2020–21 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

2020–21 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
NCAA tournament, first round
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 24
APNo. 15
Record18–7 (13–4 ACC)
Head coach
Associate head coachJason Williford (12th season)
Assistant coaches
Offensive schemeBlocker-Mover
Base defensePack-Line
Home arenaJohn Paul Jones Arena
Seasons
2020–21 ACC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 15 Virginia 13 – 4   .765 18 – 7   .720
No. 14 Florida State 11 – 4   .733 18 – 7   .720
No. 25 Virginia Tech 9 – 4   .692 15 – 7   .682
Georgia Tech † 11 – 6   .647 17 – 9   .654
Clemson 10 – 6   .625 16 – 8   .667
North Carolina 10 – 6   .625 18 – 11   .621
Louisville 8 – 5   .615 13 – 7   .650
Syracuse 9 – 7   .563 18 – 10   .643
NC State 9 – 8   .529 14 – 11   .560
Duke 9 – 9   .500 13 – 11   .542
Notre Dame 7 – 11   .389 11 – 15   .423
Pittsburgh 6 – 10   .375 10 – 12   .455
Miami (FL) 4 – 15   .211 10 – 17   .370
Wake Forest 3 – 15   .167 6 – 16   .273
Boston College 2 – 11   .154 4 – 16   .200
† 2021 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

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.[1] The NCAA tournament was also later canceled due to the pandemic.[2]

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 Redshirt 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[a] October 1, 2020[4][5]

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:4/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   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:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   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:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   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

Players

2020–21 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Kihei Clark 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Taft Charter Woodland Hills, CA
G/F 1 Jabri Abdur-Rahim 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 214 lb (97 kg) Fr Blair Academy South Orange, NJ
G 2 Reece Beekman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 174 lb (79 kg) Fr Scotlandville Magnet Baton Rouge, LA
F 4 Justin McKoy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Panther Creek Cary, NC
G 5 Jayden Nixon (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 187 lb (85 kg) Jr Choate Rosemary Hall Charlottesville, VA
F 10 Sam Hauser 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) RS Sr SPASH
Marquette 		Stevens Point, WI
G 11 Malachi Poindexter (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Fr St. Anne's-Belfield School Mineral, VA
G 12 Chase Coleman (W) 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 157 lb (71 kg) So Maury Norfolk, VA
G 13 Casey Morsell 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 196 lb (89 kg) So St. John's College Fort Washington, MD
F/C 21 Kadin Shedrick 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 216 lb (98 kg) RS Fr Holly Springs Raleigh, NC
C 22 Francisco Cáffaro 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS So NBA Global Academy Santa Fe, Argentina
G/F 23 Kody Stattmann 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 204 lb (93 kg) Jr St. Augustine's College Bentley Park, Australia
F 24 Austin Katstra (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr Albemarle Charlottesville, VA
G/F 25 Trey Murphy III 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Jr Cary Academy
Rice 		Durham, NC
F/C 30 Jay Huff 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Sr Voyager Academy Durham, NC
G 33 Carson McCorkle 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Fr Greensboro Day School Greensboro, NC
G 53 Tomas Woldetensae 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 197 lb (89 kg) Sr Victory Rock Prep
Indian Hills CC 		Bologna, Italy
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: August 2, 2020

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:

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 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[6][7]

Rankings

See also: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP4 (1)15181716232218138149715211615Not released
Coaches44^18161524т212212815981420151524

^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

Notes

  1. ^ Murphy was initially eligible for two years. However, on October 14, 2020, the NCAA granted an additional year of eligibility for all athletes who participate in a winter sport in 2020–21, including basketball.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Statement from ACC on men's basketball tournament". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. March 12, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
  2. ^ "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships". March 12, 2020. Archived from the original on March 12, 2020.
  3. ^ "DI Council extends eligibility for winter sport student-athletes" (Press release). NCAA. October 14, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
  4. ^ "Virginia Lands Transfer Trey Murphy III". Virginia Sports. April 16, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  5. ^ Rekulapelli, Akhil (April 14, 2020). "Rice transfer guard Trey Murphy III commits to Virginia". The Cavalier Daily. Retrieved May 20, 2024.
  6. ^ "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". virginiasports.com. University of Virginia Athletics. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
  7. ^ "2020-21 Virginia Cavaliers Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 9, 2020.