With the start of the Virginia Cavaliers basketball season only 22 days away, now is a a great time to review some of the eye-popping stats the team has put up in recent years. Take a gander at these:
· In the past two seasons, UVA is the only team in the country which has not lost a game by more than 7 points.
· Tony Bennett is one of only 8 coaches who has won a NCAA Tournament game in each of the last 3 years.
· In the past 3 years, 11 different teams have been a #1 seed. Virginia is the only team to do so twice.
· Virginia failed to make an ACC tournament semifinal from 1996-2013. The Hoos have made the past three and reached the finals twice.
· Last season, UVA had its first undefeated season at home since 1982. Tony Bennett’s squad is now 35-1 in its last 36 ACC home games, which is the best such stretch in ACC history.
· Since January 2014, only Kentucky and defending champion Villanova have more wins than the Cavaliers.
· Virginia is one of only two schools to finish in the top 10 of the AP poll in each of the past three seasons. It’s the only team to finish in the top 10 in the KenPom rankings all three of those years.
And lastly, a stat that bodes well for the future:
· Last year's UVA team had 0 players that were in ESPN's top #50 recruiting rankings. This year's team will have four such players, plus three others ranked 50-100.
For longtime Virginia fans, it’s still difficult to believe how high the program has ascended the last three seasons. With a solid talent base in Charlottesville, there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic that the good times will continue.