# 2021–22 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represented the University of Virginia during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Tony Bennett in his 13th 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 21–14, 12–8 in ACC Play to finish in 6th place. They defeated Louisville in the Second Round of the ACC tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to North Carolina. They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Mississippi State and North Texas to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to St. Bonaventure.
The Cavaliers did not qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2012–13.

## Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Cavaliers finished the 2020–21 season 18–7, 13–4 in ACC play to win the regular season championship. 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 where they were upset in the First Round by Ohio.

## Offseason
### Coaching changes

Virginia Coaching Changes :
| Name | Previous position | New position |
| Brad Soderberg | Assistant Coach | Director of Scouting |
| Kyle Getter | Director of Recruiting/Player Development | Assistant Coach |
| Larry Mangino | Director of Scouting/Recruiting | Director of Player Development |
| Isaiah Wilkins | Forward (ratiopharm Ulm) | Graduate Assistant |

### Departures

Virginia departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jabri Abdur-Rahim | 1 | F/G | 6'7" | 214 | Freshman | South Orange, NJ | Transferred to Georgia |
| Justin McKoy | 4 | F | 6'8" | 215 | Sophomore | Cary, NC | Transferred to North Carolina |
| Sam Hauser | 10 | F | 6'8" | 218 | Senior | Stevens Point, WI | Graduated |
| Casey Morsell | 13 | G | 6'3" | 196 | Sophomore | Fort Washington, MD | Transferred to NC State |
| Austin Katstra | 24 | F | 6'6" | 245 | Senior | Charlottesville, VA | Graduated |
| Trey Murphy III | 25 | F/G | 6'9" | 206 | Junior | Durham, NC | Declared for 2021 NBA draft |
| Jay Huff | 30 | F/C | 7'1" | 240 | Senior | Durham, NC | Graduated |
| Tomas Woldetensae | 53 | G | 6'5" | 197 | Senior | Bologna, Italy | Graduated |
* ↑ Due to COVID-19, the NCAA declared that the 2020–21 season would not count against the eligibility of any basketball player. Hauser, Katstra, Huff, & Woldetensae all could have returned for 2021–22, but chose not to do so.

### Incoming transfers

Virginia incoming transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school | Years remaining | Date eligible |
| Jayden Gardner | 1 | F | 6'6" | 246 | Senior | Wake Forest, NC | East Carolina | 2 | October 1, 2021 |
| Armaan Franklin | 4 | G | 6'4" | 204 | Junior | Indianapolis, IN | Indiana | 3 | October 1, 2021 |

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Taine Murray SG | Auckland, New Zealand | Rosmini College | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Sep 13, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Igor Miličić Jr. SF | Rovinj, Croatia | Ratiopharm Ulm | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | May 1, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 77 247Sports: 82 ESPN: – ||||||
| 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 2021 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021. "2021 Virginia Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021. "2021 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021. "Virginia 2021 Basketball Commitments". 247sports.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021. ||||||
^ESPN has not released their team rankings for 2021 yet.

## Roster
### Coaches

Virginia coaching staff :
| Name | Position | Year with position | Year on coaching staff | Alma mater |
| Tony Bennett | Dean and Markel Families Head Coach | 13 | 13 | UW-Green Bay |
| Jason Williford | Associate Head Coach | 4 | 13 | Virginia |
| Orlando Vandross | Assistant Coach | 4 | 7 | American International |
| Kyle Getter | Assistant Coach | 1 | 4 | Hanover |
| Brad Soderberg | Director of Scouting | 1 | 7 | UW-Stevens Point |
| Larry Mangino | Director of Player Development | 1 | 6 | Montclair State |
| Johnny Carpenter | Director of Player Personnel | 4 | 7 | Virginia |
| Isaiah Wilkins | Graduate Assistant | 1 | 1 | Virginia |
| Mike Curtis | Strength and Conditioning Coach | 13 | 13 | Virginia |
| Ethan Saliba | Head Athletic Trainer | 24 | 39 | Kansas |
| Ronnie Wideman | Associate AD for Basketball Administration/Operations | 12 | 13 | Washington State |

### Depth chart

| Pos. | Starting 5 | Bench 1 | Bench 2 |
| C | Kadin Shedrick | Francisco Cáffaro | |
| PF | Jayden Gardner | | Igor Miličić Jr. |
| SF | Armaan Franklin | Taine Murray | Carson McCorkle |
| SG | Reece Beekman | Kody Stattmann | Jayden Nixon |
| PG | Kihei Clark | Malachi Poindexter | Chase Coleman |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Scrimmage |||||||||
| October 17, 2021 2:00 pm | | Blue vs. White Pepsi Blue–White Scrimmage | W 8–7 | 0–0 | 18 – Gardner | – | – | John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA |
| October 23, 2021 | No. 25 | VCU Scrimmage | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 9:00 pm, ACCN | No. 25 | Navy | L 58–66 | 0–1 | 18 – Gardner | 10 – Gardner | 6 – Beekman | John Paul Jones Arena (13,100) Charlottesville, VA |
| November 12, 2021* 7:00 pm, ACCNX/ESPN+ | No. 25 | Radford | W 73–52 | 1–1 | 21 – Franklin | 7 – Gardner | 5 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (13,568) Charlottesville, VA |
| November 16, 2021* 8:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 15 Houston | L 47–67 | 1–2 | 11 – Franklin | 6 – Clark | 2 – Clark | Fertitta Center (7,051) Houston, TX |
| November 19, 2021* 7:00 pm, ACCRSN | | Coppin State | W 68–52 | 2–2 | 14 – Gardner | 12 – Gardner | 6 – Beekman | John Paul Jones Arena (12,980) Charlottesville, VA |
| November 22, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Georgia Legends Classic semifinal | W 65–55 | 3–2 | 23 – Franklin | 7 – Shedrick | 3 – Tied | Prudential Center (0) Newark, NJ |
| November 23, 2021* 7:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Providence Legends Classic championship | W 58–40 | 4–2 | 21 – Gardner | 13 – Gardner | 7 – Beekman | Prudential Center (2,787) Newark, NJ |
| November 26, 2021* 7:00 pm, ACCN | | Lehigh | W 61–43 | 5–2 | 11 – Clark | 8 – Gardner | 7 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (12,647) Charlottesville, VA |
| November 29, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Iowa B1G/ACC Challenge | L 74–75 | 5–3 | 18 – Gardner | 8 – Gardner | 5 – Beekman | John Paul Jones Arena (13,542) Charlottesville, VA |
| December 3, 2021 8:00 pm, ACCN | | Pittsburgh | W 57–56 | 6–3 (1–0) | 15 – Gardner | 5 – Tied | 6 – Tied | John Paul Jones Arena (14,257) Charlottesville, VA |
| December 7, 2021* 6:30 pm, CBSSN | | at James Madison | L 49–52 | 6–4 | 12 – Gardner | 14 – Gardner | 5 – Beekman | Atlantic Union Bank Center (8,439) Harrisonburg, VA |
| December 18, 2021* 2:00 pm, ACCN | | Fairleigh Dickinson | W 82–49 | 7–4 | 29 – Gardner | 6 – Gardner | 6 – Beekman | John Paul Jones Arena (13,197) Charlottesville, VA |
| December 22, 2021 8:00 pm, ACCN | | Clemson | L 50–67 | 7–5 (1–1) | 20 – Beekman | 8 – Franklin | 3 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (13,857) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 1, 2022 8:00 pm, ACCN | | at Syracuse | W 74–69 | 8–5 (2–1) | 17 – Tied | 11 – Shedrick | 8 – Clark | Carrier Dome (17,295) Syracuse, NY |
| January 4, 2022 9:00 pm, ACCRSN | | at Clemson | W 75–65 | 9–5 (3–1) | 16 – Shedrick | 6 – Shedrick | 5 – Beekman | Littlejohn Coliseum (5,202) Clemson, SC |
| January 8, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN | | at North Carolina | L 58–74 | 9–6 (3–2) | 13 – Beekman | 7 – Tied | 4 – Beekman | Dean Smith Center (20,638) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 12, 2022 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Virginia Tech Commonwealth Clash | W 54–52 | 10–6 (4–2) | 15 – Franklin | 9 – Caffaro | 5 – Beekman | John Paul Jones Arena (13,573) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 15, 2022 4:30 pm, ACCRSN | | Wake Forest | L 55–63 | 10–7 (4–3) | 18 – Franklin | 6 – Caffaro | 7 – Beekman | John Paul Jones Arena (13,924) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 19, 2022 9:00 pm, ACCN | | at Pittsburgh | W 66–61 | 11–7 (5–3) | 19 – Beekman | 5 – Caffaro | 8 – Beekman | Petersen Events Center (7,595) Pittsburgh, PA |
