2017–18 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represented the University of Virginia during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Tony Bennett in his ninth year, and played their home games at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

2017–18 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 5
APNo. 1
Record31–3 (17–1 ACC)
Head coach
Associate head coachRon Sanchez (9th season)
Assistant coaches
Offensive schemeBlocker-Mover
Base defensePack-Line
Captains
  • Devon Hall
  • Isaiah Wilkins
  • Jack Salt
Home arenaJohn Paul Jones Arena
2017–18 ACC men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 1 Virginia †17–1 .94431–3  .912
No. 9 Duke13–5 .72229–8  .784
No. 22 Miami (FL)11–7 .61122–10  .688
No. 20 Clemson11–7 .61125–10  .714
NC State11–7 .61121–12  .636
No. 10 North Carolina11–7 .61126–11  .703
Virginia Tech10–8 .55621–12  .636
Florida State9–9 .50023–12  .657
Louisville9–9 .50022–14  .611
Notre Dame8–10 .44421–15  .583
Syracuse8–10 .44423–14  .622
Boston College7–11 .38919–16  .543
Georgia Tech6–12 .33313–19  .406
Wake Forest4–14 .22211–20  .355
Pittsburgh0–18 .0008–24  .250
† 2018 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

In a year with low expectations from the press, the Cavaliers began unranked but ascended all the way to the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll for the first time since December 1982.[1][lower-alpha 1] The team then held on to that ranking through the end of the regular season and became the first ACC team to win 17 conference games. The Cavaliers won the ACC tournament by handily defeating Louisville 75–58, Clemson 64–58, and North Carolina 71–63 in the championship game. In the process the team broke the school's single-season win record, which had twice been tied by Bennett-led teams in the past five years.

ACC Sixth Man of the Year De'Andre Hunter broke his wrist in the ACC Tournament victory, and was announced to be out for the NCAA tournament two days before it began.[2] UVA entered as the No. 1 overall seed, placed in the South regional, but suffered an upset in the first round to UMBC and became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed since the field expanded to 64 teams in 1985.[3][4] The first round losses by No. 1 seed Virginia and No. 4 seed Arizona, and second round losses by No. 2 seed Cincinnati and No. 3 seed Tennessee, led to the South Region becoming the first ever to not advance any of its top four seeds to the Sweet Sixteen.[5]

Nevertheless, for taking an unranked team to finish four games above pre-season AP No. 1 ranked Duke and winning the ACC Tournament over North Carolina, Bennett was awarded his third Henry Iba Award for the nation's top coach of the season.[6]

Previous season

The Cavaliers finished the 2016–17 season 23–11, and 11–7 in ACC play to tie Duke for fifth place. They defeated Pittsburgh in the second round of the ACC tournament to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to Notre Dame. The Wahoos received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 5 seed in the East region. There they defeated No. 12 UNC Wilmington in the First Round before losing in the Second Round to No. 4 Florida.

Offseason

Departures
NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Marial Shayok4G6'5"196JuniorOttawa, ONTransferred to Iowa State
Jeff Jones24F6'6"213SeniorCharlottesville, VAWalk-on; graduated
Jarred Reuter31F6'7"243SophomoreMarion, MATransferred to George Mason
London Perrantes32G6'2"197SeniorLos Angeles, CAGraduated
Darius Thompson51G6'4"196RS JuniorMurfreesboro, TNGraduate transferred to Western Kentucky

Incoming transfers
NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Nigel Johnson23G6'1"190RS SeniorAshburn, VATransferred from Rutgers. Will be eligible to play immediately since Johnson graduated from Rutgers.

2017 recruiting class
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Marco Anthony
#44 SG		 San Antonio, TX Holmes High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jul 18, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:2/5 stars   ESPN grade: 79
Francesco Badocchi
SF		 Milan, Italy Bishop Miege (KS) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Apr 30, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Virginia 2017 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  • "2017 Virginia Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  • "2016 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.
  • "Virginia 2017 Basketball Commitments". 247sports.com. Retrieved November 9, 2017.

