View source for Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball

{{short description|College men's basketball team representing the University of Virginia}}
{{Infobox college basketball team
| name                  = Virginia Cavaliers
| current               = 2024–25 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team
| logo                  = Virginia Cavaliers wordmark.svg
| logo_size             = 250
| university            = [[University of Virginia]]
| firstseason           = [[1905–06 University of Virginia men's basketball team|1905–06]]
| record                = {{Winpct|1719|1204|1|record=y}}
| athletic_director     = [[Carla Williams (athletic director)|Carla Williams]]
| coach                 = [[Ron Sanchez]]
| tenure                = 
| conference            = [[Atlantic Coast Conference]]
| location              = [[Charlottesville, Virginia]]
| arena                 = [[John Paul Jones Arena]]
| capacity              = 14,623
| nickname              = [[Virginia Cavaliers|Cavaliers]] (official)<br>[[Wahoos]] (unofficial)
| studentsection        = Hoo Crew
| h_pattern_b           = _thinsidesonwhite
| h_body                = 003A70
| h_shorts              = 003A70
| h_pattern_s           = _blanksides2
| a_pattern_b           = _thinwhitesides
| a_body                = 232D4B
| a_shorts              = 232D4B
| a_pattern_s           =_whitesides2
| NCAAchampion          = 2019
| NCAAfinalfour         = 1981, 1984, 2019
| NCAAeliteeight        = 1981, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1995, 2016, 2019
| NCAAsweetsixteen      = 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1993, 1995, 2014, 2016, 2019
| NCAAroundof32         = 1976, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019
| NCAAtourneys          = 1976, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2001, 2007, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2024
| conference_tournament = 1976, 2014, 2018
| conference_season     = 1922, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023
|free_tournament_label3=NIT tournament champions|free_tournament_data3=1980, 1992}}

The '''Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball''' team is the [[college basketball|intercollegiate men's basketball]] program representing the [[University of Virginia]]. The school competes in the [[Atlantic Coast Conference]] (ACC) in [[NCAA Division I|Division I]] of the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] (NCAA). Virginia has won the [[#2019: Redemption National Championship|NCAA Championship]], two [[National Invitation Tournament]]s, and three [[Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball tournament|ACC tournament]] titles. The team plays home games at the on-campus [[John Paul Jones Arena]] (14,623) which opened in 2006. They have been called the ''Cavaliers'' [[Virginia Cavaliers#Fight song|since 1923]], predating the [[Cleveland Cavaliers]] of the [[National Basketball Association|NBA]] by half a century.

Virginia [[2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game|won]] its first [[2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament#National Championship|NCAA Championship]] in 2019, and won the last [[1981 NCAA Division I basketball tournament#Final Four|third-place game]] ever played at the Final Four in 1981. The Cavaliers have been ranked in the Top 5 of the [[AP Poll]] more than 100 times since 1980,<ref>[http://collegepollarchive.com/mbasketball/ap/app_total.cfm?sort=top5app&from=1981&to=2050 Men's Basketball Appearances in the AP Top 5: 1980–81 to Present], accessed November 21, 2022.</ref> and have received seven No. 1 [[#NCAA Tournament seeding history|seeds in the NCAA tournament]].<ref name=NCAA>[https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2019-03-13/ncaa-tournament-all-time-no-1-seeds-teams-history NCAA Tournament All-Time No. 1 Seeds History], [[NCAA]], accessed January 27, 2021.</ref> Many Virginia players have gone on to NBA success, with [[Ralph Sampson]] and [[Malcolm Brogdon]] being named [[NBA Rookie of the Year]] in 1984 and 2017. Sampson was later inducted into the [[Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame]]. Brogdon went on to become the NBA's eighth [[50–40–90 club]] member and was named [[NBA Sixth Man of the Year]] in 2023. [[Trey Murphy III]] is the ACC's first ''college'' [[50–40–90 club#Men's NCAA|50–40–90 club]] member{{efn|Murphy's UVA teammate [[Sam Hauser]] missed by only .004 in [[free throw]] percentage in that same season.}} and several other players have won national awards at Virginia: Brogdon and [[De'Andre Hunter]] were named [[NABC Defensive Player of the Year]], [[Darion Atkins]] was awarded the [[Lefty Driesell Award]], and [[Kyle Guy]] was named [[NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player|NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player]] while playing for the Cavaliers.
  
Virginia was a top program in the early years of college basketball under the tutelage of [[Henry Lannigan|Pop Lannigan]] from 1905 to 1929 and a consistent winner under multi-sport coach [[Gus Tebell]] from 1930 to 1951, but the Cavaliers struggled through the 1950s and 1960s before [[Terry Holland]] arrived in 1974 to win [[1976 ACC men's basketball tournament|their first ACC Championship]] and earn their first [[NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship|NCAA tournament]] appearance in just his second year. The program has since won [[List of Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball regular season champions#By school|11 ACC season titles]], third-most in conference history. Under [[Tony Bennett (basketball)|Tony Bennett]] in the 18-game ACC era (2012–2019), Virginia had four out of the five ACC teams that finished 16–2 or better in conference play and won its first NCAA Championship.<ref name=pilot18>[https://pilotonline.com/sports/columnist/david-teel/article_db9f1960-42d3-11e9-98b9-0bcf52f52acd.html Cavs' in league of their own in ACC], accessed August 15, 2019</ref> As of 2024, Virginia has had 13 consecutive winning ACC seasons, the longest active streak among ACC programs.<ref name=teel21>David Teel. "[https://richmond.com/sports/college/teel-victory-over-unc-elevates-uvas-bennett-into-rare-company/article_58985e65-47e3-5ff6-85b8-12f7deca6e47.html Victory over UNC elevates UVA's Bennett into rare company]". ''[[Richmond Times-Dispatch]]'', February 13, 2021. Accessed August 26, 2021. ''Note that the article mentions it was the second-longest at the time, before Duke failed to achieve a winning record in that season.''</ref>

== History ==
The ''[[Wahoos]]'', as they are unofficially known, began their history under the tutelage of a [[Welsh person|Welshman]] and [[Immigration to the United States|American immigrant]] known best as "Pop", [[Henry Lannigan]]. Lannigan began the program in 1905 after training [[Olympic Games]] hopefuls in [[track and field]] and quickly brought the basketball program into near-dominant form.<ref name=NewsLeader1930>''[[The News Leader]]'', Henry Lannigan obituary, [[Staunton, Virginia]]. Published December 26, 1930.</ref> He led the Cavaliers to a perfect record of 17–0 in 1914-15 and a [[Southern Conference]] title in its inaugural season of 1921–22. After reaching prominence the team was invited to help the nationally known Kentucky Wildcats showcase their new [[Alumni Gymnasium (University of Kentucky)|Alumni Gymnasium]]. Virginia dominated Kentucky, 29–16.<ref name=NewsLeader1930 /> Inviting Kentucky back to [[Memorial Gymnasium (Virginia)|Memorial Gymnasium]] in 1928, Virginia again won, 31–28.<ref name=NewsLeader1930 /> Lannigan held the Virginia record for best career [[winning percentage]] by a head coach (254–95 (.728)) until he was surpassed by [[Tony Bennett (basketball)|Tony Bennett]], who was hired 104 years after the start of the program.

After Lannigan's sudden death in 1930 and with limited administration interest at the onset of the [[Great Depression]], Virginia basketball did not maintain its momentum into the next several decades. [[Buzzy Wilkinson]] scored 32.1 points per game in 1954–55 and is still the all-time ACC leader in scoring per game for both the single-season and career (28.1) categories.<ref>[http://raycomsports.com/sports_labs_docs/m-baskbl/2013-14_m-baskbl_guide.pdf 2013-14 Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide], p.145-156.</ref> He was selected by the [[Boston Celtics]] in the [[1955 NBA draft]]. Unfortunately, Virginia teams of the era were not as great at defense and high scoring did not lead to many wins. Likewise, [[Barry Parkhill]] was named [[ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year]] in 1971–72 and was drafted in the first round by the [[Portland Trail Blazers]] but the program had not regained its early standing.

[[File:Terry_Holland.jpg|225px|thumb|right|[[Terry Holland]] won UVA's first ACC Tournament championship, and led UVA to its first two NCAA Final Fours.]]

[[Terry Holland]] was hired from [[Davidson Wildcats men's basketball|Davidson]] in 1975, and with star [[Wally Walker]] surprised the ACC in just his second year as head coach when his sixth-seeded Virginia defeated AP No. 17 NC State, No. 9 Maryland and No. 4 North Carolina en route to winning the school's first ACC Championship. Played in [[Landover, Maryland]], it was also and fittingly the first ACC Tournament held outside of North Carolina. Athletic, quick, and seven-foot-four, [[Ralph Sampson]] was perhaps the most desired high school recruit in college basketball history when he chose to play with [[Jeff Lamp]] at Virginia over Kentucky in 1979.<ref>[http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/ralphsampson.html Ralph Sampson's Decision], accessed April 10, 2019</ref> He lived up to that hype would become one of the most dominant college players the game has ever known, winning three consecutive [[Naismith College Player of the Year]] awards to tie him with [[Bill Walton]] as the most awarded individual player in NCAA history. Virginia would attain its first AP Top 5 rankings and go to [[#1981: Sampson and Goliath|its first Final Four]] in Sampson's era, but would be stonewalled by [[Dean Smith]] and North Carolina both in that Final Four and in ACC tournaments. Carolina notoriously held the ball in a [[four corners offense]] for most of the last seven minutes of the game, despite having UNC's most celebrated NBA superstars [[Michael Jordan]] and [[James Worthy]] on the floor, to defeat Virginia in the [[1982 ACC men's basketball tournament|1982 ACC tournament]] 47–45.<ref name=4C>[https://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2015/02/with-four-corners-offense-dean-smith-changed-basketball With Four Coners, Dean Smith Changed Basketball], accessed April 15, 2019</ref> Both the [[shot clock]] and [[three-point field goal|three-point line]] were implemented into college basketball during the same decade in part to combat such shenanigans.<ref name=4C /> In 1984, after Sampson was drafted first in the [[1983 NBA draft]], Virginia made a [[Cinderella (sports)|Cinderella run]] back to the Final Four. There they lost 49–47, in overtime,{{efn|This is the only NCAA Tournament game that Virginia has lost in overtime. UVA's record in NCAA Tournament overtime periods is 4–1 as of 2019.}} to a Houston team led by the first pick of the [[1984 NBA draft]], [[Hakeem Olajuwon]], who then joined Sampson to form [[Houston Rockets#1984–1987: The "Twin Towers"|the original Twin Towers]] of the NBA on the [[Houston Rockets]].

[[John Crotty]] and [[Bryant Stith]] took the darkhorse 1988–89 team to the Elite Eight after defeating AP No. 2 (and No. 1 seed) [[1988–89 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team|Oklahoma]] which returned most of its lineup (including [[Stacey King]] and [[Mookie Blaylock]]) from the team that reached the [[1988 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game|1988 NCAA Tournament Championship Game]]. After Holland retired the next year, the Cavaliers were coached by [[Jeff Jones (basketball)|Jeff Jones]] for eight years, [[Pete Gillen]] for seven, and [[Dave Leitao]] for four. Highlights of those teams include a Jones team headlined by [[Cory Alexander]] and [[Junior Burrough]] that also reached the Elite Eight after a first-place finish in the ACC standings of 1995. There were no championship teams under Gillen, but his recruits [[Sean Singletary]] and [[J. R. Reynolds]] led the 2007 team to Virginia's next conference-topping finish in Leitao's second season. While there were flashes of brilliance under each of the three coaches, the program regained and expanded its national prominence under the coach who followed them.

[[Tony Bennett (basketball)|Tony Bennett]] arrived in March 2009 and got to work in building "a program that lasts."<ref>[https://www.dailypress.com/sports/dp-spt_bennettpresser_0402apr02-story.html Bennett begins task after day of praise], accessed April 15, 2019</ref> His 2013–14 team led by [[Joe Harris (basketball)|Joe Harris]] and [[Malcolm Brogdon]] brought Virginia its first ACC Tournament Championship in 38 years and its first Sweet Sixteen appearance in 19 years. The 2014–15 squad, led by [[Justin Anderson (basketball)|Justin Anderson]] and Brogdon, started 19–0 and was even more dominant throughout the season as this team more than doubled up the scores of Georgia Tech and Wake Forest, only the second and third times in history that one ACC team scored twice as many points as another ACC team in official competition. However, Anderson broke his finger against Louisville and did not return until the NCAA Tournament where he was much diminished and the team bowed out to Michigan State in the second round. Brogdon led the 2015–16 team to the Elite Eight, but they fell just short of the elusive Final Four after a late rally by Syracuse. Shocking the basketball world twice in two years, Virginia [[2018 UMBC vs. Virginia men's basketball game|lost to 16-seed UMBC in the first round]] of the 2018 NCAA Tournament only to come back and [[2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game|win the 2019 NCAA tournament championship]] the very next year.<ref>[https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/2019-ncaa-tournament-championship-virginia-completes-epic-journey-from-last-years-ugly-exit-to-win-its-first-title/ 2019 NCAA Tournament championship: Virginia completes epic journey from last year's ugly exit to win its first title], accessed April 10, 2019</ref> [[ESPN]] called Virginia's 2018–19 campaign "the most redemptive season in the history of college basketball."<ref name="espn.com">[http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/26475169/virginia-redemption-was-one-year-23-days-making Virginia's redemption was one year, 23 days in the making], accessed March 10, 2019</ref> ''[[CBS This Morning]]'' called it "basketball's ultimate redemption story" the morning after the national championship match.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1FJm9KvTjM Virginia wins first NCAA basketball championship in epic comeback], accessed April 11, 2019</ref>

As of 2023, Bennett has led Virginia to the program's first NCAA Tournament Championship, third Final Four, second and third ACC Tournament Championships, and six of eleven seasons Virginia has finished first in the ACC season standings. He holds the single-season wins record with 35 from the 2018–19 season, breaking his own previous record of 31.

== NCAA Final Four teams ==
Virginia is 3–2 at Final Four events and won the [[2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game|2019 NCAA tournament championship]].

=== 1981: Sampson and Goliath ===
Led by Coach [[Terry Holland]], National Player of the Year [[Ralph Sampson]] and his first team All-ACC teammate [[Jeff Lamp]], the Cavaliers rolled to their best season in school history.  After beginning the season with a 23–0 record, the Cavaliers would claim the ACC Regular Season title before falling in the ACC Tournament Semifinals.  Despite the loss, UVA still entered the NCAA tournament as the 1 seed in the East Regional of the [[1981 NCAA Division I basketball tournament|1981 NCAA tournament]].

UVA received a first-round bye and squeaked by [[Villanova Wildcats men's basketball|Villanova]] 54–50 in the 2nd round.  They then handled both [[Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball|Tennessee]] and [[BYU Cougars men's basketball|Brigham Young]] by 14 points each in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 respectively to clinch a berth in the program's first ever [[1981 NCAA Division I basketball tournament|Final Four]] in [[Spectrum (arena)|Philadelphia]].  Although UVA swept North Carolina in the ACC regular season, the Tar Heels defeated the Cavaliers when it mattered most, in the national semifinals.  Virginia closed the season on a high note, however, defeating [[LSU Tigers men's basketball|Louisiana State]] in the national third-place game to cap the program's most successful season to that point.

=== 1984: Virginia plays Cinderella ===
Following the loss of their vaunted All-American in [[Ralph Sampson|Sampson]], the Virginia basketball team took a step back in 1983–84, at least in the regular season.  The Cavaliers limped into the ACC tournament with a 17–10 (6–8) record, promptly falling to Wake Forest in the first round.  Their record was good enough to ensure them an [[1984 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA tournament]] invite and they were awarded the 7-seed in the East Regional.

After escaping 10th-seeded [[Iona Gaels men's basketball|Iona]] 58–57 in the first round, Virginia drew [[Southwest Conference]] champion and 2nd-seeded [[Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball|Arkansas]] in the 2nd round.  The Cavaliers dispatched the Razorbacks 53–51 in an overtime affair before cruising past 3rd-seeded [[Syracuse Orange men's basketball|Syracuse]] 63–55 in the Sweet Sixteen.  In a low-scoring, defensive affair, the Cavaliers defeated [[Bob Knight|Bobby Knight's]] 4th-seeded [[Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball|Indiana Hoosiers]] 50–48 in the Elite Eight to clinch the school's second Final Four appearance in 4 seasons.

In the National Semifinals, Virginia drew the [[Hakeem Olajuwon]]-led [[Houston Cougars men's basketball|Houston Cougars]] at the [[Kingdome]] in [[Seattle, Washington|Seattle]].  The Cavaliers gave the vaunted [[Phi Slama Jama]] lineup all they could handle, but eventually fell 49–47 in overtime, ending a surprisingly-successful postseason run.

=== 2019: Redemption National Championship ===
{{further|2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game}}
{{See also|Tony Bennett (basketball)#2018–19: The Redemption National Championship}}
[[File:Kyle Guy UVA (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.72|[[Kyle Guy]] converted all three [[free throw]]s with less than a second left in the [[2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament#Final Four|Final Four]] game against Auburn; UVA won by one point.]]

Coming off a [[2018 UMBC vs. Virginia men's basketball game|loss to 16-seed UMBC a year prior]], the Virginia team returned with a vaunted Bennett defense along with the three-pronged offensive attack of [[De'Andre Hunter]], [[Kyle Guy]], and [[Ty Jerome]].<ref>[http://www.startribune.com/virginia-cavaliers-clogging-defense-prevails/508304732/ Virginia Cavaliers' clogging defense prevails], accessed April 13, 2019</ref> The Cavaliers began and ended the season ranked in the AP Top 5, with a 28–2 regular season record and both losses to [[Zion Williamson]]'s AP No. 1 ranked Duke squad under Coach [[Mike Krzyzewski|Krzyzewski]].<ref>[http://collegepollarchive.com/mbasketball/ap/seasons.cfm?appollid=1165 2019 Preseason AP Men'a Basketball Poll], accessed April 13, 2019</ref><ref>[http://collegepollarchive.com/mbasketball/ap/seasons.cfm?seasonid=2019 2019 Final AP Men's Basketball Poll], accessed April 13, 2019</ref> Those two Virginia–Duke matchups during the ACC regular season were the most watched college basketball games of the regular season with 3.8 million and 3.3 million viewers for their games in Durham and Charlottesville respectively.<ref>[https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2019/02/duke-uva-ratings-espn/ Duke-UVA Trails Only UVA-Duke as Top Game of Season], accessed April 10, 2019</ref>  In the ACC Tournament, Virginia defeated [[on the bubble|bubble team]] NC State 76–56 before being defeated by Florida State, 69–59.<ref>[https://www.wralsportsfan.com/nc-state-falls-76-56-to-virginia-in-acc-tournament-quarterfinals/18259195/ NC State Falls 76-56 to Virginia in ACC Tournament Quarterfinals], accessed April 13, 2019</ref><ref>[https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaabk/florida-state-upends-no-2-virginia-69-59-in-acc-semifinals/ar-BBUPNlL Florida State Upends No.@ Virginia 69-59 in ACC Semis], accessed April 13, 2019</ref> Entering the NCAA Tournament, Virginia was a No. 1 seed in the South region, Duke was the No. 1 overall seed and placed in the East region, while North Carolina also received a No. 1 seed but in the Midwest region. The only No. 1 seed from another conference was Gonzaga in the West, later to be defeated by Texas Tech in the Elite Eight.

Virginia was the sole No. 1 seed of the tournament to [[2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament#South Regional – Louisville, Kentucky|advance to the Final Four]] after [[2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament#South Regional Final|defeating Purdue]]. After first defeating Gardner-Webb, Oklahoma, and Oregon, they met the [[2018–19 Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team|Boilermakers]] in the Elite Eight. Purdue's [[Carsen Edwards]] scored 42 points against Virginia, setting an individual scoring record against a Bennett-coached team.<ref>"Most ever against a Bennett-coached team" mentioned during the live radio broadcast of this game by [[WWWV]].</ref><ref name="NCAAPur">[https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2019-03-31/purdues-carsen-edwards-had-42-points-virginia-somehow Purdue's Carsen Edwards Had 42 Points Yet Virginia Somehow Advanced], accessed April 13, 2019</ref> With Virginia down by three points with 5.9 seconds to play, [[Ty Jerome]] stepped to the line for two [[free throw]]s,<ref name=NCAAPur /> converting the first but missing the second. [[Mamadi Diakite]] back tapped the ball into the [[Glossary of basketball terms#backcourt|backcourt]] where Kihei Clark recovered it and passed back to Diakite with one second remaining in the game.<ref name=NCAAPur /> Diakite immediately scored, and the game went into [[overtime (basketball)|overtime]].<ref name=NCAAPur /> Virginia then outscored Purdue 10–5 in the extra period to advance. Jerome, Diakite, and [[Kyle Guy]] each made the South Regional All-Tournament team.

[[File:De'Andre Hunter.jpg|thumb|upright=0.72|[[De'Andre Hunter]] shut down [[Jarrett Culver]] and scored a career-high 27 points in the [[2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game|National Championship Game]]; he soon was the No. 4 pick of the [[2019 NBA draft]].]]
[[2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament#Final Four|In the Final Four]], Virginia met [[2018–19 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team|the Auburn Tigers]] who had already dispatched Kansas, North Carolina, and Kentucky to get there.<ref name=CBSAUB>[[CBS]] national broadcast of Virginia vs. Auburn. April 6, 2019</ref> This game was a back-and-forth battle as Virginia trailed the Tigers at halftime, 31–28. Virginia led by as many as 10 points in the second half before Auburn retook the lead late in the game.<ref name=CBSAUB /> Down 61–57 with 7.7 seconds remaining, Guy scored a three-point shot from the right corner.<ref name=CBSAUB /> Harper then converted one of two free throws to lead 62–60.<ref name=CBSAUB /> Two controversial<ref name="foul-Jerome">[http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/26464459/uva-texas-tech-win-first-title National championship predictions: Will UVa or Texas Tech win first title?], accessed April 13, 2019. Quote from Jeff Borzello of ESPN Insider: "As for Saturday night, it was a clear foul by Samir Doughty on Kyle Guy. End of discussion. Fouled him on the way up, and didn't let him land. The missed-double-dribble debate is a different story, but then we have to get into a debate about the missed foul when Bryce Brown grabbed Ty Jerome a split second before the double dribble. Missed calls happen. It is what it is."</ref> non-calls (one against Auburn, one against Virginia) by officials preceded Auburn being called for a foul with 1.5 seconds remaining.<ref name=CBSAUB /> On the in-bounds play Jerome found Guy, again for the corner three, but Guy missed as an Auburn player fouled him by undercutting his lower body. Guy converted all three free throws to put Virginia into the [[2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game|2019 NCAA Tournament Championship Game]].<ref name="Kimmel">[[iarchive:KGO 20190409 063500 Jimmy Kimmel Live/start/159/end/266|Auburn Fans Celebrate Prematurely]], accessed April 3, 2020</ref>

The National Championship match was headlined by two of the top defenses in college basketball, Virginia and the [[2018–19 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team|Texas Tech Red Raiders]].<ref name=CBSTT>[[CBS]] national broadcast of Virginia vs. Texas Tech in the NCAA Tournament Championship Game. April 8, 2019</ref> Texas Tech did not score a field goal for the first 7 minutes and 11 seconds of the game, but eventually tied the game at 19 with 7 minutes and 33 seconds remaining in the first half. The teams traded leads until halftime, with Virginia holding a 32–29 advantage at intermission.<ref name=CBSTT /> Eventual top-10 picks in the subsequent NBA draft [[De'Andre Hunter]] and [[Jarrett Culver]] shot 1-for-8 and 0-for-6 from the field respectively in the first half, but Hunter shot 7-for-8 in the second half to end with a career-high 27 points while the [[NABC Defensive Player of the Year]] sophomore limited Culver to 5-for-22 shooting and a 15-point total.<ref>[https://www.si.com/college-basketball/2019/04/09/virginia-deandre-hunter-national-championship-texas-tech De'Andre Hunter Comes Up Clutch on Career Night to Close Chapter at UVA], accessed April 13, 2019</ref> Texas Tech rallied from a deficit to take a late lead before Virginia scored in the closing seconds to take the game into overtime.<ref name=CBSTT /> Virginia outscored Texas Tech 17–9 in overtime to win their first national title 85–77.<ref name=CBSTT />

Virginia ended the season with a 35–3 record, breaking the school record for wins in a single-season.<ref name=CBSTT /> The team was 29–0 after leading at halftime.<ref name=CBSTT /> The Cavaliers were the first first-time champions of the NCAA Tournament since the University of Florida thirteen years earlier.<ref name=CBSTT />  In light of the previous year's loss to UMBC, [[ESPN]] called Virginia's championship run "the most redemptive season in the history of college basketball," and [[NBC Sports]] described it as "the greatest redemption story in the history of sports."<ref name=NBCredemptive>[https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaabk/who-will-be-the-next-head-coach-to-win-their-first-national-title/ar-AAFwHKw Who will be the next head coach to win their first national title?], accessed August 8, 2019</ref><ref name="espn.com"/>

== ACC Tournament championship teams ==
Virginia has won the [[ACC men's basketball tournament|ACC tournament]] three times, defeating Duke or North Carolina in each title game.

=== 1976: Miracle in Landover ===
The 1975–76 Cavalier season was largely disappointing as they finished 13–11 overall (4–8, ACC) and limped into the [[1976 ACC men's basketball tournament|ACC tournament]] as the 6th seed.  Played at the [[Capital Centre (Landover, Maryland)|Capital Centre]] in [[Landover, Maryland]], the tournament was the first in ACC history to be played outside the state of [[North Carolina]].

Despite falling to NC State twice during the regular season, the Cavaliers upset the 3rd-seeded Wolfpack 75–63.  The Cavaliers then drew 2-seed Maryland, longtime border rivals that had just defeated UVA five days earlier at [[Cole Fieldhouse]].  Virginia defeated the AP No. 9 Terrapins, before dispatching top-seeded and AP No. 4 North Carolina 67–62 in the championship game.  It marked the first conference tournament title and NCAA appearance for Virginia, as well as only the 3rd time a non-North Carolina-based team won the conference title (following Maryland in 1958 and South Carolina in 1971).  [[Wally Walker]] scored 21 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in the title game, being named tournament MVP in the process.

Virginia was awarded the East Region's 7 seed in the [[1976 NCAA Division I basketball tournament|NCAA tournament]], where they fell to 2nd-seeded DePaul in the first round.

=== 2014: Bennett Ball arrives ===
[[File:Darion Atkins.jpg|thumb|right|upright|[[Darion Atkins]] with the Cavaliers in November 2014]]
After a few years of steady improvement, Tony Bennett finally had a team he had fully recruited and coached.  The Cavaliers got off to a forgettable 9–4 start, punctuated by a 35-point road loss at Tennessee.  Following a pivotal conversation between star G/F [[Joe Harris (basketball)|Joe Harris]] and Bennett, UVA got on track and rolled through the ACC.  On March 1, the 12th ranked Cavaliers would defeat #4 Syracuse at John Paul Jones Arena to clinch the ACC regular season title outright for the first time since 1981, allowing them to enter the [[2014 ACC men's basketball tournament]] as the 1-seed.

After cruising against 8th seeded Florida State, Virginia held off 4th-seeded Pittsburgh in the final seconds of the semifinal, setting up a championship game against 3rd seeded Duke at [[Greensboro Coliseum]].   The Cavaliers would exact revenge for a regular season loss to the Blue Devils, defeating them 72–63 and claiming their first ACC tournament title in 38 years.  Joe Harris was named tournament MVP while [[Malcolm Brogdon]] joined him as a 1st team selection.  In the process, UVA defeated every ACC opponent at least once in a season for the first time since 1982.

=== 2018: Calm before the storm ===
[[File:London Perrantes.jpg|thumb|180px|[[London Perrantes]]]]
After losing all-conference point guard [[London Perrantes]] to graduation and the [[Cleveland Cavaliers]], many expected 2017–18 to be a rebuilding year for Virginia basketball.  The team would start the season unranked before getting off to an 11–1 non-conference start and climbing up to No. 13 in the country at the start of conference play.  Virginia would then become the first team to go 17–1 in conference play, notably snapping a long losing streak at [[Cameron Indoor Stadium]] against Duke, scoring 5 points in 0.9 seconds to stun Louisville at the [[KFC Yum! Center]], and only losing one conference game by a single point in overtime.

They would open the ACC tournament by routing 9th-seeded Louisville 75–58 in the quarterfinals before dispatching 4th-seeded Clemson 64–58 in the semis.  They would then rematch with a North Carolina team they had defeated earlier in Charlottesville and claim the ACC championship with a 71–63 win.  Kyle Guy was named tournament MVP and was joined on the First team by [[Devon Hall]] as the Cavaliers gave Tony Bennett his second ACC tournament title in 5 seasons.

==Seasons==
{{main|List of Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball seasons}}

===Results by season (1980–present)===
{{CBB yearly record start | type = team | conference = | postseason= }}
{{CBB yearly record subhead
 | name      = [[Terry Holland]]
 | conference= Atlantic Coast Conference
 | startyear = 1974
 | endyear   = 1990
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = postseason
| season       = [[1979–80 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1979–80]]
| name         = Terry Holland
| overall      = 24–10
| conference   = 7–7
| confstanding = 5th
| postseason   = [[1980 National Invitation Tournament|NIT Championship]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = conference
| season       = [[1980–81 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1980–81]]
| name         = Terry Holland
| overall      = 29–4
| conference   = 13–1
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason   = [[1981 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Final Four]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = conference
| season       = [[1981–82 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1981–82]]
| name         = Terry Holland
| overall      = 30–4
| conference   = 12–2
| confstanding = T–1st
| postseason   = [[1982 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Sweet Sixteen]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = conference
| season       = [[1982–83 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1982–83]]
| name         = Terry Holland
| overall      = 29–5
| conference   = 12–2
| confstanding = T–1st
| postseason   = [[1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Elite Eight]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[1983–84 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1983–84]]
| name         = Terry Holland
| overall      = 21–12
| conference   = 6–8
| confstanding = 6th
| postseason   = [[1984 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Final Four]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = 1984–85
| name         = Terry Holland
| overall      = 17–16
| conference   = 3–11
| confstanding = 8th
| postseason   = [[1985 National Invitation Tournament|NIT Quarterfinals]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = 1985–86
| name         = Terry Holland
| overall      = 19–11
| conference   = 7–7
| confstanding = 5th
| postseason   = [[1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA First Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = 1986–87
| name         = Terry Holland
| overall      = 21–10
| conference   = 8–6
| confstanding = 4th
| postseason   = [[1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA First Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = 1987–88
| name         = Terry Holland
| overall      = 13–18
| conference   = 5–9
| confstanding = 6th
| postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[1988–89 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1988–89]]
| name         = Terry Holland
| overall      = 22–11
| conference   = 9–5
| confstanding = 3rd
| postseason   = [[1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Elite Eight]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[1989–90 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1989–90]]
| name         = Terry Holland
| overall      = 20–12
| conference   = 6–8
| confstanding = 5th
| postseason   = [[1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Second Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record subtotal
| name       = [[Terry Holland]]
| overall    = {{Winpct|326|173|record=y}}
| confrecord = {{Winpct|111|103|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB yearly record subhead
 | name      = [[Jeff Jones (basketball)|Jeff Jones]]
 | conference= Atlantic Coast Conference
 | startyear = 1990
 | endyear   = 1998
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[1990–91 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1990–91]]
| name         = Jeff Jones
| overall      = 21–12
| conference   = 6–8
| confstanding = 6th
| postseason   = [[1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA First Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = postseason
| season       = 1991–92
| name         = Jeff Jones
| overall      = 20–13
| conference   = 8–8
| confstanding = 5th
| postseason   = [[1992 National Invitation Tournament|NIT Championship]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = 1992–93
| name         = Jeff Jones
| overall      = 21–10
| conference   = 9–7
| confstanding = 5th
| postseason   = [[1993 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Sweet Sixteen]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = 1993–94
| name         = Jeff Jones
| overall      = 18–13
| conference   = 8–8
| confstanding = 4th
| postseason   = [[1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Second Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = conference
| season       = 1994–95
| name         = Jeff Jones
| overall      = 25–9
| conference   = 12–4
| confstanding = T–1st
| postseason   = [[1995 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Elite Eight]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = 1995–96
| name         = Jeff Jones
| overall      = 12–15
| conference   = 6–10
| confstanding = 7th
| postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[1996–97 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1996–97]]
| name         = Jeff Jones
| overall      = 18–13
| conference   = 7–9
| confstanding = 6th
| postseason   = [[1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA First Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[1997–98 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1997–98]]
| name         = Jeff Jones
| overall      = 11–19
| conference   = 3–13
| confstanding = 9th
| postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB yearly record subtotal
| name       = [[Jeff Jones (basketball)|Jeff Jones]]
| overall    = {{Winpct|146|104|record=y}}
| confrecord = {{Winpct|59|67|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB yearly record subhead
 | name      = [[Pete Gillen]]
 | conference= Atlantic Coast Conference
 | startyear = 1998
 | endyear   = 2005
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[1998–99 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1998–99]]
| name         = Pete Gillen
| overall      = 14–16
| conference   = 4–12
| confstanding = 9th
| postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[1999–2000 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1999–00]]
| name         = Pete Gillen
| overall      = 19–12
| conference   = 9–7
| confstanding = 3rd
| postseason   = [[2000 National Invitation Tournament|NIT First Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[2000–01 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2000–01]]
| name         = Pete Gillen
| overall      = 20–9
| conference   = 9–7
| confstanding = 4th
| postseason   = [[2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA First Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[2001–02 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2001–02]]
| name         = Pete Gillen
| overall      = 17–12
| conference   = 7–9
| confstanding = 5th
| postseason   = [[2002 National Invitation Tournament|NIT First Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[2002–03 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2002–03]]
| name         = Pete Gillen
| overall      = 16–16
| conference   = 6–10
| confstanding = 6th
| postseason   = [[2003 National Invitation Tournament|NIT Second Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[2003–04 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2003–04]]
| name         = Pete Gillen
| overall      = 18–13
| conference   = 6–10
| confstanding = 8th
| postseason   = [[2004 National Invitation Tournament|NIT Second Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[2004–05 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2004–05]]
| name         = Pete Gillen
| overall      = 14–15
| conference   = 4–12
| confstanding = 11th
| postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB yearly record subtotal
| name       = [[Pete Gillen]]
| overall    = {{Winpct|118|93|record=y}}
| confrecord = {{Winpct|45|67|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB yearly record subhead
 | name      = [[Dave Leitao]]
 | conference= Atlantic Coast Conference
 | startyear = 2005
 | endyear   = 2009
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[2005–06 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2005–06]]
| name         = Dave Leitao
| overall      = 15–15
| conference   = 7–9
| confstanding = 7th
| postseason   = [[2006 National Invitation Tournament|NIT First Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = conference
| season       = [[2006–07 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2006–07]]
| name         = Dave Leitao
| overall      = 21–11
| conference   = 11–5
| confstanding = T–1st
| postseason   = [[2007 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Second Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[2007–08 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2007–08]]
| name         = Dave Leitao
| overall      = 17–16
| conference   = 5–11
| confstanding = 10th
| postseason   = [[2008 College Basketball Invitational|CBI Semifinals]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[2008–09 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2008–09]]
| name         = Dave Leitao
| overall      = 10–18
| conference   = 4–12
| confstanding = 11th
| postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB yearly record subtotal
| name       = [[Dave Leitao]]
| overall    = {{Winpct|63|60|record=y}}
| confrecord = {{Winpct|27|37|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB yearly record subhead
 | name      = [[Tony Bennett (basketball)|Tony Bennett]]
 | conference= Atlantic Coast Conference
 | startyear = 2009
 | endyear   = 
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[2009–10 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2009–10]]
| name         = Tony Bennett
| overall      = 15–16
| conference   = 5–11
| confstanding = 9th
| postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[2010–11 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2010–11]]
| name         = Tony Bennett
| overall      = 16–15
| conference   = 7–9
| confstanding = 8th
| postseason   = 
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[2011–12 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2011–12]]
| name         = Tony Bennett
| overall      = 22–10
| conference   = 9–7
| confstanding = 4th
| postseason   = [[2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA First Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[2012–13 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2012–13]]
| name         = Tony Bennett
| overall      = 23–12
| conference   = 11–7
| confstanding = 4th
| postseason   = [[2013 National Invitation Tournament|NIT Quarterfinals]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = confboth
| season       = [[2013–14 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2013–14]]
| name         = Tony Bennett
| overall      = 30–7
| conference   = 16–2
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason   = [[2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Sweet Sixteen]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = conference
| season       = [[2014–15 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2014–15]]
| name         = Tony Bennett
| overall      = 30–4
| conference   = 16–2
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason   = [[2015 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Second Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[2015–16 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2015–16]]
| name         = Tony Bennett
| overall      = 29–8
| conference   = 13–5
| confstanding = 2nd
| postseason   = [[2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Elite Eight]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = 
| season       = [[2016–17 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2016–17]]
| name         = Tony Bennett
| overall      = 23–11
| conference   = 11–7
| confstanding = T–5th
| postseason   = [[2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Second Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = confboth
| season       = [[2017–18 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2017–18]]
| name         = Tony Bennett
| overall      = 31–3
| conference   = 17–1
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason   = [[2018 UMBC vs. Virginia men's basketball game|NCAA First Round]]
}}                                                                                                                
{{CBB yearly record entry                                                                                         
| championship = national
| season       = [[2018–19 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2018–19]]                                     
| name         = Tony Bennett                                                                                     
| overall      = 35–3                                                                                             
| conference   = 16–2                                                                                             
| confstanding = T–1st                                                                                           
| postseason   = [[2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Champions]]                            
}}                                                                                                                
{{CBB yearly record entry                                                                                         
| championship =                                                                                                  
| season       = [[2019–20 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2019–20]]                                     
| name         = Tony Bennett                                                                                     
| overall      = 23–7                                                                                              
| conference   = 15–5                                                                                              
| confstanding = T–2nd                                                                                                
| postseason   = [[2020 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|Cancelled]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry                                                                                         
| championship = conference                                                                                                 
| season       = [[2020–21 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2020–21]]                                     
| name         = Tony Bennett                                                                                     
| overall      = 18–7                                                                                              
| conference   = 13–4                                                                                              
| confstanding = 1st                                                                                                
| postseason   = [[2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA First Round]]
}}     
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship =                                                                                                  
| season       = [[2021–22 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2021–22]]                                     
| name         = Tony Bennett                                                                                     
| overall      = 21–14                                                                                              
| conference   = 12–8                                                                                              
| confstanding = 6th                                                                                                
| postseason   = [[2022 National Invitation Tournament|NIT Quarterfinals]]
}} 
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship = conference                                                                                                 
| season       = [[2022–23 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2022–23]]                                     
| name         = Tony Bennett                                                                                     
| overall      = 25–8                                                                                              
| conference   = 15–5                                                                                              
| confstanding = T–1st                                                                                               
| postseason   = [[2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA First Round]]
}}
{{CBB yearly record entry
| championship =                                                                                                 
| season       = [[2023–24 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2023–24]]                                     
| name         = Tony Bennett                                                                                     
| overall      = 23–11                                                                                              
| conference   = 13–7                                                                                              
| confstanding = 3rd                                                                                            
| postseason   = [[2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA First Four]]
}}                                                                                                                                                                       
{{CBB yearly record subtotal
| name       = [[Tony Bennett (basketball)|Tony Bennett]] 
| overall    = {{Winpct|364|136|record=y}} <!-- Through March 20, 2024 -->
| confrecord = {{Winpct|189|82|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB yearly record end
| overall    = {{Winpct|1742|1215|1|record=y}} <!-- Through March 20, 2024 -->
| conference = {{Winpct|513|553|record=y}}
}}

==Postseasons==

===NCAA tournament results===
The Cavaliers have appeared in the [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA tournament]] 26 times. Their combined record is 35–25. They were national champions in 2019.

{| class="wikitable"
{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=Virginia Cavaliers|Year|Seed/Region|Round|Opponent|Result}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1976 NCAA Division I basketball tournament|1976]] || East || First Round || DePaul || L 60–69 
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1981 NCAA Division I basketball tournament|1981]] || #1 East || Second Round<br>Sweet Sixteen<br>Elite Eight<br>Final Four<br>National Third Place || #9 Villanova<br>#4 Tennessee<br>#6 BYU<br>#2 (W) North Carolina<br>#1 (MW) LSU || '''W''' 54–40<br>'''W''' 62–48<br>'''W''' 74–60<br>L 65–78<br>'''W''' 78–74
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1982 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1982]] || #1 Mideast || Second Round<br>Sweet Sixteen || #9 Tennessee<br>#4 UAB || '''W''' 54–51<br>L 66–68
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1983]] || #1 West || Second Round<br>Sweet Sixteen<br>Elite Eight || #8 Washington State<br>#4 Boston College<br>#6 NC State || '''W''' 54–49<br>'''W''' 95–92<br>L 62–63
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1984 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1984]] || #7 East || First Round<br>Second Round<br>Sweet Sixteen<br>Elite Eight<br>Final Four || #10 Iona<br>#2 Arkansas<br>#3 Syracuse<br>#4 Indiana<br>#2 (MW) Houston || '''W''' 58–57<br>'''W''' 53–51<sup>OT</sup><br>'''W''' 63–55<br>'''W''' 50–48<br>L 47–49<sup>OT</sup>
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1986]] || #5 East || First Round || #12 DePaul || L 68–72
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1987]] || #5 West || First Round || #12 Wyoming || L 60–64
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1989]] || #5 Southeast || First Round<br>Second Round<br>Sweet Sixteen<br>Elite Eight || #12 Providence<br>#13 Middle Tennessee<br>#1 Oklahoma<br>#3 Michigan || '''W''' 100–97<br>'''W''' 104–88<br>'''W''' 86–80<br>L 65–102
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1990]] || #7 Southeast || First Round<br>Second Round || #10 Notre Dame<br>#2 Syracuse || '''W''' 75–67<br>L 61–63
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1991]] || #7 West || First Round || #10 BYU || L 48–61
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1993 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1993]] || #6 East || First Round<br>Second Round<br>Sweet Sixteen || #11 Manhattan<br>#3 Massachusetts<br>#2 Cincinnati || '''W''' 78–66<br>'''W''' 71–56<br>L 54–71
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1994]] || #7 West || First Round<br>Second Round || #10 New Mexico<br>#2 Arizona || '''W''' 57–54<br>L 58–71
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1995 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1995]] || #4 Midwest || First Round<br>Second Round<br>Sweet Sixteen<br>Elite Eight || #13 Nicholls State<br>#12 Miami (OH)<br>#1 Kansas<br>#2 Arkansas || '''W''' 96–72<br>'''W''' 60–54<sup>OT</sup><br>'''W''' 67–58<br>L 61–68
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1997]] || #9 West || First Round || #8 Iowa || L 60–73
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2001]] || #5 South || First Round || #12 Gonzaga || L 85–86
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2007 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2007]] || #4 South || First Round<br>Second Round || #13 Albany<br>#5 Tennessee || '''W''' 84–57<br>L 74–77
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2012]] || #10 West || First Round || #7 Florida || L 45–71
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2014]] || #1 East || Second Round<br>Third Round<br>Sweet Sixteen || #16 Coastal Carolina<br>#8 Memphis<br>#4 Michigan State || '''W''' 70–59<br>'''W''' 78–60<br>L 59–61
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2015 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2015]] || #2 East || Second Round<br>Third Round || #15 Belmont<br/>#7 Michigan State || '''W''' 79–67<br/> L 54–60
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2016]] || #1 Midwest || First Round<br/>Second Round<br/>Sweet Sixteen<br/>Elite Eight || #16 Hampton<br/>#9 Butler<br/>#4 Iowa State<br/>#10 Syracuse || '''W''' 81–45<br/> '''W''' 77–69<br/>'''W''' 84–71<br/>L 62–68
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2017]] || #5 East || First Round<br>Second Round || #12 UNC Wilmington<br />#4 Florida || '''W''' 76–71<br />L 39–65
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2018]] || #1 South || First Round || #16 UMBC || [[2018 UMBC vs. Virginia men's basketball game|L 54–74]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2019]] || #1 South || First Round<br>Second Round<br/>Sweet Sixteen<br>Elite Eight<br/>Final Four<br/>[[List of NCAA Division I men's basketball champions|National Championship]] || #16 Gardner–Webb<br />#9 Oklahoma<br />#12 Oregon <br/>#3 Purdue<br/>#5 (MW) Auburn<br/>#3 (W) Texas Tech || '''W''' 71–56<br />'''W''' 63–51<br /> '''W''' 53–49<br /> '''W''' 80–75<sup>OT</sup><br/>'''W''' 63–62<br/> [[2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game|'''W''' 85–77<sup>OT</sup>]]
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2021]] || #4 West || First Round || #13 Ohio || L 58–62
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2023]] || #4 South || First Round || #13 Furman || L 67–68
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2024]] || #10 Midwest || First Four || #10 Colorado State || L 42–67
|}

===NCAA Tournament seeding history===
Virginia is one of five [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]] programs to earn a No. 1 seed in the [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament]] seven or more times.<ref name=NCAA />

The NCAA began seeding the NCAA Tournament with the [[1979 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1979 edition]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ncaahistory.com/|title=Tourney History – NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship|access-date=August 6, 2008|publisher=ncaahistory.com}}</ref> The 64-team field started in [[1985 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1985]], which guaranteed that a championship team had to win six games.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/news/story?id=3481014|title=Counting down the most prestigious programs since 1984–85|access-date=August 6, 2008|date=July 21, 2008|publisher=ESPN|author=Shelton, Harold, Nick Loucks and Chris Fallica}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
!style="{{NCAA color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}};"|Years →
![[1981 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'81]]
![[1982 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'82]]
![[1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'83]]
![[1984 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'84]]
![[1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'86]]
![[1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'87]]
![[1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'89]]
![[1990 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'90]]
![[1991 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'91]]
![[1993 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'93]]
![[1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'94]]
![[1995 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'95]]
![[1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'97]]
![[2001 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'01]]
![[2007 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'07]]
![[2012 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'12]]
![[2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'14]]
![[2015 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'15]]
![[2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'16]]
![[2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'17]]
![[2018 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'18]]
![[2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'19]]
![[2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'21]]
![[2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'23]]
![[2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|'24]]
|- align=center
|  style="text-align:left; {{NCAA secondary color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}};"|'''Seeds →'''
|'''1'''||'''1'''||'''1'''||7||5||5||5||7||7||6||7||4||9||5||4||10||'''1'''||2||'''1'''||5||'''1'''||'''1'''||4||4||10
|}

===NIT results===
The Cavaliers have appeared in the [[National Invitation Tournament]] (NIT) 14 times. Their combined record is 19–12. They were NIT champions in 1980 and 1992.

{| class="wikitable"
{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=Virginia Cavaliers|Year|Round|Opponent|Result}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1941 National Invitation Tournament|1941]] || Quarterfinals || CCNY || L 35–64
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1972 National Invitation Tournament|1972]] || First Round || Lafayette || L 71–72
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1978 National Invitation Tournament|1978]] || First Round || Georgetown || L 68–70<sup>OT</sup>
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1979 National Invitation Tournament|1979]] || First Round<br>Second Round || Northeast Louisiana<br>Alabama || '''W''' 79–78<br>L 88–90
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1980 National Invitation Tournament|1980]] || First Round<br>Second Round<br>Quarterfinals<br>Semifinals<br>Final || Lafayette<br>Boston College<br>Michigan<br>UNLV<br>Minnesota || '''W''' 67–56<br>'''W''' 57–55<br>'''W''' 79–68<br>'''W''' 90–71<br>'''W''' 58–55
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1985 National Invitation Tournament|1985]] || First Round<br>Second Round<br>Quarterfinals || West Virginia<br>Saint Joseph's<br>Tennessee || '''W''' 56–55<br>'''W''' 68–61<br>L 54–61
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[1992 National Invitation Tournament|1992]] || First Round<br>Second Round<br>Quarterfinals<br>Semifinals<br>Final || Villanova<br>Tennessee<br>New Mexico<br>Florida<br>Notre Dame || '''W''' 83–80<br>'''W''' 77–52<br>'''W''' 76–71<br>'''W''' 62–56<br>'''W''' 81–76<sup>OT</sup>
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2000 National Invitation Tournament|2000]] || First Round || Georgetown || L 111–115<sup>3OT</sup>
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2002 National Invitation Tournament|2002]] || First Round || South Carolina || L 74–67
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2003 National Invitation Tournament|2003]] || First Round<br>Second Round || Brown<br>St. John's || '''W''' 89–73<br>L 63–73
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2004 National Invitation Tournament|2004]] || First Round<br>Second Round || George Washington<br>Villanova || '''W''' 79–66<br>L 63–73
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2006 National Invitation Tournament|2006]] || Opening Round || Stanford || L 49–65
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2013 National Invitation Tournament|2013]] || First Round<br>Second Round<br>Quarterfinals || Norfolk State<br>St. John's<br>Iowa || '''W''' 67–56<br>'''W''' 68–50<br>L 64–75
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2022 National Invitation Tournament|2022]] || First Round<br>Second Round<br>Quarterfinals || Mississippi State<br>North Texas<br>St. Bonaventure || '''W''' 60–57<br>'''W''' 71–69<sup>OT</sup><br>L 51–52
|}

===CBI results===
The Cavaliers appeared in the inaugural [[College Basketball Invitational]] (CBI), in [[2008 College Basketball Invitational|2008]]. Their record is 2–1.

{| class="wikitable"
{{CollegePrimaryHeader|team=Virginia Cavaliers|Year|Seed|Round|Opponent|Result}}
|- style="text-align:center;"
| [[2008 College Basketball Invitational|2008]] || #1 || First Round<br/>Quarterfinals<br/>Semifinals || Richmond<br/>Old Dominion<br/>Bradley || '''W''' 66–64<br/>'''W''' 80–76<br/>L 85–96
|}

==Rivalries==

===Annual Home-and-Away Series===

====Louisville Cardinals====
Following [[2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment|conference realignment]], the [[Louisville Cardinals men's basketball|Cardinals]] moved from the Big East to the ACC and were designated UVA's home-and-away rivals. The two teams had previously met for four straight years outside of their conferences in the 1980s during an era both programs were highly ranked. The Cavaliers won each of those games in 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1985. In the ACC, the two teams have acted as spoilers to the other with a Cardinal win in 2015 and a 2017 Cavalier win delaying or preventing an ACC regular season title, while an injury to star player [[Justin Anderson (basketball)|Justin Anderson]] during the 2015 matchup derailed UVA's national championship aspirations. The March 2018 matchup between the two teams ended with Virginia scoring five points in the final 0.9 seconds and dealing what proved to be a mortal blow to Louisville's NCAA tournament hopes. Both teams won recent NCAA Championships &mdash; Louisville in 2013 and Virginia in 2019. UVA leads the all-time series 16–5.

====Virginia Tech Hokies====
As the two [[Power 5 conferences|Power Conference]] teams in the Commonwealth, the Cavaliers and [[Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball|Hokies]] have a long-standing rivalry.  While the intensity has picked up since Virginia Tech joined the ACC in 2004, the all-time series record is well in favor of UVA, with the Cavaliers leading the series 95–56.

===Other rivalries===

====North Carolina Tar Heels====
As the two oldest universities of the ACC, the [[South's Oldest Rivalry|UVA–UNC]] rivalry spans many sports and has persisted to varying degrees since the late 1800s. The early 1980s were a particular highlight for the basketball series as all-time greats [[Ralph Sampson]] and [[Michael Jordan]] led two Top 5 programs of the era. The Tar Heels have dominated much of the all-time series and lead 131–60, but Virginia is 11–4 against the Heels since the Cavaliers began their rise back to national prominence under [[Tony Bennett (basketball)|Tony Bennett]] in the 2012–13 season. The two teams defeated each other for ACC Tournament Championships in 2016 and 2018, and the winner of those conference title matches went on to win NCAA Championships the following year (UNC in 2017 and UVA in 2019).

====Maryland Terrapins====
Thanks to the proximity of these two long-time ACC members, and their status as [[Tobacco Road (rivalry)|Tobacco Road]] outsiders, [[Maryland Terrapins men's basketball|Maryland]] and Virginia have a long-standing rivalry that spans many decades.  Traditionally, these two schools would meet in the last game of the season, and acted as spoilers to each other as they sought ACC season championships and NCAA Tournament appearances.  This rivalry has been diminished in recent{{when?|date=October 2024}} years, thanks to Maryland's move to the [[Big Ten Conference]]. They did match up in the 2014 and 2018 [[ACC-Big Ten Challenge]]s, ending in 76–65 and 76–71 victories both won by Virginia on the road in [[College Park, Maryland|College Park]].

==Coaches==
[[Image:Memorial Gymnasium, University of Virginia - 2006.jpg|right|250px|thumb|[[Memorial Gymnasium (Virginia)|Memorial Gym]], UVA's home court from 1924 until 1965]]
Virginia has had 12 head coaches lead the Cavaliers.<ref name="alltime">{{cite web |url=http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/va-m-baskbl-record-sched.html |title= All-Time Results  |website=VirginiaSports.com |access-date=1 January 2015}}</ref> The longest tenure was [[Henry Lannigan|Pop Lannigan]], who coached the team for 24 years starting in 1905.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Head coach 
! data-sort-type="number" | Years
! data-sort-type="number" | Win–loss
! data-sort-type="number" | Pct.
|-
|{{sortname|Henry|Lannigan}}||1905–1929||254–95–1||{{Winpct|254|95|1}}
|-
|{{sortname|Roy|Randall}}||1929–1930||3–12||{{Winpct|3|12}}
|-
|{{sortname|Gus|Tebell}}||1930–1951||241–190||{{Winpct|241|190}}
|-
|{{sortname|Evan "Bus"|Male|Evan Male}}||1951–1957||67–88||{{Winpct|67|88}}
|-
|{{sortname|Billy|McCann}}||1957–1963||40–106||{{Winpct|40|106}}
|-
|{{sortname|Bill|Gibson|dab=basketball}}||1963–1974||120–158||{{Winpct|120|158}}
|-
|{{sortname|Terry|Holland}}||1974–1990||326–173||{{Winpct|326|173}}
|-
|{{sortname|Jeff|Jones|dab=basketball}}||1990–1998||146–104||{{Winpct|146|104}}
|-
|{{sortname|Pete|Gillen}}||1998–2005||118–93||{{Winpct|118|93}}
|-
|{{sortname|Dave|Leitao}}||2005–2009||63–60||{{Winpct|63|60}}
|-
|{{sortname|Tony|Bennett|dab=basketball}}||2009–2024||'''364'''–136||'''{{Winpct|364|136}}'''
|-
|{{sortname|Ron|Sanchez}}||2024–Present||0–0||'''{{Winpct|0|0}}''' <!-- Current thru 2024 season -->
|}

==Statistics==
{| style="width:650px;" class="toccolours"
|-
! colspan="2" style="{{NCAA color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}}" | Overall<ref name="factbook_stats">{{cite web|title=2020–21 Virginia Men's Basketball Factbook |url=https://storage.googleapis.com/virginiasports-com/2020/12/3449df8c-2020-21-mbb-fact-book_website.pdf|pages=1–136|website=VIRGINIASPORTS.COM – Virginia Cavaliers Official Athletic Site|access-date=21 March 2021}}</ref>
|-
| style="width:40%;"| Years of basketball|| 118
|-
|First season|| 1905–06
|-
|Head coaches (all-time)|| 12
|-
! colspan="2" style="background:#002654; color:white;"| All Games<ref name="factbook_stats"/>
|-
|All-time record|| {{Winpct|1719|1204|1|record=y}}
|-
|20+ win seasons|| 29 ([[1927–28 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1928]], [[1971–72 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1972]], [[1977–78 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1978]], [[1979–80 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1980]], [[1980–81 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1981]], [[1981–82 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1982]], [[1982–83 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1983]], [[1983–84 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1984]], [[1986–87 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1987]], [[1988–89 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1989]], [[1989–90 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1990]], [[1990–91 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1991]], [[1991–92 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1992]], [[1992–93 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1993]], [[1994–95 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1995]], [[2000–01 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2001]], [[2006–07 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2007]], [[2011–12 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2012]], [[2012–13 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2013]], [[2013–14 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2014]], [[2014–15 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2015]], [[2015–16 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2016]], [[2016–17 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2017]], [[2017–18 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2018]], [[2018–19 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2019]], [[2019–20 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2020]], [[2021–22 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2022]], [[2022–23 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2023]],[[2023–24 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2024]])
|-
|30+ win seasons|| 5 ([[1981–82 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|1982]], [[2013–14 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2014]], [[2014–15 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2015]], [[2017–18 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2018]], [[2018-19 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team|2019]])
|-
! colspan="2" style="{{NCAA color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}}"| Home Games<ref name="factbook_stats"/>
|-
|[[John Paul Jones Arena]] (2006–present)|| {{Winpct|232|54|record=y}} <!-- Through 2023 season -->
|-
|[[University Hall (University of Virginia)|University Hall]] (1965–2006)|| {{Winpct|402|143|record=y}}
|-
|[[Memorial Gymnasium (Virginia)|Memorial Gymnasium]] (1924–1965)|| {{Winpct|279|157|record=y}}
|-
|Fayerweather Gymnasium (1905–1924)|| {{Winpct|134|19|record=y}}
|-
! colspan="2" style="{{NCAA color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}}"| Conference Games<ref name="factbook_stats"/>
|-
|[[Southern Conference]] Record (1921–1937) || {{Winpct|73|79|record=y}}
|-
|[[List of Southern Conference men's basketball champions|SoCon Regular Season Championship]] || 1 (1922)
|-
|ACC Record (1953–present) || {{Winpct|500|546|record=y}} <!-- Current thru 2023 season -->
|-
|[[List of Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball regular season champions|ACC Regular Season Championships]]|| 10 (1981, 1982, 1983, 1995, [[2006–07 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season|2007]], [[2013–14 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season|2014]], [[2014–15 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season|2015]], [[2017–18 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season|2018]], [[2018-19 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season|2019]], [[2020–21 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season|2021]], [[2022–23 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball season|2023]])
|-
|[[ACC men's basketball tournament|ACC tournament championships]]|| 3 ([[1976 ACC men's basketball tournament|1976]], [[2014 ACC men's basketball tournament|2014]], [[2018 ACC men's basketball tournament|2018]])
|-
|[[Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year|ACC Players of the Year]]|| 5 ([[Barry Parkhill|Parkhill]] 1972; [[Ralph Sampson|Sampson]] 1981, 1982, 1983; [[Malcolm Brogdon|Brogdon]] 2016)
|-
! colspan="2" style="{{NCAA color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}}"| NCAA Tournament
|-
|NCAA Appearances|| 26
|-
|NCAA W–L record|| {{Winpct|35|25|record=y}}
|-
|Sweet Sixteen|| 10 ([[1981 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1981]], [[1982 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1982]], [[1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1983]], [[1984 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1984]], [[1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1989]], [[1993 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1993]], [[1995 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|1995]], [[2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2014]], [[2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2016]], [[2019 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2019]])
|-
|Elite Eight|| 7 (1981, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1995, 2016, 2019)
|-
|Final Four|| 3 (1981, 1984, 2019)
|-
|National Championships || 1 ([[2019 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game|2019]])
|-
! colspan="2" style="{{NCAA color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}}"| National Invitation Tournament
|-
|NIT Appearances|| 14
|-
|NIT W–L record|| {{Winpct|19|12|record=y}}
|-
|NIT Championships|| 2 ([[1980 National Invitation Tournament|1980]], [[1992 National Invitation Tournament|1992]])
|-
! colspan="2" style="{{NCAA color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}}"| <small>''Accurate through 2023 season''</small> <!-- Update date here when updating this table -->
|}

==Individual honors==

===Notable alumni===

{| class="sortable toccolours"
|-
! data-sort-type="text" style="background:silver;"|Name
! data-sort-type="text" style="background:silver;"|Position
! data-sort-type="number" style="background:silver;"|Year
! data-sort-type="text" style="background:silver;"|Notes
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Cory|Alexander}}||PG||1995||[[1995 NBA draft]] 1st Round Pick—[[San Antonio Spurs]] (29th), [[Denver Nuggets]], [[Orlando Magic]], [[Charlotte Bobcats]]
|- 
|{{sortname|Justin|Anderson|dab=basketball}} ||G || 2015 ||[[2015 NBA draft]] 1st Round Pick—[[Dallas Mavericks]] (21st), [[Texas Legends]], [[Philadelphia 76ers]]
|-  style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Darion|Atkins}} ||F || 2015 ||[[New York Knicks]], [[Westchester Knicks]], [[Hapoel Holon]], [[SIG Basket]]
|-
|{{sortname|Malcolm|Brogdon}} ||G || 2016|| [[2016 NBA draft]] 2nd Round Pick–[[Milwaukee Bucks]] (36th). 2016-2017 [[NBA Rookie of the Year Award|NBA Rookie of the Year]]
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Junior|Burrough}} ||SF|| 1995|| [[Boston Celtics]], [[Charlotte Hornets]]
|- 
|{{sortname|Herb|Busch}} ||C|| 1959|| [[New York Knicks]]
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Rick|Carlisle}} ||PG|| 1984|| Player: Boston Celtics, New York Knicks, [[New Jersey Nets]]; Coach: Dallas Mavericks, [[Indiana Pacers]] 
|- 
|{{sortname|Steve|Castellan}} ||C|| 1979|| Boston Celtics
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|John|Crotty}} ||PG|| 1991|| Charlotte Hornets, [[Utah Jazz]], [[Cleveland Cavaliers]], [[Miami Heat]], [[Portland Trail Blazers]], [[Seattle SuperSonics]], [[Detroit Pistons]]
|- 
|{{sortname|Frank|DeWitt}} ||F|| 1972|| [[Buffalo Braves]]
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Kenton|Edelin}} ||C|| 1984|| Indiana Pacers
|-
|{{sortname|Mustapha|Farrakhan Jr.}} ||G|| 2011|| [[Bakersfield Jam]], [[Iowa Energy]], [[Sioux Falls Skyforce]], [[Idaho Stampede]], [[Melbourne Tigers]], [[Oklahoma City Blue]]
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Gus|Gerard}} ||C|| 1974|| [[Carolina Cougars]], [[Spirits of St. Louis|St Louis Spirits]], Denver Nuggets, Buffalo Braves, Detroit Pistons, [[Kansas City Kings]], San Antonio Spurs
|-
|{{sortname|Anthony|Gill|dab=basketball}} ||F|| 2016|| [[Yeşilgiresun Belediye]], [[BC Khimki]], [[Washington Wizards]]
|- style="background:#eee;"
|[[Kyle Guy]]
|G
|2019
|2019 Final Four Most Outstanding Player, [[2019 NBA draft]] 2nd round pick—[[Sacramento Kings]] (55th)
|-
|[[Devon Hall]]
|G
|2018
|[[2018 NBA draft]] 2nd round pick—[[Oklahoma City Thunder]] (53rd), [[Cairns Taipans]]
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Joe|Harris|dab=basketball}} ||G||  2014||  [[2014 NBA draft]] 2nd Round Pick—Cleveland Cavaliers (33rd), [[Canton Charge]], [[Brooklyn Nets]]
|-
|[[De'Andre Hunter]]
|F
|2019
|[[2019 NBA draft]] 1st round pick—[[Atlanta Hawks]] (4th)
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Marc|Iavaroni}} ||PF|| 1978|| Player: New York Knicks, Portland Trail Blazers, Philadelphia 76ers, San Antonio Spurs, Utah Jazz; Coach: [[Memphis Grizzlies]]
|-
|[[Ty Jerome]]
|G
|2019
|[[2019 NBA draft]] 1st round pick—[[Phoenix Suns]] (24th), [[Oklahoma City Thunder]]
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Jeff|Jones|dab=basketball coach}} ||PG|| 1982|| Player: Indiana Pacers, [[Golden State Warriors]]; Coach: Virginia, [[American Eagles men's basketball|American]], [[Old Dominion Monarchs basketball|Old Dominion]]
|-
|{{sortname|Andrew|Kennedy|dab=basketball}} ||F|| 1987|| Philadelphia 76ers, 1996 [[Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP]]
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Jeff|Lamp}} ||SG|| 1981|| [[1981 NBA draft]] 1st Round Pick—Portland Trail Blazers (5th), Indiana Pacers, [[Milwaukee Bucks]], [[Los Angeles Lakers]], San Antonio Spurs
|-
|{{sortname|Bill|Langloh}} ||G|| 1977|| Boston Celtics
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Lewis|Lattimore}} ||F|| 1981|| [[Milwaukee Bucks]]
|-
|{{sortname|Roger|Mason|dab=basketball}} ||SG|| 2002|| [[Chicago Bulls]], [[Toronto Raptors]], Washington Wizards, [[San Antonio Spurs]], New York Knicks, [[Miami Heat]]
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Scott|McCandlish}} ||C ||1972|| Portland Trail Blazers
|-
|{{sortname|Jim|Miller|dab=basketball}} ||F ||1985|| Utah Jazz
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Akil|Mitchell}} ||F|| 2014|| [[Houston Rockets]], [[Rio Grande Valley Vipers]], [[Olympique Antibes]], [[New Zealand Breakers]], [[Long Island Nets]], [[Maccabi Rishon LeZion (basketball)|Maccabi Rishon LeZion]]
|-
|{{sortname|Cornel|Parker}} ||G|| 1994|| Golden State Warriors
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Barry|Parkhill}} ||G|| 1973|| [[1973 NBA draft]] 1st Round Pick—Portland Trail Blazers (15th), [[Virginia Squires]], St Louis Spirits
|-
|{{sortname|London|Perrantes}}||G|| 2017|| San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland Cavaliers, [[Hapoel Gilboa Galil]] of the [[Israeli Basketball Premier League]]
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Olden|Polynice}} ||C|| 1987|| [[1987 NBA draft]] 1st Round Pick—Chicago Bulls (11th), Seattle SuperSonics, [[Los Angeles Clippers]], Detroit Pistons, [[Sacramento Kings]], Utah Jazz, Philadelphia 76ers
|-
|{{sortname|Lee|Raker}} ||F|| 1981|| [[Los Angeles Clippers#1978–1984: San Diego Clippers|San Diego Clippers]]
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|J.R.|Reynolds}}||PG|| 2007||[[Guerino Vanoli Basket]], [[ASVEL Basket]], [[NSB Napoli]], [[Cimberio Varese]], [[Orléans Loiret Basket]], [[Maine Red Claws]], [[BCM Gravelines]], [[Bnei HaSharon]], BCM Gravelines, [[Limoges CSP]], [[Budućnost Podgorica]], [[Stelmet Zielona Góra]], [[Torku Konyaspor]]
|-
|{{sortname|Craig|Robinson|nolink=1}} ||F|| 1983|| Boston Celtics
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Jamal|Robinson}} ||SF/SG|| 1997|| Portland Trail Blazers, Miami Heat
|-
|{{sortname|Ralph|Sampson}} ||C|| 1983|| [[1983 NBA draft]] 1st Round Pick—Houston Rockets (1st), Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, [[Washington Bullets]]
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Mike|Scott|dab=basketball}} ||PF|| 2012|| [[2012 NBA draft]] 2nd Round Pick—[[Atlanta Hawks]] (43rd), Washington Wizards
|-
|{{sortname|Tom|Sheehey}} ||F|| 1987|| Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Sean|Singletary}} ||PG|| 2008|| [[2008 NBA draft]] 2nd Round Pick—Sacramento Kings (42nd), [[Phoenix Suns]], [[Charlotte Bobcats]]
|-
|{{sortname|Curtis|Staples}} ||SG|| 1998|| Player: [[United States men's national basketball team]] ([[Basketball at the 1997 Summer Universiade|1997 Summer Universiade]]); Coach: [[Virginia Episcopal School]]
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Bryant|Stith}} ||SF|| 1992|| [[1992 NBA draft]] 1st Round Pick—Denver Nuggets (13th), Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers
|-
|{{sortname|Ricky|Stokes}} ||PG|| 1984 || Coach: [[Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball|Virginia Tech]], [[East Carolina Pirates men's basketball|East Carolina]]
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Mike|Tobey}} ||C|| 2016|| [[Greensboro Swarm]], Charlotte Hornets, [[Valencia BC]], [[CB 1939 Canarias]]
|-
|{{sortname|Wally|Walker}} ||SF|| 1976|| [[1976 NBA draft]] 1st Round Pick—Portland Trail Blazers (5th), Seattle SuperSonics, Houston Rockets
|- style="background:#eee;"
|{{sortname|Buzzy|Wilkinson}} ||G|| 1955|| Boston Celtics
|-
|{{sortname|Othell|Wilson}} ||PG|| 1984|| Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings
|- style="background:#eee;"
|}

===National honors===
[[File:University of Virginia University Hall.jpg|right|250px|thumb|[[University Hall (University of Virginia)|University Hall]], UVA's home court from 1965 until 2006]]
[[File:Ralph Sampson 2010.jpg|right|150px|thumb|[[Ralph Sampson]], Virginia's most decorated player]]

{|class="toccolours" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan="2" style="background:silver;"|[[Naismith College Player of the Year]]
|-
|1981||Ralph Sampson
|- style="background:#eee;"
|1982||Ralph Sampson
|-
|1983|| Ralph Sampson
|-
! colspan="2" style="background:silver;"|[[Oscar Robertson Trophy]]
|-
|1981||Ralph Sampson
|- style="background:#eee;"
|1982||Ralph Sampson
|-
|1983|| Ralph Sampson
|-
! colspan="2" style="background:silver;"|[[John R. Wooden Award]]
|-
|1982||Ralph Sampson
|- style="background:#eee;"
|1983||Ralph Sampson
|-
! colspan="2" style="background:silver;"|[[Adolph Rupp Trophy]]
|-
|1981||Ralph Sampson
|- style="background:#eee;"
|1982||Ralph Sampson
|-
|1983|| Ralph Sampson
|-
! colspan="2" style="background:silver;"|[[NABC Defensive Player of the Year]]
|-
|2016|| Malcolm Brogdon
|-
|2019|| De'Andre Hunter
|-
! colspan="2" style="background:silver;"|[[Lefty Driesell Award]]
|-
|2015|| Darion Atkins
|-
! colspan="2" style="background:silver;"|[[NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|All-American]]
|-
|[[1915 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|1915]]|| [[Bill Strickling|William Strickling]]
|- style="background:#eee;"
|[[1955 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|1955]]|| Buzzy Wilkinson
|-
|[[1972 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|1972]]|| Barry Parkhill
|- style="background:#eee;"
|[[1973 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|1973]]|| Barry Parkhill
|-
|[[1980 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|1980]]||Jeff Lamp & Ralph Sampson
|- style="background:#eee;"
|[[1981 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|1981]]||Jeff Lamp & Ralph Sampson{{ref|con|*}}
|-
|[[1982 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|1982]]|| Ralph Sampson{{ref|con|*}}
|- style="background:#eee;"
|[[1983 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|1983]]|| Ralph Sampson{{ref|con|*}}
|-
|[[2008 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|2008]]|| Sean Singletary{{ref|hm|**}}
|- style="background:#eee;"
|[[2012 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|2012]]|| Mike Scott
|-
|[[2015 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|2015]]|| Malcolm Brogdon & Justin Anderson
|- style="background:#eee;"
|[[2016 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans|2016]]|| Malcolm Brogdon{{ref|con|*}}
|-
|2018|| Kyle Guy
|- style="background:#eee;"
|2019|| Kyle Guy, [[De'Andre Hunter]] & [[Ty Jerome]]{{ref|hm|**}}
|-
! colspan="2" style="background:silver;"|[[Academic All-America]]n
|-
|1973|| Jim Hobgood
|- style="background:#eee;"
|1976|| Wally Walker
|-
|1980|| Lee Raker
|- style="background:#eee;"
|1981|| Jeff Lamp & Lee Raker
|}
:{{note|con|*}}Consensus First-Team All-American.
:{{note|hm|**}}AP Honorable-Mention All-American.

===Retired numbers===
{{main|List of NCAA men's basketball retired numbers}}
The Cavaliers have retired eight numbers to date:<ref name="brogdon_retired">{{cite press release |url=http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/121516aaa.html |title=Malcolm Brogdon's Number To Be Retired |publisher=[[Virginia Cavaliers]] |date=December 15, 2016 |access-date=December 15, 2016}}</ref>
{{multiple image
|align = 
|perrow = 
|total_width = 550
|image1 = Jeff_Lamp,_Duke_Chronicle_1981_All-ACC.jpg
|image2 = Malcolm_Brogdon_2014.jpg
|image3 = Barry Parkhill.jpg
|image4 = Wally Walker (1).png
|footer = Ftr: Jeff Lamp, Malcolm Brogdon, Barry Parkhill, and Wally Walker, whose numbers were retired by Virginia
}}
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
| colspan="5" style="{{NCAA color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}}"|'''Virginia Cavaliers retired numbers'''
|-
! style="width:40px; {{NCAA secondary color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}}"|No.
! style="width:150px; {{NCAA secondary color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}}"|Player
! style="width:60px; {{NCAA secondary color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}}"|Pos.
! style="width:100px; {{NCAA secondary color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}}"|Career
|-
| '''3''' || {{sortname|Jeff|Lamp}} || [[Shooting guard|SG]] || 1977–81 
|-
| '''14''' || {{sortname|Buzzy|Wilkinson}} || [[Guard (basketball)|G]] || 1951–54
|-
| '''15''' || {{sortname|Malcolm|Brogdon}} || [[Guard (basketball)|G]] || 2011–16
|-
| '''20''' || {{sortname|Bryant|Stith}} || [[Shooting guard|SG]] || 1988–92
|-
| '''40''' || {{sortname|Barry|Parkhill}} || [[Guard (basketball)|G]] || 1969–73
|-
| '''41''' || {{sortname|Wally|Walker}} || [[Forward (basketball)|F]] || 1972–76
|-
| '''44''' || {{sortname|Sean|Singletary}} || [[Point guard|PG]] || 2004–08
|-
| '''50''' || {{sortname|Ralph|Sampson}} || [[Center (basketball)|C]] || 1979–83
|}

===Retired jerseys===
The University of Virginia's athletic department has issued the following statement distinguishing "retired jerseys" from "retired numbers": "Jersey retirement honors Virginia players who have significantly impacted the program. Individuals recognized in this way will have their jerseys retired, but their number will remain active."<ref>[http://www.virginiasports.com/pdf7/136227.pdf?ATCLID=1565431&SPSID=88791&SPID=10606&DB_OEM_ID=17800 2008 Virginia Football Media Guide, page 175.] The University of Virginia has not released a similar policy statement regarding basketball jerseys, but the same "retired jerseys" terminology is being used as to both the football and basketball programs.</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
| colspan="5" style="{{NCAA color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}}"|'''Virginia Cavaliers retired jerseys'''
|-
! style="width:40px; {{NCAA secondary color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}}"|No.
! style="width:150px; {{NCAA secondary color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}}"|Player
! style="width:60px; {{NCAA secondary color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}}"|Pos.
! style="width:100px; {{NCAA secondary color cell|Virginia Cavaliers}}"|Career
|-
|'''5'''||{{sortname|Curtis|Staples}}||[[Shooting guard|SG]] || 1994–1998
|-
|'''44'''||{{sortname|Sean|Singletary}}||[[Point guard|PG]]|| 2004–2008
|}

=== All-time leaders ===
{{main|Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball statistical leaders}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website}}

{{Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball navbox}}
{{University of Virginia}}
{{Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball navbox}}

[[Category:Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball| ]]
[[Category:Basketball teams established in 1905]]
[[Category:1905 establishments in Virginia]]

[[it:Virginia Cavaliers (pallacanestro)]]