# 2019–20 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

The 2019–20 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represented the University of Virginia during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Tony Bennett in his 11th year and played their home games at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Cavaliers finished the season 23–7, and 15–5 in ACC play to finish a three-way tie for second place. The team was scheduled to play Notre Dame in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA tournament was also canceled due to the pandemic.

## Previous season

The Cavaliers finished the 2018–19 season 35–3, 16–2 in ACC play to earn a share of the ACC regular season championship. They defeated NC State in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament before losing to Florida State in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the South region. There they defeated Gardner–Webb and Oklahoma to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. They then defeated Oregon and Purdue to advance to the Final Four. In the Final Four, they defeated Auburn to earn a trip to the National Championship game, where they defeated Texas Tech to earn the school's first ever NCAA Championship.

## Offseason
### Departures

Virginia Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Francesco Badocchi | 1 | F | 6'7" | 185 | Freshman | Milan, Italy | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Kyle Guy | 5 | G | 6'2" | 175 | Junior | Indianapolis, IN | Declared for 2019 NBA draft; selected 55th overall by the New York Knicks |
| Ty Jerome | 11 | G | 6'5" | 200 | Junior | New Rochelle, NY | Declared for 2019 NBA draft; selected 24th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers |
| De'Andre Hunter | 12 | F | 6'7" | 222 | Sophomore | Philadelphia, PA | Declared for 2019 NBA draft; selected 4th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers |
| Grant Kersey | 13 | G | 6'1" | 160 | Junior | Charlottesville, VA | Walk-on; did not return |
| Marco Anthony | 24 | G | 6'4" | 228 | Sophomore | San Antonio, TX | Transferred to Utah State |
| Jack Salt | 33 | C | 6'10" | 250 | Senior | Auckland, New Zealand | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

Virginia Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School | Years Remaining | Date Eligible |
| Sam Hauser | 10 | F | 6'8" | 225 | Senior | Stevens Point, WI | Marquette | 1 | October 1, 2020 |
| Tomas Woldetensae | 53 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Junior | Bologna, Italy | Indian Hills CC | 2 | October 1, 2019 |

### 2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Casey Morsell #11 SG | Washington, D.C. | Saint John's College High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Apr 6, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 88 ||||||
| Kadin Shedrick #18 C | Holly Springs, NC | Holly Springs High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Aug 20, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Justin McKoy SF | Cary, NC | Panther Creek High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Apr 15, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| 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: "Virginia 2019 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 24, 2018. "2019 Virginia Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 24, 2018. "2019 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 24, 2018. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 24, 2018. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 24, 2018. "Virginia 2019 Basketball Commitments". 247sports.com. Retrieved August 24, 2018. ||||||

## Roster

Virginia Coaching Staff :
| Name | Position | Year with Position | Year on Coaching Staff | Alma Mater |
| Tony Bennett | Head coach | 11 | 11 | UW-Green Bay |
| Jason Williford | Associate Head Coach | 2 | 11 | Virginia |
| Brad Soderberg | Assistant coach | 5 | 5 | UW-Stevens Point |
| Orlando Vandross | Assistant coach | 2 | 5 | American International |
| Kyle Getter | Director of Recruiting/Player Development | 2 | 2 | Hanover |
| Larry Mangino | Director of Scouting/Recruiting | 4 | 4 | Montclair State |
| Johnny Carpenter | Director of Player Personnel | 2 | 5 | Virginia |
| Mike Curtis | Strength and conditioning Coach | 11 | 11 | Virginia |
| Ethan Saliba | Head Athletic Trainer | 22 | 37 | Kansas |
| Ronnie Wideman | Associate AD for Basketball Administration/Operations | 10 | 11 | Washington State |

### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
| C | Jay Huff | Francisco Caffaro | |
| PF | Mamadi Diakite | Justin McKoy | |
| SF | Braxton Key | Kody Stattmann | Austin Katstra |
| SG | Tomas Woldetensae | Casey Morsell | Jayden Nixon |
| PG | Kihei Clark | | Chase Coleman |

## Schedule and results

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2019 9:00 pm, ACCN | No. 11 | at Syracuse | W 48–34 | 1–0 (1–0) | 12 – Diakite | 12 – Huff | 7 – Clark | Carrier Dome (22,518) Syracuse, NY |
| November 10, 2019* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 11 | James Madison | W 65–34 | 2–0 | 19 – Diakite | 13 – Diakite | 6 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (13,524) Charlottesville, VA |
| November 16, 2019* 12:00 pm, ACCN | No. 9 | Columbia Hall of Fame Tip Off campus game | W 60–42 | 3–0 | 13 – Tied | 9 – Key | 5 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (13,736) Charlottesville, VA |
| November 19, 2019* 7:00 pm, ACCRSN | No. 7 | Vermont Hall of Fame Tip Off campus game | W 61–55 | 4–0 | 19 – Diakite | 7 – Huff | 4 – Tied | John Paul Jones Arena (13,913) Charlottesville, VA |
| November 23, 2019* 12:00 pm, ESPNews | No. 7 | vs. Massachusetts Hall of Fame Tip Off semifinals | W 58–46 | 5–0 | 16 – Key | 8 – Tied | 6 – Clark | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| November 24, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | vs. Arizona State Hall of Fame Tip Off championship game | W 48–45 | 6–0 | 19 – Morsell | 8 – Key | 2 – Tied | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| November 27, 2019* 4:00 pm, ACCN | No. 7 | Maine | W 46–26 | 7–0 | 15 – Diakite | 7 – Diakite | 5 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (14,109) Charlottesville, VA |
| December 4, 2019* 7:15 pm, ESPN2 | No. 5 | at Purdue ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 40–69 | 7–1 | 11 – Huff | 5 – Tied | 4 – Clark | Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN |
| December 8, 2019 4:00 pm, ACCN | No. 5 | No. 7 North Carolina | W 56–47 | 8–1 (2–0) | 12 – Diakite | 7 – Tied | 6 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (14,629) Charlottesville, VA |
| December 18, 2019* 6:30 pm, ACCN | No. 9 | Stony Brook | W 56–44 | 9–1 | 14 – Clark | 7 – Huff | 6 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (13,665) Charlottesville, VA |
| December 22, 2019* 3:00 pm, ABC | No. 9 | South Carolina | L 59–70 | 9–2 | 21 – Diakite | 5 – Tied | 7 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (14,409) Charlottesville, VA |
| December 29, 2019* 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 16 | Navy | W 65–56 | 10–2 | 15 – Key | 8 – Diakite | 13 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (14,399) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 4, 2020 2:00 pm, ACCRSN | No. 19 | Virginia Tech Commonwealth Clash | W 65–39 | 11–2 (3–0) | 18 – Tied | 10 – Tied | 6 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (14,629) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 7, 2020 7:00 pm, ACCN | No. 18 | at Boston College | L 53–60 | 11–3 (3–1) | 16 – Key | 8 – Key | 3 – Clark | Conte Forum (5,781) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| January 11, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN | No. 18 | Syracuse | L 55–63 $^{OT}$ | 11–4 (3–2) | 16 – Huff | 11 – Key | 9 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (14,133) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 15, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 9 Florida State | L 50–54 | 11–5 (3–3) | 16 – Diakite | 7 – Huff | 5 – Clark | Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (10,725) Tallahassee, FL |
| January 18, 2020 8:00 pm, ACCN | | at Georgia Tech | W 63–58 | 12–5 (4–3) | 17 – Tied | 8 – Huff | 7 – Clark | McCamish Pavilion (7,314) Atlanta, GA |
| January 20, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN | | NC State | L 51–53 | 12–6 (4–4) | 10 – Clark | 8 – Key | 5 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (14,163) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 26, 2020 12:00 pm, ACCN | | at Wake Forest | W 65–63 $^{OT}$ | 13–6 (5–4) | 21 – Woldetensae | 8 – Tied | 7 – Clark | LJVM Coliseum (7,752) Winston-Salem, NC |
| January 28, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 5 Florida State | W 61–56 | 14–6 (6–4) | 19 – Diakite | 9 – Tied | 4 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (13,869) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 5, 2020 7:00 pm, ACCRSN | | Clemson | W 51–44 | 15–6 (7–4) | 19 – Key | 10 – Huff | 10 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (13,580) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 8, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 5 Louisville | L 73–80 | 15–7 (7–5) | 27 – Woldetensae | 5 – Clark | 7 – Clark | KFC Yum! Center (19,250) Louisville, KY |
| February 11, 2020 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Notre Dame | W 50–49 $^{OT}$ | 16–7 (8–5) | 20 – Diakite | 12 – Key | 3 – Tied | John Paul Jones Arena (13,696) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 15, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN | | at North Carolina | W 64–62 | 17–7 (9–5) | 18 – Woldetensae | 4 – 3 tied | 9 – Clark | Dean Smith Center (21,308) Chapel Hill, NC |
| February 19, 2020 8:00 pm, ACCN | | Boston College | W 78–65 | 18–7 (10–5) | 17 – Tied | 8 – Huff | 8 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (13,819) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 22, 2020 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Pittsburgh | W 59–56 | 19–7 (11–5) | 17 – Clark | 10 – Diakite | 4 – Key | Petersen Events Center (10,133) Pittsburgh, PA |
| February 26, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Virginia Tech Commonwealth Clash | W 56–53 | 20–7 (12–5) | 19 – Diakite | 11 – Key | 6 – Clark | Cassell Coliseum (9,275) Blacksburg, VA |
| February 29, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 7 Duke | W 52–50 | 21–7 (13–5) | 15 – Huff | 9 – Huff | 5 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (14,629) Charlottesville, VA |
| March 4, 2020 9:00 pm, ACCN | No. 22 | at Miami (FL) | W 46–44 | 22–7 (14–5) | 17 – Huff | 10 – Diakite | 4 – Clark | Watsco Center (5,318) Coral Gables, FL |
| March 7, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN | No. 22 | No. 10 Louisville Senior Day | W 57–54 | 23–7 (15–5) | 18 – Clark | 8 – Diakite | 5 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (14,629) Charlottesville, VA |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN | (2) No. 17 | vs. (7) Notre Dame Quarterfinals | ACC Tournament Cancelled | ACC Tournament Cancelled | ACC Tournament Cancelled | ACC Tournament Cancelled | ACC Tournament Cancelled | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 11 | 9 | 7 (1) | 7 (1) | 5 (5) | 9 | 9 | 16 | 19 | 18 | RV | RV | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 17 | 16 |
| Coaches | 9 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 2 (2) | 8 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 18 | RV | RV | — | RV | — | RV | RV | 22т | 18 | 17 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings