke failed to achieve a winning record in that season.
6. The News Leader , Henry Lannigan obituary, Staunton, Virginia. Published December 26, 1930.
7. 2013-14 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide, p.145-156.
8. Ralph Sampson's Decision, accessed April 10, 2019
9. With Four Coners, Dean Smith Changed Basketball, accessed April 15, 2019
10. Bennett begins task after day of praise, accessed April 15, 2019
11. 2019 NCAA Tournament championship: Virginia completes epic journey from last year's ugly exit to win its first title, accessed April 10, 2019
12. Virginia's redemption was one year, 23 days in the making, accessed March 10, 2019
13. Virginia wins first NCAA basketball championship in epic comeback, accessed April 11, 2019
14. Virginia Cavaliers' clogging defense prevails, accessed April 13, 2019
15. 2019 Preseason AP Men'a Basketball Poll, accessed April 13, 2019
16. 2019 Final AP Men's Basketball Poll, accessed April 13, 2019
17. Duke-UVA Trails Only UVA-Duke as Top Game of Season, accessed April 10, 2019
18. NC State Falls 76-56 to Virginia in ACC Tournament Quarterfinals, accessed April 13, 2019
19. Florida State Upends No.@ Virginia 69-59 in ACC Semis, accessed April 13, 2019
20. "Most ever against a Bennett-coached team" mentioned during the live radio broadcast of this game by WWWV.
21. Purdue's Carsen Edwards Had 42 Points Yet Virginia Somehow Advanced, accessed April 13, 2019
22. CBS national broadcast of Virginia vs. Auburn. April 6, 2019
23. National championship predictions: Will UVa or Texas Tech win first title?, accessed April 13, 2019. Quote from Jeff Borzello of ESPN Insider: "As for Saturday night, it was a clear foul by Samir Doughty on Kyle Guy. End of discussion. Fouled him on the way up, and didn't let him land. The missed-double-dribble debate is a different story, but then we have to get into a debate about the missed foul when Bryce Brown grabbed Ty Jerome a split second before the double dribble. Missed calls happen. It is what it is."
24. Auburn Fans Celebrate Prematurely, accessed April 3, 2020
25. CBS national broadcast of Virginia vs. Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament Championship Game. April 8, 2019
26. De'Andre Hunter Comes Up Clutch on Career Night to Close Chapter at UVA, accessed April 13, 2019
27. Who will be the next head coach to win their first national title?, accessed August 8, 2019
28. "Tourney History – NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship". ncaahistory.com. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
29. Shelton, Harold, Nick Loucks and Chris Fallica (July 21, 2008). "Counting down the most prestigious programs since 1984–85". ESPN. Retrieved August 6, 2008.
30. "All-Time Results". VirginiaSports.com. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
31. "2020–21 Virginia Men's Basketball Factbook" (PDF). VIRGINIASPORTS.COM – Virginia Cavaliers Official Athletic Site. pp. 1–136. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
32. "Malcolm Brogdon's Number To Be Retired" (Press release). Virginia Cavaliers. December 15, 2016. Retrieved December 15, 2016.
33. 2008 Virginia Football Media Guide, page 175. The University of Virginia has not released a similar policy statement regarding basketball jerseys, but the same "retired jerseys" terminology is being used as to both the football and basketball programs.

External links

• Official website