2023–24 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

American men's college basketball season

2023–24 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
NCAA tournament, First Four
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Record23–11 (13–7 ACC)
Head coach
  • Tony Bennett (15th season)
Associate head coachJason Williford (15th season)
Assistant coaches
  • Ron Sanchez (10th season)
  • Orlando Vandross (6th season)
Offensive schemeBlocker-Mover
Base defensePack-Line
Home arenaJohn Paul Jones Arena
Seasons
2024–25 →
2023–24 ACC men's basketball standings
  • v
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Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 7 North Carolina 17 3   .850 29 8   .784
No. 9 Duke 15 5   .750 27 9   .750
Virginia 13 7   .650 23 11   .676
Pittsburgh 12 8   .600 22 11   .667
Wake Forest 11 9   .550 21 14   .600
No. 14 Clemson 11 9   .550 24 12   .667
Syracuse 11 9   .550 20 12   .625
Virginia Tech 10 10   .500 19 15   .559
Florida State 10 10   .500 17 16   .515
No. 10 NC State 9 11   .450 26 15   .634
Boston College 8 12   .400 20 16   .556
Notre Dame 7 13   .350 13 20   .394
Georgia Tech 7 13   .350 14 18   .438
Miami (FL) 6 14   .300 15 17   .469
Louisville 3 17   .150 8 24   .250
2024 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2023–24 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represented the University of Virginia during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Tony Bennett in his 15th year, and played their home games at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Cavaliers started the season with four straight wins and earned themselves the twenty-fourth spot in the AP Rankings to start the season. They lost the opening game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off to Wisconsin and rebounded to defeat West Virginia in the third place game. The win wasn't enought to keep them in the rankings, as they fell out ahead of their ACC–SEC Challenge matchup with fourteenth ranked Texas A&M. They won that match and two more matches to return to the rankings at number twenty-two. They went 1–1 as the 22nd ranked team, losing to twenty-third ranked Memphis before falling out again. The Cavaliers then lost three of their next four ACC games, with the lone win coming against struggling Louisville. A rivalry win over Virginia Tech sparked an eight game winning streak for the Cavaliers as they also defeated NC State in overtime and Clemson during the stretch. They again returned to the rankings at number twenty-one. They lost to Pittsburgh and won a low scoring game against Wake Forest before falling out of the rankings again. The Cavaliers finished out the season 2–3 losing a rivaly rematch to Virginia Tech and to North Carolina and Duke, who were both ranked tenth at the time of the matchup.

The Cavaliers finished the season 23–11 and 13–7 in ACC play to finish in third place. As the third seed in the ACC tournament, they earned a bye to the Quarterfinals where defeated third seed Boston College in overtime before losing to eventual champions NC State in overtime in the Semifinals. They earned a controversial at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and were placed as a tenth seed in the First Four in the Midwest region. They lost their matchup with Colorado State 42–67 to end their season. After the game, Virginia was widely criticized for its offensive performance, which included a stretch of nearly 14 minutes of game time and nearly an hour of real time during which they did not score.

Previous season

The 2022–23 Cavaliers finished the season with an 25–8 record, 15–5 in ACC play, to finish in a tie for first place and clinch a share of their sixth regular season title in ten seasons, and their eleventh ACC regular season title in school history. They defeated North Carolina and Clemson to reach the championship game of the ACC tournament, where they lost to Duke. They received a bid to NCAA tournament as the No. 4 seed in the East region, where they were upset in the First Round by Furman.

Offseason

Departures

Virginia departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Kihei Clark 0 G 5'10" 167 Redshirt Graduate Student Woodland Hills, CA Graduated
Jayden Gardner 1 F 6'6" 233 Redshirt Graduate Student Wake Forest, NC Graduated
Armaan Franklin 4 G 6'4" 200 Senior Indianapolis, IN Graduated/undrafted in 2023 NBA draft; signed with the Denver Nuggets[1]
Ben Vander Plas 5 F 6'8" 236 Redshirt Graduate Student Ripon, WI Graduated
Chase Coleman 12 G 5'9" 165 Senior Norfolk, VA Walk-on; became UVA graduate assistant coach
Kadin Shedrick 21 F/C 6'11" 231 Redshirt Junior Holly Springs, NC Transferred to Texas[2]
Francisco Cáffaro 22 C 7'1" 254 Redshirt Senior Santa Fe, Argentina Graduate transferred to Santa Clara[3]
Isaac Traudt 23 F 6'9" 229 Freshman Grand Island, NE Transferred to Creighton[4]

