Tony Bennett was awarded Coach of the Year by the AP after leading his Cavaliers to a dominant season. Bennett’s Cavaliers were unranked in the preseason poll and only lost two games entering the NCAA Tournament. That included posting a 17-1 mark in the ACC. The Cavs lost leading scorer and senior leader London Perrantes coming into the school year but their young guys stepped up. Kyle Guy, formerly known for his man-bun blossomed into an All-American while sophomore point guard Ty Jerome took over for Perrantes and finished as a member of the All-ACC Third Team. Tony Bennett has always produced top defenses in his time at Virginia but this year’s defense was downright historic. Virginia as a team has yet to have a defense like they had this year during their impressive five-year run. It started with ACC Defensive Player of the Year Isaiah Wilkins and his ability to defend the post. Add in freshman De’Andre Hunter and his ability to basically guard 1-5 off the bench and you can see why they were so stingy.
Virginia had a dominant season including their record-breaking 17-1 finish in the ACC. They also won the ACC Tournament and entered the tournament as the number one overall seed. Virginia became the first one seed to lose to a 16 seed in the tournament ending what was a fantastic season for the team. Even with that loss, it should not take away what Tony Bennett and his players accomplished this year.
