Record: 28-6
Head coach: Tony Bennett (5th season)
Season summary: The Cavaliers flew under the radar for most of the season, but they won’t be taking anyone by surprise in the Big Dance. Virginia wasn’t ranked until Feb. 3, but enters the NCAA tournament having won 16 of its past 17 games, earning them a meteoric rise in the AP poll and the fourth and final No. 1 seed. Bennett’s team lacks a true superstar, instead relying on the entire team to get the job done. Guards Malcom Brogdon (12.6 PPG) and Joe Harris (11.7 PPG) anchor the Cavaliers in the backcourt, and Akil Mitchell, Mike Tobey and Anthony Gill are threats to score down low. The Cavaliers boast the nation’s best scoring defense at 55.3 points per game, playing an aggressive, physical man-to-man scheme that all but eliminates dribble penetration. The Cavaliers aren’t always pretty on offense but they rarely take bad shots and commit a mere 10.2 turnovers per game.
How they make a run: Defense wins championships, and the Cavaliers play it as good as anyone in the land. To get to North Texas they may face high-octane offenses like Michigan State and Iowa State, but Virginia proved it was more than up to the task against Duke in the ACC tournament championship game.
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