# 2020–21 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represented the University of Virginia during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Tony Bennett in his 12th year and played their home games at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). In a season limited by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they finished the season 18–7, 13–4 in ACC play, to win their fifth regular season championship in eight seasons. They defeated Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament before they were forced to withdraw from the tournament due to COVID-19 issues. They received a bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 4 seed in the West region. They were upset in the first round by Ohio.

## Previous season

The Cavaliers finished the 2019–20 season 23–7, 15–5 in ACC play, to finish in 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 ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The NCAA tournament was also later canceled due to the pandemic.

## Offseason
### Departures

Virginia departures :
| | Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Braxton Key | 2 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Senior | Charlotte, NC | Graduated |
| Mamadi Diakite | 25 | F | 6'9" | 224 | Senior | Conakry, Guinea | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

Virginia incoming transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school | Years remaining | Date eligible |
| Trey Murphy III | 25 | F | 6'9" | 206 | Junior | Durham, NC | Rice | 3 | October 1, 2020 |

### 2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Carson McCorkle SG | Greensboro, NC | Greensboro Day School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 177 lb (80 kg) | Sep 21, 2018 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Reece Beekman PG | Baton Rouge, LA | Scotlandville Magnet High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 168 lb (76 kg) | Jun 13, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86 ||||||
| Jabri Abdur-Rahim SF | South Orange, NJ | Blair Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 207 lb (94 kg) | Jul 10, 2019 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 88 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 19 247Sports: 19 ESPN: 16 ||||||
| 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 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 19, 2020. "2020 Virginia Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved July 19, 2020. "2020 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 19, 2020. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 19, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 19, 2020. "Virginia 2020 Basketball Commitments". 247sports.com. Retrieved July 19, 2020. ||||||

## Roster
### Coaching staff

Virginia coaching staff :
| Name | Position | Year with position | Year on coaching staff | Alma mater |
| Tony Bennett | Head coach | 12 | 12 | UW-Green Bay |
| Jason Williford | Associate head cach | 3 | 12 | Virginia |
| Brad Soderberg | Assistant coach | 6 | 6 | UW-Stevens Point |
| Orlando Vandross | Assistant coach | 3 | 6 | American International |
| Kyle Getter | Director of recruiting/player development | 3 | 3 | Hanover |
| Larry Mangino | Director of scouting/recruiting | 5 | 5 | Montclair State |
| Johnny Carpenter | Director of player personnel | 3 | 6 | Virginia |
| Mike Curtis | Strength and conditioning coach | 12 | 12 | Virginia |
| Ethan Saliba | Head athletic trainer | 23 | 38 | Kansas |
| Ronnie Wideman | Associate AD for basketball administration/operations | 11 | 12 | Washington State |

### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 | Bench 3 |
| C | Jay Huff | | Francisco Caffaro | Austin Katstra |
| PF | Trey Murphy III | Justin McKoy | Kadin Shedrick | Jayden Nixon |
| SF | Sam Hauser | Tomas Woldetensae | Kody Stattmann | Carson McCorkle |
| SG | Reece Beekman | Casey Morsell | Jabri Abdur-Rahim | Malachi Poindexter |
| PG | Kihei Clark | | | Chase Coleman |

## Schedule and results

Along with Kansas, UCLA and Georgetown, UVA was supposed to play in the early-season Wooden Legacy in Anaheim, California, but withdrew due to COVID-19.
Games that were canceled due to COVID-19 issues include:
* (11/25/20) vs. Maine (Bubbleville)
* (11/27/20) vs. Florida (Bubbleville)
* (12/9/20) Michigan State (ACC–B1G Challenge)
* (12/16/20) at Wake Forest
* (12/19/20) vs. Villanova (Holiday Hoops Classic)
* (1/2/21) Virginia Tech (Commonwealth Clash)
* (3/12/21) vs. Georgia Tech (ACC tournament)
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 25, 2020* 1:30 pm, FloHoops | No. 4 | vs. Towson Bubbleville | W 89–54 | 1–0 | 21 – Murphy III | 8 – Hauser | 3 – tied | Mohegan Sun Arena (0) Uncasville, CT |
| November 27, 2020* 11:30 am, ESPN | No. 4 | vs. San Francisco HomeLight Classic | L 60–61 | 1–1 | 11 – tied | 7 – Huff | 2 – Clark | Mohegan Sun Arena (0) Uncasville, CT |
| December 1, 2020* 4:00 pm, ACCN | No. 15 | Saint Francis | W 76–51 | 2–1 | 13 – Huff | 8 – Shedrick | 4 – tied | John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA |
| December 4, 2020* 6:00 pm, ACCN | No. 15 | Kent State | W 71–64 $^{OT}$ | 3–1 | 18 – tied | 11 – Huff | 4 – Hauser | John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA |
| December 22, 2020* 2:00 pm, ACCN | No. 16 | William & Mary Makeup from Dec. 13 postponement | W 76–40 | 4–1 | 15 – Murphy III | 7 – Shedrick | 4 – tied | John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA |
| December 26, 2020* 4:00 pm, CBS | No. 16 | vs. No. 1 Gonzaga | L 75–98 | 4–2 | 19 – Clark | 6 – Huff | 4 – tied | Dickies Arena (2,795) Fort Worth, TX |
| ACC regular season |||||||||
| December 30, 2020 6:00 pm, ACCN | No. 23 | at Notre Dame | W 66–57 | 5–2 (1–0) | 19 – Clark | 10 – Hauser | 5 – Clark | Purcell Pavilion (86) South Bend, IN |
| January 6, 2021 9:00 pm, ACCRSN | No. 22 | Wake Forest | W 70–61 | 6–2 (2–0) | 16 – Hauser | 11 – Hauser | 3 – tied | John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 9, 2021 2:00 pm, ACCN | No. 22 | at Boston College | W 61–49 | 7–2 (3–0) | 18 – Huff | 10 – Hauser | 3 – tied | Conte Forum (0) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| January 13, 2021 4:30 pm, ACCN | No. 18 | Notre Dame | W 80–68 | 8–2 (4–0) | 18 – Huff | 9 – Hauser | 6 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 16, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 18 | at No. 12 Clemson | W 85–50 | 9–2 (5–0) | 14 – tied | 8 – Hauser | 6 – Beekman | Littlejohn Coliseum (1,876) Clemson, SC |
| January 23, 2021 8:00 pm, ACCN | No. 13 | Georgia Tech | W 64–62 | 10–2 (6–0) | 22 – Hauser | 6 – Hauser | 8 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 25, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 8 | Syracuse | W 81–58 | 11–2 (7–0) | 21 – tied | 12 – Huff | 9 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 30, 2021 6:00 pm, ACCN | No. 8 | at No. 20 Virginia Tech Commonwealth Clash | L 51–65 | 11–3 (7–1) | 13 – Huff | 6 – Murphy III | 3 – Beekman | Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA |
| February 3, 2021 9:00 pm, ACCN | No. 14 | at NC State | W 64–57 | 12–3 (8–1) | 18 – tied | 6 – Huff | 6 – Clark | PNC Arena (25) Raleigh, NC |
| February 6, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN | No. 14 | Pittsburgh | W 73–66 | 13–3 (9–1) | 23 – Hauser | 8 – Huff | 8 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 10, 2021 7:00 pm, ACCRSN | No. 9 | at Georgia Tech | W 57–49 | 14–3 (10–1) | 18 – Murphy III | 10 – Hauser | 6 – Clark | McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA |
| February 13, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | North Carolina | W 60–48 | 15–3 (11–1) | 18 – Huff | 12 – Huff | 7 – Beekman | John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 15, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | at No. 16 Florida State | L 60–81 | 15–4 (11–2) | 13 – Murphy III | 5 – tied | 4 – Clark | Donald L. Tucker Center (2,950) Tallahassee, FL |
| February 20, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | at Duke | L 65–66 | 15–5 (11–3) | 20 – Huff | 12 – Huff | 3 – Hauser | Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC |
| February 24, 2021 6:30 p.m., ACCN | No. 15 | NC State Makeup from Jan. 20 postponement | L 61–68 | 15–6 (11–4) | 21 – Hauser | 11 – Huff | 7 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (0) Charlottesville, VA |
| March 1, 2021 6:00 pm, ACCN | No. 21 | Miami Senior Night | W 62–51 | 16–6 (12–4) | 18 – Hauser | 7 – Huff | 5 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (0) Charlottesville, VA |
| March 6, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 21 | at Louisville | W 68–58 | 17–6 (13–4) | 24 – Hauser | 8 – Hauser | 4 – Beekman | KFC Yum! Center (4,812) Louisville, KY |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | (1) No. 16 | vs. (8) Syracuse Quarterfinals | W 72–69 | 18–6 | 21 – Hauser | 12 – Huff | 6 – Clark | Greensboro Coliseum (2,820) Greensboro, NC |
| March 12, 2021 6:30 pm, ESPN2 | (1) No. 16 | vs. (4) Georgia Tech Semifinals | Withdrew from tournament due to COVID-19 positive test | Withdrew from tournament due to COVID-19 positive test | Withdrew from tournament due to COVID-19 positive test | Withdrew from tournament due to COVID-19 positive test | Withdrew from tournament due to COVID-19 positive test | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 20, 2021 7:15 pm, truTV | (4 W) No. 15 | vs. (13 W) Ohio First round | L 58–62 | 18–7 | 15 – Hauser | 9 – Hauser | 3 – tied | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source

## 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 |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | 4 (1) | 15 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 23 | 22 | 18 | 13 | 8 | 14 | 9 | 7 | 15 | 21 | 16 | 15 | Not released |
| Coaches | 4 | 4^ | 18 | 16 | 15 | 24т | 21 | 22 | 12 | 8 | 15 | 9 | 8 | 14 | 20 | 15 | 15 | 24 |
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.