2018 recruiting class
US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Kody Stattmann
SG		 Cairns, Queensland, Australia St. Augustine's College 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) N/A Aug 28, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports:2/5 stars    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: NR
Kihei Clark
PG		 Woodland Hills, CA Taft High School 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) N/A Oct 2, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:2/5 stars    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster
2017–18 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Devon Hall (C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)211 lb (96 kg) RS SrCape Henry Collegiate School Virginia Beach, Virginia
F 1 Francesco Badocchi Current redshirt 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrBishop Miege HS Milan, Italy
G 2 Justice Bartley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)212 lb (96 kg) JrMontrose Christian School Lilburn, Georgia
G 5 Kyle Guy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoLawrence Central HS Indianapolis, Indiana
G 10 Trevon Gross Jr. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)202 lb (92 kg) JrSt. Benedict's Prep School Jackson, New Jersey
G 11 Ty Jerome 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)200 lb (91 kg) SoIona Preparatory School New Rochelle, New York
F 12 De'Andre Hunter 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)222 lb (101 kg) RS FrFriends' Central School Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
F 21 Isaiah Wilkins (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)227 lb (103 kg) SrGreater Atlanta Christian Atlanta, Georgia
G 23 Nigel Johnson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)182 lb (83 kg) RS SrRiverdale Baptist School
Kansas State
Rutgers		 Ashburn, Virginia
G 24 Marco Anthony 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)228 lb (103 kg) FrHolmes HS San Antonio, Texas
F 25 Mamadi Diakite 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)228 lb (103 kg) RS SoBlue Ridge School Conakry, Guinea
F 30 Jay Huff 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)230 lb (104 kg) RS FrVoyager Academy Durham, North Carolina
C 33 Jack Salt (C) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)250 lb (113 kg) RS JrWestlake Boys HS Auckland, New Zealand
F 45 Austin Katstra (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)214 lb (97 kg) FrAlbemarle HS Charlottesville, Virginia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Strength and conditioning coach(es)
Athletic trainer(s)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Depth chart
Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Jack Salt Jay Huff
PF Isaiah Wilkins Mamadi Diakite Austin Katstra
SF Devon Hall De'Andre Hunter Justice Bartley
SG Kyle Guy Marco Anthony
PG Ty Jerome Nigel Johnson Trevon Gross Jr.

[7]

Schedule and results
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
7:00 pm, ACCN Extra		 UNC Greensboro W 60–48  1–0
  16 – Guy  8 – Wilkins  3 – Guy  John Paul Jones Arena (13,855)
Charlottesville, VA
Nov 13, 2017*
7:00 pm, ACCN Extra		 Austin Peay
NIT Season Tip-Off Campus-Site Game		 W 93–49  2–0
  19 – Hall  8 – Wilkins  4 – Anthony  John Paul Jones Arena (12,995)
Charlottesville, VA
Nov 17, 2017*
4:00 pm, CBSSN		 at VCU W 76–67  3–0
  29 – Guy  8 – Wilkins  7 – Jerome  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
Nov 19, 2017*
1:00 pm, RSN		 Monmouth
NIT Season Tip-Off Campus-Site Game		 W 73–53  4–0
  23 – Hunter  8 – Hunter  3 – Tied  John Paul Jones Arena (13,472)
Charlottesville, VA
Nov 23, 2017*
4:00 pm, ESPNU		 vs. Vanderbilt
NIT Season Tip-Off Semifinals		 W 68–42  5–0
  18 – Guy  5 – Diakite  4 – 3 Tied  Barclays Center 
Brooklyn, NY
Nov 24, 2017*
7:30 pm, ESPNU		 vs. Rhode Island
NIT Season Tip-Off Championship		 W 70–55  6–0
  19 – Wilkins  8 – Salt  3 – Tied  Barclays Center 
Brooklyn, NY
Nov 27, 2017*
9:00 pm, ESPN2		 No. 18 Wisconsin
ACC–Big Ten Challenge		 W 49–37  7–0
  17 – Guy  10 – Wilkins  2 – Tied  John Paul Jones Arena (13,911)
Charlottesville, VA
Dec 2, 2017*
12:00 pm, ACCN Extra		 No. 18 Lehigh W 75–54  8–0
  21 – Guy  6 – Wilkins  8 – Johnson  John Paul Jones Arena (13,594)
Charlottesville, VA
Dec 5, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPNU		 No. 15 at No. 18 West Virginia L 61–68  8–1
  19 – Hall  5 – Wilkins  6 – Hall  WVU Coliseum (12,816)
Morgantown, WV
Dec 16, 2017*
2:00 pm, ACCN Extra		 No. 16 Davidson W 80–60  9–1
  22 – Johnson  8 – Wilkins  5 – Hall  John Paul Jones Arena (13,910)
Charlottesville, VA
Dec 19, 2017*
7:00 pm, ACCN Extra		 No. 13 Savannah State W 78–47  10–1
  17 – Jerome  7 – Wilkins  5 – Johnson  John Paul Jones Arena (13,597)
Charlottesville, VA
Dec 22, 2017*
7:00 pm, ACCN Extra		 No. 13 Hampton W 82–48  11–1
  15 – Guy  9 – Wilkins  4 – Johnson  John Paul Jones Arena (13,328)
Charlottesville, VA
ACC Regular Season
Dec 30, 2017
2:00 pm, RSN		 No. 9 Boston College W 59–58  12–1
(1–0)		  31 – Jerome  14 – Wilkins  3 – Hall  John Paul Jones Arena (14,538)
Charlottesville, VA
Jan 3, 2018
9:00 pm, ACCN		 No. 8 at Virginia Tech
Commonwealth Clash		 W 78–52  13–1
(2–0)		  14 – Hunter  7 – Tied  5 – Jerome  Cassell Coliseum (5,945)
Blacksburg, VA
Jan 6, 2018
1:00 pm, ESPN		 No. 8 No. 12 North Carolina W 61–49  14–1
(3–0)		  16 – Hall  7 – Hunter  7 – Hall  John Paul Jones Arena (14,401)
Charlottesville, VA
Jan 9, 2018
8:00 pm, ACCN		 No. 3 Syracuse W 68–61  15–1
(4–0)		  22 – Guy  9 – Wilkins  8 – Hall  John Paul Jones Arena (13,625)
Charlottesville, VA
Jan 14, 2018
6:00 pm, ESPNU		 No. 3 NC State W 68–51  16–1
(5–0)		  25 – Hall  6 – Wilkins  6 – Jerome  John Paul Jones Arena (14,317)
Charlottesville, VA
Jan 18, 2018
8:00 pm, ACCN		 No. 2 at Georgia Tech W 64–48  17–1
(6–0)		  17 – Hunter  7 – Hunter  5 – Jerome  McCamish Pavilion (8,600)
Atlanta, GA
Jan 21, 2018
6:00 pm, ESPNU		 No. 2 at Wake Forest W 59–49  18–1
(7–0)		  17 – Guy  7 – Hall  4 – Guy  LJVM Coliseum (10,014)
Winston-Salem, NC
Jan 23, 2018
7:00 pm, RSN		 No. 2 No. 18 Clemson W 61–36  19–1
(8–0)		  14 – Hall  5 – Tied  3 – Jerome  John Paul Jones Arena (14,149)
Charlottesville, VA
Jan 27, 2018
2:00 pm, CBS		 No. 2 at No. 4 Duke W 65–63  20–1
(9–0)		  17 – Guy  8 – Hall  7 – Jerome  Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314)
Durham, NC
Jan 31, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN2		 No. 2 Louisville W 74–64  21–1
(10–0)		  22 – Guy  10 – Wilkins  9 – Jerome  John Paul Jones Arena (14,310)
Charlottesville, VA
Feb 3, 2018
4:00 pm, ACCN		 No. 2 at Syracuse W 59–44  22–1
(11–0)		  15 – Hunter  6 – Wilkins  6 – Jerome  Carrier Dome (27,083)
Syracuse, NY
Feb 7, 2018
7:00 pm, RSN		 No. 2 at Florida State W 59–55  23–1
(12–0)		  17 – Hall  6 – Diakite  3 – Hall  Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (10,657)
Tallahassee, FL
Feb 10, 2018
6:15 pm, ESPN		 No. 2 Virginia Tech
Commonwealth Clash/College Gameday		 L 60–61 OT 23–2
(12–1)		  16 – Hall  8 – Jerome  4 – Jerome  John Paul Jones Arena (14,593)
Charlottesville, VA
Feb 13, 2018
9:00 pm, ESPN		 No. 1 at Miami (FL) W 59–50  24–2
(13–1)		  22 – Hunter  7 – Salt  7 – Jerome  Watsco Center (7,333)
Coral Gables, FL
Feb 21, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN2		 No. 1 Georgia Tech W 65–54  25–2
(14–1)		  18 – Jerome  6 – Salt  5 – Jerome  John Paul Jones Arena (13,873)
Charlottesville, VA
Feb 24, 2018
4:00 pm, ESPNU		 No. 1 at Pittsburgh W 66–37  26–2
(15–1)		  14 – Hunter  10 – Hunter  4 – Hall  Peterson Events Center (6,534)
Pittsburgh, PA
Mar 1, 2018
8:00 pm, ACCN		 No. 1 at Louisville W 67–66  27–2
(16–1)		  21 – Jerome  9 – Hall  4 – Hall  KFC Yum! Center (19,413)
Louisville, KY
Mar 3, 2018
4:00 pm, ACCN		 No. 1 Notre Dame W 62–57  28–2
(17–1)		  17 – Hall  6 – Tied  6 – Hall  John Paul Jones Arena (14,205)
Charlottesville, VA
ACC Tournament
Mar 8, 2018
12:00 pm, ESPN/ACCN		 (1) No. 1 vs. (9) Louisville
Quarterfinals		 W 75–58  29–2
  19 – Guy  7 – Guy  5 – Hall  Barclays Center (17,732)
Brooklyn, NY
Mar 9, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN/ACCN		 (1) No. 1 vs. (4) No. 19 Clemson
Semifinals		 W 64–58  30–2
  15 – Guy  8 – Salt  10 – Jerome  Barclays Center (18,157)
Brooklyn, NY
Mar 10, 2018
8:30 pm, ESPN/ACCN		 (1) No. 1 vs. (6) No. 12 North Carolina
Championship		 W 71–63  31–2
  16 – Guy  6 – Jerome  6 – Jerome  Barclays Center (18,157)
Brooklyn, NY
NCAA tournament
Mar 16, 2018*
9:20 pm, TNT		 (1 S) No. 1 vs. (16 S) UMBC
First Round		 L 54–74  31–3
  15 – Tied  5 – Wilkins  2 – Jerome  Spectrum Center (17,943)
Charlotte, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
S=South region.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings
Main article: 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
APRVRVRV181516139832 (1)2 (1)2 (1)2 (17)2 (16)1 (42)1 (48)1 (65)1 (65)Not released
CoachesRVRV^2515121614983222 (8)2 (8)3 (5)2 (3)1 (17)1 (32)1 (32)5

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings.
Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll at the same time the AP did.

References
  1. Casadonte, Lane; Robertson, Sean (February 12, 2018). "Virginia ranked #1 in new AP college basketball poll". Richmond, VA: WTVR-TV. Retrieved February 14, 2018.
  2. Rollins, Khadrice (March 13, 2018). "Virginia's De'Andre Hunter Will Miss NCAA Tournament Due to Broken Wrist". www.si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  3. Hale, David M. (March 16, 2018). "UMBC does the unthinkable, becoming the first 16 seed to beat a No. 1 seed". www.espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  4. Tracy, Marc (March 17, 2018). "Virginia Without Hunter Falls to UMBC". The New York Times. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  5. Leonard Hamilton: Upsets Almost Like a Revolution, accessed March 19, 2018
  6. Forgrave, Reid (March 17, 2018). "UMBC loss will define Virginia's Tony Bennett, but no one's better equipped to handle it". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  7. "Game 4 v. Monmouth, Charlottesville, Va. (John Paul Jones Arena)" (PDF). p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 19, 2017.

Notes
  1. The Cavaliers also became the first team in the AP Poll era, dating to the 1948–49 season, to rise to #1 despite losing a game in the prior week (at home in overtime to Virginia Tech). Virginia's rise was aided by the previous #1 and #3 teams, respectively Villanova and Purdue, also losing at home.
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