Virginia basketball was picked to finish fifth in the ACC this season by a select media panel, the ACC announced on Tuesday. UVA came in behind Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, and NC State, in that order, with the Blue Devils selected as the conference’s favorite for the 10th time in the last 13 years. The Cavaliers narrowly beat out SMU for the fifth spot.
UVA was also voted fifth a year ago before finishing with an 8-12 conference record and the No. 9 seed in the ACC Tournament. A year later,
a new era of Virginia basketball is underway with Ryan Odom now at the helm.
Odom brought in 12 new players this offseason, including four graduate transfers, in an attempt to reignite the Virginia program following its first losing season since 2009-10. By voting the Cavaliers to finish fifth, the media members who participated in the poll seem to have confidence in Odom’s ability to return the program to ACC contention immediately.
That said, they appear less certain about the specific players that will lead them there, as no Cavaliers received votes for ACC Preseason Player of the Year or made either the Preseason All-ACC First or Second Team. None of Virginia’s freshmen received votes for ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year either.
Virginia will play a pair of exhibition games against the Vanderbilt Commodores and Villanova Wildcats before the season begins Monday, Nov. 3, at home against the Rider Broncs. The first ACC game on the schedule is set for Dec. 31 against the Virginia Tech Hokies in Blacksburg. The first home conference game is a week later against the California Golden Bears.
