# 2018–19 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

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. 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. After a 16–2 ACC record, Virginia won a share of their fourth ACC regular season title in the past six years.
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. 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

Virginia Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Devon Hall | 0 | G | 6'5" | 211 | Senior | Virginia Beach, VA | Graduated/2018 NBA draft |
| Justice Bartley | 2 | G | 6'5" | 212 | Junior | Lilburn, GA | Transferred to Maryland Eastern Shore |
| Trevon Gross Jr. | 10 | G | 6'3" | 200 | Junior | Jackson, NJ | Transferred to Monmouth |
| Isaiah Wilkins | 21 | F | 6'7" | 227 | Senior | Atlanta, GA | Graduated |
| Nigel Johnson | 23 | G | 6'1" | 182 | Senior | Ashburn, VA | Graduated |

### 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

College recruiting information :
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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: "Virginia 2018 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 24, 2018. "2018 Virginia Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 24, 2018. "2018 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 24, 2018. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 24, 2018. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 24, 2018. "Virginia 2018 Basketball Commitments". 247sports.com. Retrieved August 24, 2018. ||||||

## Roster
### Coaching staff

Virginia Coaching Staff :
| Name | Position | Year with Position | Year on Coaching Staff | Alma Mater |
| Tony Bennett | Head coach | 10 | 10 | UW-Green Bay |
| Jason Williford | Associate head coach | 1 | 10 | Virginia |
| Brad Soderberg | Assistant Coach | 4 | 4 | UW-Stevens Point |
| Orlando Vandross | Assistant Coach | 1 | 4 | American International |
| Kyle Getter | Director of Recruiting/Player Development | 1 | 1 | Hanover College |
| Larry Mangino | Director of Scouting/recruiting | 3 | 3 | Montclair State |
| Johnny Carpenter | Director of player personnel | 1 | 4 | Virginia |
| Mike Curtis | Strength and Conditioning Coach | 10 | 10 | Virginia |
| Ethan Saliba | Head Athletic Trainer | 21 | 36 | Kansas |
| Ronnie Wideman | Associate AD for Basketball Administration/Operations | 9 | 10 | Washington State |

### Depth Chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench |
| C | Jack Salt | Jay Huff |
| PF | Mamadi Diakite | |
| SF | De'Andre Hunter | Braxton Key |
| SG | Kyle Guy | |
| PG | Ty Jerome | Kihei Clark |

## Schedule and results

Source:
| 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. |||||||||

## Gallery

* Kyle Guy defends Luke Maye
* Ty Jerome passes against Virginia Tech

### Game summaries
#### Towson Tigers vs Virginia Cavaliers

* ACCN Extra
* November 6 7:00 PM
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) |
* John Paul Jones Arena, Charlottesville, VA

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking 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 | 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.