After an amazing 2017 season that marked a ACC regular season champion, an ACC Tournament Champion and a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament. UVA’s season was ended by a shocking defeat by number sixteen seed UMBC. The defending ACC champions look to defend there title in a loaded ACC conference.
Returning Players:
This years Cavalier’s team return with a lot of players from last year’s team. Juniors Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome will again be back for the Hoos along with sophomore NBA prospect De’Andre Hunter returning after missing the NCAA tournament with a broken wrist. Senior Jack Salt will have to play a bigger role with Isaiah Wilkins graduating. Sophomore Marco Anthony will have a bigger role after earning experience as a freshman last year. The Cavaliers also have a lot of defensive players which includes Akil Mitchell, Darion Atkins, and Anthony Gill.
Incoming Players:
The Cavaliers bring in three new players for the 2018 season. Former four star Francisco Caffaro, former three star Kody Stattmann, and former three star Kihei Clark round out this year freshman. Caffaro is a proven shooter and when he played for Argentina at the Fiba U17 Oceania Championship he averaged 31 points, four rebounds, and 3.4 assists a game all while shooting 59% form the field. Five feet nine inch point guard Kihei Clarke was a really nice addition to the freshman class and became recruited by Power 5 schools during his breakout performance at the Nike Peach Jam. Clarke will bring a toughness that head coach Tony Bennett likes in his players. Guard Kody Stattmann proved he could play at a high level at the Fiba U18 Asia Championships. When he scored at least double figures in all of the games he played there. Stattmann can shoot at a high level, but is not very strong. It would not come as a surprise if he redshirted this year.
Key Games:
Jan.5 vs Florida State – This will be UVA’s first game against a legit opponent since the historic loss to UMBC. Last year the Cavaliers beat the Seminoles 59-55. If the Cavaliers want to prove they have turned the page from last year’s lost, a big win against a top tier ACC team will go a long way for the Cavaliers.
Jan.15 vs Virginia Tech- Last year the Cavaliers suffered a stunning 61-60 OT upset loss in Charlottesville. This rivalry has been back and forth over the last four years and this will be the best Virginia Tech team to date. Virginia needs to win this game if they want to keep control of the state series and stay atop in the ACC.
Jan.19 @ Duke- Last year the Cavaliers beat Duke 65-63. This will end a brutal one week stretch for UVA which included them playing Clemson and Virginia Tech. This game versus Duke is huge for the Cavaliers. They not only look to be a top tier team in the ACC, but a top team nationally too. A win versus a star studded Duke team will show this UVA team is legit.
Projected Season: I think this is at least a 24 win team in the Hoos. This should be a two seed in the ACC and one to two in the NCAA tournament.
