2018–19 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 2018–19 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represented the University of Virginia during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The team was led by head coach Tony Bennett in his tenth year, and played their home games at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference .
UVA opened the season with consecutive wins over ranked Big Ten teams, No. 25 Wisconsin (Battle 4 Atlantis ) and No. 24 Maryland (ACC–Big Ten Challenge ), the latter of which improved Bennett's record in the Challenge to 8–2. An unheralded two-star recruit, 5'9" Kihei Clark from Los Angeles, California , started both games as a true freshman. The team then started the season 16–0 before falling to No. 1 Duke, 72–70.[ 1] The game was just the fourth in college basketball history between two teams both ranked No. 1, as the No. 4 Cavaliers were voted atop the Coaches Poll before the loss.[ 1] After a 16–2 ACC record, Virginia won a share of their fourth ACC regular season title in the past six years.[ 2]
In the ACC tournament, the Cavaliers defeated NC State 76–56, before falling to Florida State in the conference semifinals. Virginia was then awarded the No. 1 seed in the South region and dispatched Gardner-Webb and Oklahoma by healthy margins in the first two rounds in Columbia, South Carolina . They advanced to a Sweet 16 matchup with Oregon and beat Oregon 53–49 to advance to their 2nd Elite 8 under Bennett. In the Elite Eight, they beat Purdue 80–75 in overtime to secure a trip to their first Final Four since 1984. On April 6, 2019, they defeated Auburn in their Final Four matchup by a score of 63–62 on 3 last-second free throws by Kyle Guy , cementing the program's first ever trip to the national championship game.[ 3] On April 8, 2019, Virginia beat Texas Tech 85–77 in overtime, winning its first national championship.
Previous season
Unranked by the AP in the preseason poll, the Cavaliers surprisingly finished the 2017–18 season 31–3, and 17–1 in ACC play to win both ACC Regular Season and tournament titles. The Cavaliers received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the South region, where they were upset by No. 16 UMBC in the first round . This was the first time in Men's NCAA tournament history that a No. 1 seed was upset by a No. 16 seed.
Offseason
Virginia's offseason started on the night of March 16, 2018, and ended on the evening of November 6, 2018.
The Cavaliers lost five players and gained four.
Departures
Incoming transfers
Virginia Incoming Transfers
Name
Number
Pos.
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Previous School
Years Remaining
Date Eligible
Braxton Key
2
F
6'8"
225
Junior
Decatur, GA
Alabama
2
October 1, 2018
2018 recruiting class
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Kody Stattmann SG
Cairns, Queensland, Australia
St. Augustine's College
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
N/A
Aug 28, 2017
Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : N/A ESPN grade: NR
Kihei Clark PG
Woodland Hills, CA
Taft High School
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
N/A
Oct 2, 2017
Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : ESPN grade: 75
Francisco Cáffaro C
El Trébol, Argentina
NBA Global Academy
7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
N/A
May 1, 2018
Recruiting star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN : N/A ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: 247Sports : 65
Note : In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.
Sources:
Roster
Players
2018–19 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
0
Kihei Clark
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
155 lb (70 kg)
Fr
Taft Charter HS
Woodland Hills, California
F
1
Francesco Badocchi
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
RS Fr
Bishop Miege HS
Milan, Italy
F
2
Braxton Key
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
Jr
Oak Hill Academy Alabama
Decatur, Georgia
G
5
Kyle Guy (C)
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Jr
Lawrence Central HS
Indianapolis, Indiana
G
10
Jayden Nixon (W)
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Fr
Choate Rosemary Hall
Charlottesville, Virginia
G
11
Ty Jerome (C)