Incoming transfers

Virginia incoming transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school Years remaining Date eligible
Andrew Rohde 4 G 6'6" 202 Sophomore Milwaukee, WI St. Thomas (MN) 3 October 1, 2023[5]
Jordan Minor 22 F 6'8" 242 Graduate Student Kingston, MA Merrimack 1 October 1, 2023[6]
Jake Groves 34 F 6'9" 211 Graduate Student Spokane, WA Oklahoma 1 October 1, 2023[7]

2023 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Blake Buchanan
#12 PF
Coeur d'Alene, ID Lake City 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jul 3, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 84
Elijah Gertrude
#6 CG
Jersey City, NJ Hudson Catholic 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sep 14, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 82
Anthony Robinson
#52 C
Peachtree City, GA Christ School 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 238 lb (108 kg) Apr 29, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPNN/A   ESPN grade: NR
Christian Bliss
SG
Queens, NY George School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Jun 30, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 81
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 16  247Sports: 12  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 2023 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  • "2023 Virginia Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  • "2023 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  • "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  • "Virginia 2023 Basketball Commitments". 247sports.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023.

2024 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2024 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Christian Bliss
#48 SG
Newtown, PA George School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jun 30, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 82
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 16  247Sports: 12  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 2024 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  • "2024 Virginia Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  • "2024 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  • "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  • "Virginia 2024 Basketball Commitments". 247sports.com. Retrieved July 10, 2023.

Roster

Players

2023–24 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Blake Buchanan 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Lake City Coeur d'Alene, ID
G 1 Dante Harris 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Jr Lakeway Christian Academy (TN)
Georgetown
Washington, D.C.
G 2 Reece Beekman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 194 lb (88 kg) Sr Scotlandville Magnet (LA) Milwaukee, WI
G 4 Andrew Rohde 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 202 lb (92 kg) So Brookfield Central
St. Thomas (MN)
Milwaukee, WI
G 5 Desmond Roberts (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Fr St. Anne's-Belfield Charlottesville, VA
G 10 Taine Murray 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 207 lb (94 kg) Jr Rosmini College Auckland, New Zealand
G 11 Isaac McKneely 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 188 lb (85 kg) So Poca Poca, WV
G 12 Elijah Gertrude 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Hudson Catholic Regional Jersey City, NJ
G 13 Ryan Dunn 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 216 lb (98 kg) So Perkiomen School Freeport, NY
F/C 21 Anthony Robinson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 238 lb (108 kg) Fr Christ School (NC) Peachtree City, GA
F 22 Jordan Minor 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 242 lb (110 kg) GS Brimmer and May
Merrimack
Kingston, MA
F 24 Tristan How (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Norfolk Collegiate Virginia Beach, VA
G 30 Christian Bliss 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Fr George School (PA) Queens, NY
F 34 Jake Groves 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 211 lb (96 kg) GS Shadle Park
Oklahoma
Spokane, WA
G/F 35 Leon Bond III 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Fr Wauwatosa East Wauwatosa, WI
G 42 Bryce Walker (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr New Hampton School Beltsville, MD
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Current redshirt

Roster

Coaches

Virginia coaching staff
Name Position Year with position Year on coaching staff Alma mater Hometown
Tony Bennett Dean and Markel Families Head Coach 15 15 UW-Green Bay Clintonville, WI
Jason Williford Associate head coach 6 15 Virginia Richmond, VA
Ron Sanchez Assistant Coach 1 10 SUNY-Oneonta San Pedro de Macorís, DR
Orlando Vandross Assistant Coach 6 9 American International
Brad Soderberg Director of Scouting 3 9 UW-Stevens Point Wausau, WI
Larry Mangino Director of player development 3 8 Montclair State
Johnny Carpenter Director of player personnel 6 9 Virginia Great Falls, VA
Isaiah Wilkins Graduate assistant 3 3 Virginia Lilburn, GA
Mike Curtis Strength and conditioning coach 15 15 Virginia Richmond, VA
Ethan Saliba Head Athletic Trainer 26 41 Kansas
Ronnie Wideman Associate AD for Basketball Administration/Operations 14 15 Washington State Washougal, WA

