Virginia fans have basked in the afterglow of the basketball program’s first National Championship for so long that the offseason vanished in a blink. The thrill of victory through one of the greatest redemption stories in all of sports along with the drama of odds-defying wins for three straight games at the end left Hoos here, there, and everywhere in a state of summer-long euphoria. How else could seven months seem more like seven days?

The program, meanwhile, returned from cloud nine much earlier and got to work on a new season. That season, with a new-look roster thanks to the departures of Jack Salt, De’Andre Hunter, Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, and Marco Anthony – starts Wednesday night at Syracuse.

Before tip off, however, let’s take a look at 10 preseason questions for Tony Bennett’s 2019-2020 Virginia basketball team.

10. How does starting with a conference game change things?

Thanks to the debut of the new ACC Network, the league and ESPN decided to put together a made for TV tipoff to the season. That meant most – yes, we’re looking at you Duke – of the conference’s teams started with league matchups as their season opener this week. On Tuesday night, Georgia Tech edged NC State 82-81, Virginia Tech topped Clemson 67-60, and Louisville took down Miami 87-74. On Wednesday night, the Cavaliers travel to face the Orange in the dome, while Wake Forest heads to Boston College, Notre Dame is on the road at North Carolina, and Florida State plays at Pittsburgh.

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