| January 22, 2022 6:00 pm, ACCN | | at NC State | L 63–77 | 11–8 (5–4) | 14 – Franklin | 8 – Caffaro | 6 – Clark | PNC Arena (12,811) Raleigh, NC |
| January 24, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN | | Louisville | W 64–52 | 12–8 (6–4) | 15 – Clark | 7 – Tied | 11 – Beekman | John Paul Jones Arena (13,076) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 29, 2022 4:00 pm, ACCN | | at Notre Dame | L 65–69 | 12–9 (6–5) | 22 – Gardner | 12 – Caffaro | 6 – Clark | Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,495) South Bend, IN |
| February 1, 2022 6:00 pm, ACCN | | Boston College | W 67–55 | 13–9 (7–5) | 19 – Clark | 6 – Clark | 7 – Beekman | John Paul Jones Arena (12,847) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 5, 2022 5:00 pm, ACCN | | Miami (FL) | W 71–58 | 14–9 (8–5) | 22 – Franklin | 7 – Gardner | 10 – Beekman | John Paul Jones Arena (14,089) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 7, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 7 Duke | W 69–68 | 15–9 (9–5) | 17 – Gardner | 8 – Gardner | 9 – Clark | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| February 12, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Georgia Tech | W 63–53 | 16–9 (10–5) | 26 – Gardner | 8 – Caffaro | 3 – Beekman | John Paul Jones Arena (14,253) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 14, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN | | at Virginia Tech Commonwealth Clash | L 53–62 | 16–10 (10–6) | 17 – Gardner | 14 – Gardner | 4 – Beekman | Cassell Coliseum (9,825) Blacksburg, VA |
| February 19, 2022 5:00 pm, ACCN | | at Miami | W 74–71 | 17–10 (11–6) | 23 – Gardner | 13 – Shedrick | 7 – Beekman | Watsco Center (5,596) Coral Gables, FL |
| February 23, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 7 Duke | L 61–65 | 17–11 (11–7) | 25 – Clark | 7 – Beekman | 7 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (14,629) Charlottesville, VA |
| February 26, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Florida State Senior Day | L 63–64 | 17–12 (11–8) | 21 – Gardner | 11 – Caffaro | 6 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (14,629) Charlottesville, VA |
| March 5, 2022 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Louisville | W 71–61 | 18–12 (12–8) | 20 – Shedrick | 12 – Beekman | 6 – Clark | KFC Yum! Center (13,085) Louisville, KY |
| ACC Tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2022 9:30 p.m., ESPN2 | (6) | vs. (11) Louisville Second Round | W 51–50 | 19–12 | 17 – Gardner | 8 – Caffaro | 9 – Beekman | Barclays Center (8,174) Brooklyn, NY |
| March 10, 2022 9:30 p.m., ESPN | (6) | vs. (3) No. 25 North Carolina Quarterfinals | L 43–63 | 19–13 | 17 – Gardner | 6 – Caffaro | 5 – Beekman | Barclays Center (15,994) Brooklyn, NY |
| NIT Tournament |||||||||
| March 16, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | (3) Mississippi State First Round – Oklahoma Bracket | W 60–57 | 20–13 | 16 – Gardner | 5 – Caffaro | 9 – Clark | John Paul Jones Arena (5,278) Charlottesville, VA |
| March 20, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at (2) North Texas Second Round – Oklahoma Bracket | W 71–69 $^{OT}$ | 21–13 | 17 – Tied | 10 – Stattman | 9 – Beekman | The Super Pit (4,866) Denton, TX |
| March 22, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN | | St. Bonaventure Quarterfinals – Oklahoma Bracket | L 51–52 | 21–14 | 17 – Franklin | 9 – Shedrick | 6 – Beekman | John Paul Jones Arena (6,829) Charlottesville, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received 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 | 25 | RV | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | RV | — | | | | |
| Coaches | 25 | 25* | — | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
*Coaches did not release a week 1 poll.