CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Virginia basketball is 16-2, off to its best start since the 2018-19 season. That year, of course, ended with the Cavaliers cutting down the nets in Minneapolis after winning the program’s first national championship.

Saturday, No. 14 UVA is set to honor the coach who led it to that title – Tony Bennett – by naming the court at John Paul Jones Arena after him in a pre-game ceremony ahead of the No. 14 Cavaliers matchup with No. 22 North Carolina.

Of course, Bennett’s first season in Charlottesville saw UVA go 15-16, his only losing campaign in his 15 years at the helm. Interim coach Ron Sanchez, who took over after Bennett’s surprise retirement in October, guided UVA to a 15-17 mark last year.

Enter Ryan Odom and, unlike Bennett and Sanchez, Odom appears poised for success in Year 1 with the ‘Hoos. Virginia has the look of an NCAA Tournament team, and one that could do some damage in March.

Certainly there are some things to nit-pick, including the Cavaliers’ woeful showing to date at the free-throw line. UVA is shooting just 70% at the line this season, ranking 11th in the 18-team ACC.

And the Cavaliers 10.8 turnovers per game would be their most since the 2019-20 season.

Their lone non-conference loss, 80-73 to Butler at the Greenbrier Tip-off, showed how things can go sideways if they don’t move the ball and share it the way Odom’s offense is designed.

Still, there’s little question Virginia has been one of the most impressive teams in the improved ACC, to date, this season, and the Cavaliers have themselves in the hunt for a conference title.

Here are five reasons UVA might be for real:

 

Quality wins

Not all 16-2 records are created equal, but the Cavaliers’ fast start includes some impressive victories. They’re No. 14 in the NET rankings thanks to a 4-1 mark in Quad 1 games (and a 4-1 record in Quad 2 contests). Only Duke, among ACC teams, has more Quad 1 wins already this season.

They have wins over an SEC team (Texas) and two against Big Ten squads (Maryland and Northwestern), plus quality victories over ACC foes Louisville, North Carolina State, and SMU.

Two-way basketball

Just like the championship season, UVA is efficient at both ends of the floor, ranking 17th in defensive efficiency and 15th in offensive efficiency, according to the basketball analytics website Kenpom.com. In 2018-19, the Cavaliers ranked in the Top 5 in both categories.

Virginia is one of three ACC teams that rank in the top six in both scoring offense and defense, joined by Duke and Miami. 

Drought proof?

Virginia isn’t just a good offense – it’s a multi-faceted one. It shoots well from the floor (sixth in the ACC in FG%), and really well from 3-point range (second). Thijs DeRidder can score or get to the line one-on-one on the low block. Malik Thomas can get to the rim to score or draw fouls.

And when the Cavaliers miss? They lead the ACC in offensive rebounding. All of that should help them avoid the lengthy scoring droughts that plagued the program during the Bennett era. 

Rim protection

Similarly to having a security blanket on offense, the Cavaliers have a failsafe at the other end of the floor. On the defensive end, UVA is second in the league in blocked shots, swatting over six per game. That means, even if there are breakdowns, the Cavaliers have a last-line of defense that offers real rim protection. 

Centers Johann Grunloh and Ugonna Onyenso are tied for second in the league with 45 blocks each. That means, even if one of the team’s accomplished shot swatters gets in foul trouble, UVA will still have a 7-footer guarding the basket.

Road worthy

The Cavaliers are 4-1 on the road – with wins at N.C. State, Louisville, SMU and Texas and their only road loss came in a triple-overtime thriller at rival Virginia Tech. Their biggest test away from home comes in the final game of February, when they play at Duke’s venerable Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.

That’s a big change from recent years. UVA has posted a losing record on the road each of the past two seasons and is just 22-24 on the road since the start of the 2021-22 campaign.