2014–15 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 2014–15 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represented the University of Virginia during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season , in their 110th season of play. The team was led by head coach Tony Bennett, in his sixth year, and played their home games at John Paul Jones Arena as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference .
Building on the success of the previous season , the Cavaliers had their best regular season in program history with a record of 28–2, their first undefeated non-conference regular season record since 2000–01 , and their highest national ranking since 1982–83 , ranking at number two on the AP Poll for a total of seven weeks. The Cavaliers also became the first team outside of Tobacco Road to win back-to-back ACC regular season championships, with their conference record of 16–2. Particular highlights included holding Rutgers, Harvard, and Georgia Tech to under thirty points each. Virginia also held Harvard to a single field goal in the first half of their game, tying the NCAA record for fewest field goals allowed in the first half of a game since the shot clock was instituted in 1986.[ 1] [ 2] However, late-season injuries, in particular Justin Anderson's nearly five-week-long absence due to a broken finger and appendectomy, hurt the team, with the Cavaliers falling in a close loss to North Carolina in the ACC tournament semifinals. In the NCAA tournament they defeated Belmont in the second round before losing in the third round to Michigan State.
Last season
The Cavaliers finished the season 30–4 overall and 16–2 in conference play, finishing in first place in the ACC outright for the first time since the 1980–81 season . They proceeded to win the ACC tournament for their second-ever conference championship. The team also tied for the most wins in a season in school history, set a school record for the most single-season conference wins, and earned their highest final national ranking since 1982 . The Cavaliers received a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament , where they defeated Coastal Carolina and Memphis before losing to Michigan State in the Sweet Sixteen.[ 3]
Departures
Incoming transfers
Name
Number
Pos.
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Previous School
Darius Thompson
51
G
6'5"
181
Sophomore
Murfreesboro, TN
Transferred from Tennessee .[ 9] Under NCAA transfer rules, Thompson must redshirt for the 2014–15 season. After this season he will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Class of 2014 signees
Roster
On November 7, 2014, head coach Tony Bennett announced, via a Virginia athletic department press release, that London Perrantes and Evan Nolte would be suspended for two scrimmages and the first game of the season due to a violation of team rules.[ 14] Following the first game of the season against James Madison, Bennett stated that Jack Salt was "leaning" towards a redshirt, but he had not made a final decision yet.[ 15]
On February 7, 2015, Justin Anderson suffered a broken finger in his left hand during the Louisville game.[ 16] He had surgery the next day, and was expected to return to playing after four to six weeks,[ 17] but an emergency appendectomy on March 5 kept him sidelined.[ 18] Anderson returned to play seven days later, against Florida State in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.[ 19]
2014–15 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
0
Devon Hall
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
203 lb (92 kg)
RS Fr
Cape Henry Collegiate
Virginia Beach, Virginia
G
1
Justin Anderson
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
228 lb (103 kg)
Jr
Montrose Christian
Montross, Virginia
G
2
B. J. Stith
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Fr
Oak Hill Academy
Lawrenceville, Virginia
G
4
Marial Shayok
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
207 lb (94 kg)
Fr
Blair Academy
Ottawa, Ontario
F
5
Darion Atkins (C)
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
241 lb (109 kg)
Sr
Landon School
Clinton, Maryland
F/C
10
Mike Tobey
7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
253 lb (115 kg)
Jr
Blair Academy
Monroe, New York
F
11
Evan Nolte
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
224 lb (102 kg)
Jr
Milton HS
Milton, Georgia
F
13
Anthony Gill (C)
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
RS Jr
Charlotte Christian /South Carolina
High Point, North Carolina
G
15
Malcolm Brogdon (C)
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
RS Jr
Greater Atlanta Christian
Norcross, Georgia
F
21
Isaiah Wilkins
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
224 lb (102 kg)
Fr
Greater Atlanta Christian
Atlanta, Georgia
G
22
Maleek Frazier (W)
5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Sr
The Covenant School
Charlottesville, Virginia
G
23
Rob Vozenilek (W)
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Sr
St. Christopher's
Richmond, Virginia
F
24
Caid Kirven (W)
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
226 lb (103 kg)
Jr
Woodberry Forest
Raleigh, North Carolina
G
32
London Perrantes
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
191 lb (87 kg)
So
Crespi Carmelite HS
Los Angeles, California
C
33
Jack Salt
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
Fr
Westlake Boys HS
Auckland, New Zealand
F
34
Jeff Jones (W)
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
So
St. Anne's-Belfield School
Charlottesville, Virginia
G
51
Darius Thompson (I)
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
192 lb (87 kg)
So
Blackman HS /Tennessee
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Strength and conditioning coach(es)
Athletic trainer(s)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster Last update: 31 January 2015
Depth chart
Pos.