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 6, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
Tarleton State W 80–50  1–0
 16  Beekman   9  Bond III   7  Beekman  John Paul Jones Arena (14,080)
Charlottesville, VA
November 10, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCN
vs. Florida
He Gets Us Hall of Fame Series
W 73–70  2–0
 18  Buchanan   8  Dunn   5  Beekman  Spectrum Center (6,783)
Charlotte, NC
November 14, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
North Carolina A&T W 80–51  3–0
 13  Dunn   11  Dunn   7  Beekman  John Paul Jones Arena (12,905)
Charlottesville, VA
November 16, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCN
Texas Southern W 62–33  4–0
 15  Dunn   5  Dunn   4  Beekman  John Paul Jones Arena (13,099)
Charlottesville, VA
November 20, 2023*
6:00 p.m., FS1
No. 24 vs. Wisconsin
Fort Myers Tip-Off semifinals
L 41–65  4–1
 17  Beekman   6  Dunn   7  Beekman  Suncoast Credit Union Arena (3,500)
Fort Myers, FL
November 22, 2023*
6:00 p.m., FS1
No. 24 vs. West Virginia
Fort Myers Tip-Off consolation
W 56–54  5–1
 13  Dunn   7  Bond III   5  Beekman  Suncoast Credit Union Arena (3,500)
Fort Myers, FL
November 29, 2023*
7:15 p.m., ESPN2
No. 14 Texas A&M
ACC–SEC Challenge
W 59–47  6–1
 13  Rohde   6  Rohde   5  Beekman  John Paul Jones Arena (14,061)
Charlottesville, VA
December 2, 2023
12:00 p.m., ESPN2
Syracuse W 84–62  7–1
(1–0)
 22  McKneely   6  Bond III   8  Beekman  John Paul Jones Arena (14,637)
Charlottesville, VA
December 5, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
North Carolina Central W 77–47  8–1
 22  McKneely   9  Bond III   6  Rohde  John Paul Jones Arena (13,459)
Charlottesville, VA
December 16, 2023*
6:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 22 Northeastern W 56–54  9–1
 21  Beekman   6  Beekman   6  Rohde  John Paul Jones Arena (13,676)
Charlottesville, VA
December 19, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 22 at No. 23 Memphis L 54–77  9–2
 13  Beekman   11  Dunn   4  Tied  FedExForum (13,553)
Memphis, TN
December 27, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCN
Morgan State W 79–44  10–2
 17  Beekman   10  Dunn   7  Beekman  John Paul Jones Arena (14,637)
Charlottesville, VA
December 30, 2023
12:00 p.m., ACCN
at Notre Dame L 54–76  10–3
(1–1)
 15  Beekman   5  Dunn   4  Beekman  Joyce Center (7,784)
South Bend, IN
January 3, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
Louisville W 77–53  11–3
(2–1)
 18  McKneely   10  Dunn   8  Beekman  John Paul Jones Arena (13,703)
Charlottesville, VA
January 6, 2024
2:00 p.m., ACCN
at NC State L 60–76  11–4
(2–2)
 18  McKneely   7  Dunn   10  Beekman  PNC Arena (14,821)
Raleigh, NC
January 13, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN2
at Wake Forest L 47–66  11–5
(2–3)
 10  Beekman   5  Tied   4  Beekman  LJVM Coliseum (9,855)
Winston-Salem, NC
January 17, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPNU
Virginia Tech
Rivalry
W 65–57  12–5
(3–3)
 16  Tied   7  Dunn   5  Harris  John Paul Jones Arena (14,547)
Charlottesville, VA
January 20, 2024
6:00 p.m., ACCN
at Georgia Tech W 75–66  13–5
(4–3)
 20  McKneely   10  Dunn   11  Beekman  McCamish Pavilion (6,380)
Atlanta, GA
January 24, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCN
NC State W 59–53 OT 14–5
(5–3)
 13  Dunn   12  Dunn   6  Beekman  John Paul Jones Arena (13,947)
Charlottesville, VA
January 27, 2024
12:00 p.m., The CW
at Louisville W 69–52  15–5
(6–3)
 19  Dunn   11  Dunn   9  Beekman  KFC Yum! Center (11,381)
Louisville, KY
January 31, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCN
Notre Dame W 65–53  16–5
(7–3)
 21  Beekman   6  Minor   6  Beekman  John Paul Jones Arena (13,947)
Charlottesville, VA
February 3, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN
at Clemson W 66–65  17–5
(8–3)
 17  Groves   10  Dunn   4  Beekman  Littlejohn Coliseum (9,000)
Clemson, SC
February 5, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN
Miami (FL) W 60–38  18–5
(9–3)
 16  Beekman   8  Dunn   7  Beekman  John Paul Jones Arena (14,165)
Charlottesville, VA
February 10, 2024
8:00 p.m., The CW
at Florida State W 80–76  19–5
(10–3)
 29  McKneely   5  Tied   5  Beekman  Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (8,525)
Tallahassee, FL
February 13, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 21 Pittsburgh L 63–74  19–6
(10–4)
 19  Beekman   6  Beekman   6  Rohde  John Paul Jones Arena (13,858)
Charlottesville, VA
February 17, 2024
12:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 21 Wake Forest W 49–47  20–6
(11–4)
 20  Beekman   9  Dunn   4  Tied  John Paul Jones Arena (14,637)
Charlottesville, VA
February 19, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN
at Virginia Tech
Rivalry
L 41–75  20–7
(11–5)
 11  McKneely   5  Tied   2  Tied  Cassell Coliseum (8,925)
Blacksburg, VA
February 24, 2024
4:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 10 North Carolina L 44–54  20–8
(11–6)
 12  Minor   10  Minor   5  Beekman  John Paul Jones Arena (14,637)
Charlottesville, VA
February 28, 2024
9:00 p.m., ESPNU
at Boston College W 72–68  21–8
(12–6)
 18  Beekman   13  Dunn   8  Beekman  Conte Forum (4,851)
Chestnut Hill, MA
March 2, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN
at No. 10 Duke L 48–73  21–9
(12–7)
 18  Beekman   6  Tied   7  Beekman  Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314)
Durham, NC
March 9, 2024
8:00 p.m., ACCN
Georgia Tech W 72–57  22–9
(13–7)
 21  Beekman   6  Tied   9  Beekman  John Paul Jones Arena (13,877)
Charlottesville, VA
ACC tournament
March 14, 2024
9:30 pm, ESPN
(3) vs. (11) Boston College
Quarterfinals
W 66–60 OT 23–9
 15  Groves   11  Groves   11  Beekman  Capital One Arena (17,627)
Washington, D.C.
March 15, 2024
9:30 pm, ESPN2
(3) vs. (10) NC State
Semifinals
L 65–73 OT 23–10
 23  McKneely   9  Tied   11  Beekman  Capital One Arena (18,722)
Washington, D.C.
NCAA tournament
March 19, 2024
9:10 pm, TruTV
(10 MW) vs. (10 MW) Colorado State
First Four
L 42–67  23–11
 15  Beekman   5  Dunn   4  Beekman  UD Arena (12,247)
Dayton, Ohio
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.
All times are in Eastern Time.

[8]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
APRVRV24RVRV2222RVRVRV21RV
CoachesRV25т18RV232120RVRVRV23RVRV

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

References

  1. ^ "NUGGETS SIGN ARMAAN FRANKLIN AND ANDREW FUNK TO TRAINING CAMP CONTRACTS". NBA.com. July 18, 2023. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  2. ^ Dimmitt, Zach (April 23, 2023). "Longhorns Land Virginia Transfer Kadin Shedrick". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  3. ^ Newton, Matt (April 10, 2023). "Former UVA Center Francisco Caffaro Transfers to Santa Clara". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  4. ^ Newton, Matt (March 31, 2023). "Virginia Transfer Isaac Traudt Commits to Creighton". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  5. ^ "Men's Basketball Adds St. Thomas Transfer Andrew Rohde". virginiasports.com. Virginia Athletics. April 20, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  6. ^ Newton, Matt (April 13, 2023). "Merrimack Transfer Jordan Minor Announces Commitment to Virginia". Sports Illustrated Virginia Cavaliers News, Analysis and More. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
  7. ^ Newton, Matt (April 25, 2023). "Oklahoma Transfer Jacob Groves Commits to Virginia". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  8. ^ "2023–24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Virginia Sports. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  • v
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Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
Venues
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Culture & lore
People
Seasons
NCAA national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics