The Cavalier Renaissance

Virginia returns to the NCAA Tournament on Friday when it takes on Belmont in the East Region at approximately 3 p.m. Before the Cavaliers charge into Charlotte, however, it’s worth a look back at just how important – and in turn how historic – this season has been for the program.

Before the season started, my “10 Questions For Bennett’s Hoos” ended with one question: Can the Wahoos go dancing for two straight years? (Read Part I and Part II here.) At the time, I remember several message board posters indicating that the question sold this team’s potential short, meaning a return to the NCAA Tournament should be a given. The better question for those posters: Can the Wahoos match or exceed last season’s Sweet 16 appearance? While I agreed then and still do now on the importance of that question and the potential ceiling for this year’s club, I settled on the original as a broad view of the program vs. a question just for this year’s team.

In terms of growing and establishing the program as a consistent presence and regular threat in the ACC and beyond, I thought it was important to get the most basic goal out of the way first. The program, after all, hadn’t put back-to-back NCAA trips together since the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons. That’s two decades. This team took the program back with ease and that’s an important step toward sustained long-term success for the program.

Consider that Tony Bennett has taken the team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, three trips in four years, and four straight postseason berths. The last time Virginia went to the Big Dance three times in four years came from 1994-1997. The last time Virginia went to the postseason in four straight seasons was a five-year stretch for Pete Gillen’s teams from 2000-2004. All but one of those seasons resulted in a trip to the NIT and not the NCAA.

It’s certainly been a program-turning stretch for Bennett and UVa, but as significant as making the NCAA Tournament field has been, it’s also the least impressive piece of the puzzle. Virginia piled up a lot more success than just getting into the dance. Along the way, the Hoos have secured more wins than almost any era in program history. At 30-7 last season and 29-3 this season, Virginia’s two-year combined record is 59-10. In 1981-82 and 1982-83, those two Ralph Sampson era teams went 59-9 over a two-year period. Over three years, the Cavaliers have won 82 games to date, the most since the 1981-83 teams won 88 games. Those are the only two times in school history that the program has won 23 or more games in consecutive years (29-30-29 in the early 80’s and 23-30-29+ with the current run).

Throw in Sampson’s first season and UVa won 24 games en route to the NIT title for a four-year stretch of 24+ wins. The current window of the Bennett era is the only one to match 22+ wins over a four-year period. Outside of the Sampson era, Terry Holland’s teams only won 22 or more games one other time (22-11 in 1988-89). Jeff Jones surpassed that marker in 1994-95 with a 25-9 record. To summarize, the past four Bennett teams are four of only 10 seasons in program history with 22 or more wins. Teams play more games now than when Holland first took the job of course, but it’s still a historic run.

This year’s team set a school record with 11 true road wins. Over the two-year period, UVa posted a 15-3 record in ACC road games. That’s the best mark in the league. The Hoos also set the best start in school history at 28-1 this season. Virginia also became the first ACC team to win 16 ACC games in consecutive seasons.

Those victories still aren’t the most impressive part of the story, though. It goes beyond that too. The Hoos, after all, have won titles not just games. UVa became the first team from outside the state of North Carolina to win outright back-to-back ACC Regular Season Championships. The Wahoos have won seven ACC regular seasons titles in total, three of them outright and two of those have come in the past two years. The past two years have not included a full round robin league schedule. The Cavaliers also won only their second ACC Tournament title and made the ACC Tournament Semifinals in two straight years for the first time since 1994 and 1995.

All of that winning brings us back to the NCAA Tournament. Virginia is a No. 2 seed for the first time in school history. It’s only the second time UVa has earned a top two seed in back-to-back seasons. The 1980, 1981, and 1982 teams all received a No. 1 seed. The last time the Cavaliers made three appearances in four seasons in 1994, 1995, and 1997, they owned seeds of 7, 4, and 9 respectively.

In other words, you’re living in a golden era for Virginia basketball with a bright future seemingly waiting on the horizon too. I thought it was important to step back, take stock on exactly what has been accomplished, and be thankful before the madness starts later this week.

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