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Jr
Iona Prep
New Rochelle, New York
F
12
De'Andre Hunter
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
222 lb (101 kg)
RS So
Friends' Central School
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
G
13
Grant Kersey (W)
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
160 lb (73 kg)
Jr
Albemarle HS
Charlottesville, Virginia
C
22
Francisco Cáffaro
7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
233 lb (106 kg)
Fr
NBA Global Academy
El Trébol Santa Fe, Argentina
G
23
Kody Stattmann
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
178 lb (81 kg)
Fr
St. Augustine's College
Bentley Park, Australia
G
24
Marco Anthony
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
228 lb (103 kg)
So
Holmes HS
San Antonio, Texas
F
25
Mamadi Diakite
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
228 lb (103 kg)
RS Jr
Blue Ridge School
Conakry, Guinea
F
30
Jay Huff
7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
RS So
Voyager Academy
Durham, North Carolina
C
33
Jack Salt (C)
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
250 lb (113 kg)
RS Sr
Westlake Boys HS
Auckland, New Zealand
F
45
Austin Katstra (W)
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
214 lb (97 kg)
So
Albemarle HS
Charlottesville, Virginia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster
Coaching staff
Depth Chart
Schedule and results
Source:[ 4]
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2018 *7:00 pm, ACCN Extra
No. 5
Towson
W 73–42
1–0
20 – Jerome
10 – Hunter
6 – Clark
John Paul Jones Arena (13,807)Charlottesville, VA
November 11, 2018 *2:00 pm, ACCN Extra
No. 5
George Washington
W 76–57
2–0
20 – Tied
6 – Jerome
7 – Jerome
John Paul Jones Arena (13,574)Charlottesville, VA
November 16, 2018 *7:00 pm, ACCN Extra
No. 4
Coppin State Battle 4 Atlantis campus-site game
W 97–40
3–0
20 – Hunter
7 – Key
6 – Jerome
John Paul Jones Arena (13,971)Charlottesville, VA
November 21, 2018 *9:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 4
vs. Middle Tennessee Battle 4 Atlantis Quarterfinals
W 74–52
4–0
15 – Tied
8 – Hunter
9 – Hunter
Imperial Arena (1,115)Nassau, Bahamas
November 22, 2018 *4:00 pm, ESPN
No. 4
vs. Dayton Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinals
W 66–59
5–0
23 – Hunter
6 – Tied
2 – Tied
Imperial Arena (2,258)Nassau, Bahamas
November 23, 2018 *2:00 pm, ESPN
No. 4
vs. No. 25 Wisconsin Battle 4 Atlantis Final
W 53–46
6–0
20 – Hunter
9 – Hunter
5 – Jerome
Imperial Arena (2,249)Nassau, Bahamas
November 28, 2018 *7:30 pm, ESPN
No. 4
at No. 24 Maryland ACC–Big Ten Challenge
W 76–71
7–0
18 – Guy
7 – Salt
4 – Hunter
Xfinity Center (17,950)College Park, MD
December 3, 2018 *7:00 pm, ACCN Extra
No. 4
Morgan State
W 83–45
8–0
15 – Tied
9 – Key
5 – Jerome
John Paul Jones Arena (13,397)Charlottesville, VA
December 9, 2018 *1:30 pm, ACCRSN
No. 4
VCU
W 57–49
9–0
15 – Guy
8 – Jerome
4 – Key
John Paul Jones Arena (13,648)Charlottesville, VA
December 19, 2018 *7:00 pm, SECN
No. 5
at South Carolina
W 69–52
10–0
25 – Jerome
9 – Salt
7 – Jerome
Colonial Life Arena (12,291)Columbia, SC
December 22, 2018 *2:00 pm, ACCN Extra
No. 5
William & Mary
W 72–40
11–0
18 – Hunter
10 – Jerome
4 – Jerome
John Paul Jones Arena (14,623)Charlottesville, VA
December 31, 2018 *1:00 pm, ACCRSN
No. 4
Marshall
W 100–64
12–0
30 – Guy
8 – Tied
4 – Tied
John Paul Jones Arena (14,623)Charlottesville, VA
ACC regular season
January 5, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 4
No. 9 Florida State
W 65–52
13–0 (1–0)
21 – Guy
6 – Tied
6 – Jerome
John Paul Jones Arena (14,623)Charlottesville, VA
January 9, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 4
at Boston College
W 83–56
14–0 (2–0)
18 – Tied
9 – Key
5 – Guy
Conte Forum (5,738)Chestnut Hill, MA
January 12, 2019 12:00 pm, Raycom
No. 4
at Clemson
W 63–43
15–0 (3–0)
13 – Guy
8 – Tied
5 – Jerome
Littlejohn Coliseum (9,242)Clemson, SC
January 15, 2019 8:00 pm, Raycom
No. 4
No. 9 Virginia Tech Commonwealth Clash
W 81–59
16–0 (4–0)
21 – Hunter
5 – Tied
12 – Jerome
John Paul Jones Arena (14,623)Charlottesville, VA
January 19, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN
No. 4
at No. 1 Duke College GameDay
L 70–72
16–1 (4–1)
18 – Hunter
6 – Tied
4 – Jerome
Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314)Durham, NC
January 22, 2019 9:00 pm, ACCRSN