Starting 5
Bench
F/C
Anthony Gill
Mike Tobey
F
Darion Atkins
Isaiah Wilkins
G/F
Justin Anderson
Evan Nolte
G
Malcolm Brogdon
Marial Shayok
PG
London Perrantes
Devon Hall
[ 20]
Schedule
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov. 14 *7:00 pm
No. 9
at James Madison
W 79–51
1–0
18 – Anderson
10 – Atkins
4 – Brogdon
JMU Convocation Center (6,782)Harrisonburg, VA
Nov. 16 *7:00 pm, RSN
No. 9
Norfolk State Barclays Center Classic
W 67–39
2–0
11 – Anderson
8 – Gill
4 – Tied
John Paul Jones Arena (12,845)Charlottesville, VA
Nov. 18 *7:00 pm, RSN
No. 9
South Carolina State
W 75–55
3–0
17 – Tied
8 – Tied
3 – Brogdon
John Paul Jones Arena (12,493)Charlottesville, VA
Nov. 21 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
No. 9
George Washington
W 59–42
4–0
18 – Anderson
11 – Atkins
3 – Perrantes
John Paul Jones Arena (13,706)Charlottesville, VA
Nov. 25 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
No. 8
Tennessee State Barclays Center Classic
W 79–36
5–0
20 – Anderson
16 – Tobey
3 – Brogdon
John Paul Jones Arena (12,056)Charlottesville, VA
Nov. 28 *9:30 pm, NBCSN
No. 8
vs. La Salle Barclays Center Classic
W 64–56
6–0
20 – Brogdon
10 – Gill
3 – Tied
Barclays Center (4,118)Brooklyn, NY
Nov. 29 *9:30 pm, NBCSN
No. 8
vs. Rutgers Barclays Center Classic
W 45–26
7–0
13 – Tied
7 – Tied
4 – Perrantes
Barclays Center (4,105)Brooklyn, NY
Dec. 3 *9:15 pm, ESPN2
No. 7
at No. 21 Maryland ACC–Big Ten Challenge
W 76–65
8–0
18 – Brogdon
6 – Tied
7 – Perrantes
Xfinity Center (15,371)College Park, MD
Dec. 6 *2:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 7
at VCU
W 74–57
9–0
21 – Anderson
8 – Tied
9 – Perrantes
Siegel Center (7,647)Richmond, VA
Dec. 18 *7:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 6
Cleveland State
W 70–54
10–0
16 – Tied
8 – Gill
5 – Perrantes
John Paul Jones Arena (11,812)Charlottesville, VA
Dec. 21 *Noon, ESPNU
No. 6
Harvard
W 76–27
11–0
15 – Tied
10 – Tobey
6 – Brogdon
John Paul Jones Arena (14,593)Charlottesville, VA
Dec. 30 *6:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 3
Davidson
W 83–72
12–0
25 – Gill
13 – Gill
7 – Perrantes
John Paul Jones Arena (14,593)Charlottesville, VA
ACC regular season
Jan. 3 5:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 3
at Miami (FL)
W 89–80 2OT
13–0 (1–0)
26 – Perrantes
12 – Atkins
8 – Perrantes
BankUnited Center (5,377)Miami, FL
Jan. 7 7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 3
NC State
W 61–51
14–0 (2–0)
16 – Anderson
9 – Anderson
5 – Perrantes
John Paul Jones Arena (12,929)Charlottesville, VA
Jan. 10 6:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 3
at No. 13 Notre Dame
W 62–56
15–0 (3–0)
14 – Atkins
8 – Atkins
4 – Brogdon
Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,149)South Bend, IN
Jan. 13 8:00 pm, ACCN
No. 2
Clemson
W 65–42
16–0 (4–0)
16 – Brogdon
6 – Atkins
3 – Perrantes
John Paul Jones Arena (13,604)Charlottesville, VA
Jan. 17 2:00 pm, RSN
No. 2
at Boston College
W 66–51
17–0 (5–0)
20 – Brogdon
10 – Gill
6 – Perrantes
Conte Forum (8,112)Chestnut Hill, MA
Jan. 22 8:00 pm, ACCN
No. 2
Georgia Tech
W 57–28
18–0 (6–0)
13 – Brogdon
8 – Atkins
4 – Tied
John Paul Jones Arena (13,809)Charlottesville, VA
Jan. 25 1:00 pm, ACCN
No. 2
at Virginia Tech Commonwealth Clash
W 50–47
19–0 (7–0)
12 – Anderson
7 – Gill
7 – Perrantes
Cassell Coliseum (9,847)Blacksburg, VA
Jan. 31 7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 2
No. 4 Duke College GameDay [ 21]
L 63–69
19–1 (7–1)
17 – Brogdon
6 – Brogdon
5 – Perrantes
John Paul Jones Arena (14,593)Charlottesville, VA
Feb. 2 7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 3
at No. 12 North Carolina
W 75–64
20–1 (8–1)
17 – Brogdon
7 – Gill
7 – Anderson
Dean Smith Center (20,102)Chapel Hill, NC
Feb. 7 7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 3
No. 9 Louisville
W 52–47
21–1 (9–1)
15 – Brogdon
8 – Gill
6 – Perrantes
John Paul Jones Arena (14,593)Charlottesville, VA
Feb. 11 8:00 pm, ACCN
No. 2
at NC State
W 51–47
22–1 (10–1)
15 – Brogdon
9 – Tobey
3 – Brogdon
PNC Arena (19,500)Raleigh, NC
Feb. 14 2:30 pm, ACCN
No. 2
Wake Forest
W 61–60
23–1 (11–1)
19 – Gill
9 – Brogdon
5 – Brogdon
John Paul Jones Arena (14,593)Charlottesville, VA
Feb. 16 7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 2
Pittsburgh
W 61–49
24–1 (12–1)
18 – Brogdon
6 – Tied
6 – Perrantes
John Paul Jones Arena (13,953)Charlottesville, VA
Feb. 22 6:30 pm, ESPNU
No. 2
Florida State
W 51–41
25–1 (13–1)
13 – Gill
9 – Gill
3 – Perrantes
John Paul Jones Arena (14,593)Charlottesville, VA
Feb. 25 7:00 pm, RSN
No. 2
at Wake Forest
W 70–34
26–1 (14–1)
11 – Gill
7 – Gill
4 – Tied
LJVM Coliseum (10,772)Winston-Salem, NC
Feb. 28 4:00 pm, ACCN
No. 2
Virginia Tech Commonwealth Clash
W 69–57
27–1 (15–1)
19 – Brogdon
8 – Brogdon
6 – Perrantes
John Paul Jones Arena (14,245)Charlottesville, VA
Mar. 2 7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 2
at Syracuse
W 59–47
28–1 (16–1)
17 – Gill
9 – Tied
10 – Perrantes
Carrier Dome (25,338)Syracuse, NY
Mar. 7 6:30 pm, ESPN
No. 2
at No. 16 Louisville
L 57–59
28–2 (16–2)
17 – Brogdon
7 – Atkins
5 – Perrantes
KFC Yum! Center (22,788)Louisville, KY
ACC Tournament
Mar. 12 Noon, ESPN ACCN
(1) No. 3
vs. (9) Florida State Quarterfinals
W 58–44
29–2
11 – Tied
7 – Gill
9 – Perrantes
Greensboro Coliseum (22,026)Greensboro, NC
Mar. 13 7:00 pm, ESPN ACCN
(1) No. 3
vs. (5) No. 19 North Carolina Semifinals
L 67–71
29–3
25 – Brogdon
5 – Brogdon
3 – Perrantes
Greensboro Coliseum (22,026)Greensboro, NC
NCAA tournament
Mar. 20 *3:10 pm, truTV
(2 E) No. 6
vs. (15 E) Belmont Second round
W 79–67
30–3
22 – Brogdon
7 – Atkins
3 – Perrantes
Time Warner Cable Arena (16,551)Charlotte, NC
Mar. 22 *12:10 pm, CBS
(2 E) No. 6
vs. (7 E) No. 23 Michigan State Third round
L 54–60
30–4
11 – Gill
14 – Atkins
2 – Perrantes
Time Warner Cable Arena (18,482)Charlotte, NC
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East Region.
All times are in
Eastern Time .
[ 22]
[ 23]
Rankings
On April 28, 2014, ESPN's preseason top-25 rankings listed Virginia at seventh in the nation.[ 24] On August 11, Sporting News ranked Virginia eighth in their preseason poll.[ 25]
Virginia's #2 ranking on Week 10 (January 12, 2015) was the first time Virginia was ranked in the top two nationally since the week of March 8, 1983 .
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes Week Poll Pre 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Final AP 9 9 8 7 6 6 5 3 3 2 (2) 2 (2) 2 (1) 3 2 2 2 2 3 6 N/A Coaches 8 9 7 6 5 5 5 3 3 2 (1) 2 (1) 2 3 3 3 3 2 4 6 8
Team players drafted into the NBA
Awards and honors
Awards by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA) were released on March 8.[ 26] ACC coaches awards were released the following day,
[ 27] and then followed on March 10 with individual awards from the United States Basketball Writers Association .[ 28] On March 16, USBWA released All-American selections, naming Brogdon to their second team.[ 29] One week later, USBWA named Bennett the Henry Iba Award winner.[ 30] On March 27, the National Association of Basketball Coaches released their District 2 awards.[ 31] On March 30, the Associated Press and NABC named their All-American teams, including Brogdon on both organizations' second teams, and Anderson on the NABC third team.[ 32] [ 33]
Tony Bennett
Justin Anderson
Darion Atkins
Malcolm Brogdon
ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Year (ACC Coaches)
All-ACC First Team (ACSMA, ACC Coaches)
ACC All-Defensive Team (ACSMA, ACC Coaches)
USBWA All-District 3 Team
All-ACC tournament Second Team
USBWA Second Team All-American
NABC All-District 2 First Team
NABC Second Team All-American
Associated Press Second Team All-American
Anthony Gill
All-ACC Third Team (ACSMA)
ACC All-Defensive Team (ACC Coaches)
London Perrantes
All-ACC Honorable Mention (ACSMA)
Mike Tobey
References
^ Reid, Whitey (December 22, 2014). "No. 6 Virginia hammers Harvard in historic fashion" . The Daily Progress . Retrieved December 22, 2014 .
^ Brennan, Eammonn (December 22, 2014). "Most impressive part of UVa's 49-point win" . ESPN.com . Retrieved December 22, 2014 .
^ "Curtain Falls on Extraordinary Basketball Season" . VirginiaSports.com - The University of Virginia Official Athletic Site . March 29, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014 .
^ "College Basketball:" . Salisbury Post . July 31, 2014. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved August 15, 2014 .
^ "Joe Harris Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2014 NBA Draft" . VirginiaSports.com - The University of Virginia Official Athletic Site . June 26, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014 .
^ "Akil Mitchell Will Play With Houston Rockets" . NBC29 WVIR Charlottesville, VA News, Sports and Weather . July 11, 2014. Archived from the original on August 10, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014 .
^ "RGV VIPERS SET 2014-15 TRAINING CAMP ROSTER" . November 2, 2014. Archived from the original on November 6, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2014 .
^ Darney, Caroline (October 30, 2013). "Virginia Cavaliers Basketball Player Profile: Thomas Rogers" . Streaking the Lawn . Retrieved August 8, 2014 .
^ "Darius Thompson Joins Virginia Men's Basketball Program" . VirginiaSports.com - The University of Virginia Official Athletic Site . May 30, 2014. Retrieved August 8, 2014 .
^ Schwartz, Brian (September 18, 2013). "Jack Salt, 6-10 Center from New Zealand, Commits to Virginia" . Streaking The Lawn . Retrieved August 8, 2014 .
^ Trogdon, Matt (April 22, 2014). "Virginia Cavaliers Basketball Recruiting: Shayok Commits!" . Streaking The Lawn . Retrieved August 8, 2014 .
^ "B.J. Stith" . TheSabre.com . Retrieved August 8, 2014 .
^ Guttman, Paul (September 2, 2013). "New Virginia Basketball Commitment: SF Isaiah Wilkins" . Streaking The Lawn . Retrieved August 8, 2014 .
^ "Nolte and Perrantes Suspended For Season-Opener and Scrimmages" . VirginiaSports.com - The University of Virginia Official Athletic Site . November 7, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2014 .
^ "MEN'S BASKETBALL: Tony Bennett Post James Madison" . November 14, 2014. Retrieved November 17, 2014 .
^ "Justin Anderson Out 4-6 Weeks With Fractured Finger" . VirginiaSports.com . February 7, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2015 .
^ White, Jeff (February 10, 2015). "Anderson Moves Into Supporting Role" . VirginiaSports.com . Retrieved February 11, 2015 .
^ "Anderson Out Saturday Following Appendectomy" (Press release). University of Virginia Sports . March 5, 2015. Archived from the original on March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015 .
^ "ACC Tournament Postgame Notes: #1 Seed Virginia vs. #9 Seed Florida State" (Press release). University of Virginia Sports . March 12, 2015. Retrieved March 15, 2015 .
^ "Game 31 vs. Clemson/Florida State • ACC Quarterfinals • Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro Coliseum)" (PDF) . p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 11, 2015 .
^ Allen, Scott (January 20, 2015). "ESPN's 'College GameDay' crew heads to Virginia for first time" . The Washington Post . Retrieved January 20, 2015 .
^ "2014-2015 ACC Basketball Schedule" (PDF) . Raycom Sports . Retrieved August 26, 2014 .
^ "2014–2015 Schedule" . VIRGINIASPORTS.COM - The University of Virginia Official Athletic Site . Archived from the original on February 5, 2015. Retrieved October 2, 2014 .
^ "Revised top 25: Post-deadline edition" . ESPN . April 28, 2014. Retrieved August 9, 2014 .
^ Oakes, Jamie (August 11, 2014). "Sporting News ranks UVa Hoops No. 8" . Wahoos247 . Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2014 .
^ "Bennett, Brogdon and Atkins Highlight All-ACC Awards" (Press release). University of Virginia Sports . March 8, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015 .
^ "Bennett, Brogdon and Tobey Earn ACC Coaches' Awards" (Press release). University of Virginia Sports . March 9, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2015 .
^ "Bennett, Brogdon and Anderson Earn USBWA District 3 Awards" (Press release). University of Virginia Sports . March 10, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2015 .
^ "USBWA NAMES 2014-15 ALL-AMERICANS" (Press release). United States Basketball Writers Association . March 16, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2015 .
^ "Virginia's Bennett Wins 2014-15 Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award" (Press release). United States Basketball Writers Association . March 23, 2015. Retrieved March 23, 2015 .
^ "Bennett, Brogdon and Anderson Earn NABC District 2 Awards" (Press release). University of Virginia Sports. March 27, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2015 .
^ "Brogdon and Anderson Named NABC All-Americans" (Press release). University of Virginia Sports. March 30, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2015 .
^ "The AP released their All-American teams on Monday" . NBC Sports . March 30, 2015. Retrieved March 31, 2015 .
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics