{"id":90239,"date":"2024-08-17T17:54:31","date_gmt":"2024-08-17T21:54:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=90239"},"modified":"2024-08-17T17:54:31","modified_gmt":"2024-08-17T21:54:31","slug":"virginia-basketball-preview-bennett-has-built-acc-juggernaut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/08\/17\/virginia-basketball-preview-bennett-has-built-acc-juggernaut\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia Basketball Preview: Bennett Has Built ACC Juggernaut"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tony Bennett<\/a> has UVA ready to win another ACC regular season championship. Let\u2019s observe the Cavaliers for a preview of their 2024-25 season. Bennett is second among active ACC coaches in career wins with 364, and only trails Leonard Hamilton<\/a> who has 443. However, Bennett has only 15 years in the conference whereas Hamilton has 22. At just 55 years of age, Bennett is far from done, and may soon solidify himself on the Mount Rushmore of ACC coaches. So just how good are the Cavaliers going to be this upcoming season?<\/p>\n

Virginia Basketball Preview: Bennett Has Built ACC Juggernaut<\/h2>\n

Roller Coaster 2023-24 Season<\/h3>\n

Virginia had an up-and-down 2023-24 season. Beating Texas A&M was a good momentum boost early on, but the Cavaliers sputtered as their in-conference schedule began. Specifically, their first ACC matchup resulted in a 22-point loss to a mediocre Notre Dame<\/a> squad. UVA then followed that up by losing to NC State<\/a> and Wake Forest<\/a>. Clearly, Bennett used these tough losses to fuel his guys as they rattled off an eight-game win streak. Unfortunately, the team was exposed in a 34-point loss to Virginia Tech. After that, it seemed as though they threw in the towel on the season. Virginia got bounced by red-hot NC State in the ACC Tournament, and suffered an embarrassing loss in the first four against Colorado State. With Reece Beekman<\/a> and Ryan Dunn<\/a> now in the NBA<\/a>, Bennett needs to figure out who his leaders will be.<\/p>\n

Bennett\u2019s Solid 2024 Transfer Class<\/h3>\n

TJ Power<\/a>, Dai Dai Ames<\/a>, Elijah Saunders<\/a>, Carter Lang<\/a>, and Jalen Warley<\/a> are all members of Virginia\u2019s 2024 transfer class. Power is considered one of the top transfers<\/a> in the ACC. The sharpshooter received limited playing time in his freshman year at Duke<\/a>, but he should see more minutes in Charlottesville. Ames has transferred to UVA after one season at Kansas State. The Chicago native led KSU in scoring in the Wildcats\u2019 season finale<\/a> against Iowa, scoring 16 points and dishing out five assists. Transferring in from SDSU, Saunders\u2019s minutes fluctuated during the Aztecs\u2019 2023-24 season, and he\u2019ll look to have a more consistent role under Bennett. Lang, a Charlottesville native, is transferring from Vanderbilt and will be a walk-on for the Cavaliers. Warley will join Virginia after three seasons at FSU. In Warley\u2019s junior year, the former Seminole was 10th in the ACC in steal percentage at 2.9%.<\/p>\n