No. 3
Wake Forest
W 68–45
17–1 (5–1)
12 – Tied
8 – Salt
5 – Tied
John Paul Jones Arena (14,273)Charlottesville, VA
January 26, 2019 1:00 pm, CBS
No. 3
at Notre Dame
W 82–55
18–1 (6–1)
19 – Hunter
9 – Jerome
6 – Jerome
Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,149)South Bend, IN
January 29, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 3
at No. 23 NC State
W 66–65 OT
19–1 (7–1)
15 – Hunter
8 – Key
6 – Jerome
PNC Arena (18,211)Raleigh, NC
February 2, 2019 2:00 pm, Raycom
No. 3
Miami (FL)
W 56–46
20–1 (8–1)
14 – Hunter
9 – Salt
6 – Clark
John Paul Jones Arena (13,978)Charlottesville, VA
February 9, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN
No. 3
No. 2 Duke College GameDay
L 71–81
20–2 (8–2)
16 – Tied
10 – Key
4 – Jerome
John Paul Jones Arena (14,629)Charlottesville, VA
February 11, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 4
at No. 8 North Carolina
W 69–61
21–2 (9–2)
20 – Tied
6 – Key
11 – Jerome
Dean Smith Center (21,750)Chapel Hill, NC
February 16, 2019 2:00 pm, Raycom
No. 4
Notre Dame
W 60–54
22–2 (10–2)
22 – Guy
10 – Hunter
3 – Tied
John Paul Jones Arena (13,448)Charlottesville, VA
February 18, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 3
at No. 20 Virginia Tech Commonwealth Clash
W 64–58
23–2 (11–2)
23 – Guy
7 – Guy
6 – Jerome
Cassell Coliseum (9,275)Blacksburg, VA
February 23, 2019 12:00 pm, Raycom
No. 3
at No. 18 Louisville
W 64–52
24–2 (12–2)
26 – Hunter
8 – Guy
5 – Jerome
KFC Yum! Center (17,529)Louisville, KY
February 27, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 2
Georgia Tech
W 81–51
25–2 (13–2)
19 – Jerome
8 – Diakite
6 – Clark
John Paul Jones Arena (14,094)Charlottesville, VA
March 2, 2019 2:00 pm, Raycom
No. 2
Pittsburgh
W 73–49
26–2 (14–2)
17 – Guy
6 – Huff
5 – Hunter
John Paul Jones Arena (13,452)Charlottesville, VA
March 4, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 2
at Syracuse
W 79–53
27–2 (15–2)
25 – Guy
7 – Guy
14 – Jerome
Carrier Dome (29,052)Syracuse, NY
March 9, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPN
No. 2
Louisville Senior Day
W 73–68
28–2 (16–2)
24 – Jerome
6 – Guy
6 – Jerome
John Paul Jones Arena (14,629)Charlottesville, VA
ACC tournament
March 14, 2019 12:30 pm, ESPN/Raycom
(1) No. 2
vs. (8) NC State Quarterfinals
W 76–56
29–2
29 – Guy
7 – Key
10 – Jerome
Spectrum Center (19,691)Charlotte, NC
March 15, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN/Raycom
(1) No. 2
vs. (4) No. 12 Florida State Semifinals
L 59–69
29–3
13 – Hunter
5 – Salt
4 – Guy
Spectrum Center (20,116)Charlotte, NC
NCAA tournament
March 22, 2019 *3:10 pm, truTV
(1 S) No. 2
vs. (16 S) Gardner–Webb First Round
W 71–56
30–3
23 – Hunter
9 – Diakite
6 – Jerome
Colonial Life Arena (15,417)Columbia, SC
March 24, 2019 *7:45 pm, truTV
(1 S) No. 2
vs. (9 S) Oklahoma Second Round
W 63–51
31–3
14 – Diakite
9 – Tied
3 – Tied
Colonial Life Arena (16,332)Columbia, SC
March 28, 2019 *9:59 pm, TBS
(1 S) No. 2
vs. (12 S) Oregon Sweet Sixteen
W 53–49
32–3
13 – Jerome
11 – Diakite
6 – Jerome
KFC Yum! Center (19,831)Louisville, KY
March 30, 2019 *8:49 pm, TBS
(1 S) No. 2
vs. (3 S) No. 13 Purdue Elite Eight
W 80–75 OT
33–3
25 – Guy
10 – Guy
7 – Jerome
KFC Yum! Center (21,623)Louisville, KY
April 6, 2019 *6:09 pm, CBS
(1 S) No. 2
vs. (5 MW) No. 14 Auburn Final Four
W 63–62
34–3
21 – Jerome
9 – Jerome
6 – Jerome
U.S. Bank Stadium (72,711)Minneapolis, MN
April 8, 2019 *9:20 pm, CBS
(1 S) No. 2
vs. (3 W) No. 9 Texas Tech National Championship
W 85–77 OT
35–3
27 – Hunter
10 – Key
8 – Jerome
U.S. Bank Stadium (72,062)Minneapolis, MN
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
S=South, MW=Midwest, W=West.
All times are in
Eastern Time .
Game summaries
Towson Tigers 42, Virginia Cavaliers 73
Scoring by quarter: 19-28 , 23-45
Pts : Tobias Howard (10)Rebs : Dennis Tunstall Brian Fobbs (6)Asts : Dennis Tunstall (1)
Pts: Ty Jerome (20)Rebs: De'Andre Hunter (10)Asts: Kihei Clark (6)
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Final AP 5 (2) 4 (2) 4 (2) 4 (1) 4 (1) 6 (1) 5 (1) 4 (4) 4 (4) 4 (5) 4 (6) 3 (3) 3 (4) 3 (4) 4 3 2 (15) 2 (21) 2 (23) 2 (5) Not released Coaches 5 (1) 5^ (1) 4 4 4 3 (1) 3 1 (10) 2 (11) 1 (11) 1 (13) 3 3 3 4 3 3 2T (2) 2 (5) 2 (1) 1 (32)
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.
References
Notes
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics