2020–21 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represented the University of Virginia during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Tony Bennett in his 12th year and played their home games at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. In a season limited by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they finished the season 18–7, 13–4 in ACC play to win their fifth regular season championship in eight seasons. They defeated Syracuse in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament before they were forced to withdraw from the tournament due to COVID-19 issues. They received a bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 4 seed in the West region. They were upset in the First Round by Ohio.

2020–21 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
ACC Regular Season champions
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 24
AP	No. 15
Record	18–7 (13–4 ACC)
Head coach	Tony Bennett (12th season)
Associate head coach	Jason Williford (12th season)
Assistant coaches	Brad Soderberg (6th season) Orlando Vandross (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Blocker-Mover
Base defense	Pack-Line
Home arena	John Paul Jones Arena
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 ACC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 15 Virginia	13	–	4		.765			18	–	7		.720
No. 14 Florida State	11	–	4		.733			18	–	7		.720
No. 25 Virginia Tech	9	–	4		.692			15	–	7		.682
Georgia Tech †	11	–	6		.647			17	–	9		.654
Clemson	10	–	6		.625			16	–	8		.667
North Carolina	10	–	6		.625			18	–	11		.621
Louisville	8	–	5		.615			13	–	7		.650
Syracuse	9	–	7		.563			18	–	10		.643
NC State	9	–	8		.529			14	–	11		.560
Duke	9	–	9		.500			13	–	11		.542
Notre Dame	7	–	11		.389			11	–	15		.423
Pittsburgh	6	–	10		.375			10	–	12		.455
Miami (FL)	4	–	15		.211			10	–	17		.370
Wake Forest	3	–	15		.167			6	–	16		.273
Boston College	2	–	11		.154			4	–	16		.200
† 2021 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Cavaliers finished the 2019–20 season 23–7, 15–5 in ACC play to finish in a three-way tie for second place. The team was scheduled to play Notre Dame in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament before the tournament was canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.^[1] The NCAA tournament was also later canceled due to the pandemic.^[2]

Offseason

Departures

Virginia departures

	Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Braxton Key	2	F	6'8"	230	Senior	Charlotte, NC	Graduated
Mamadi Diakite	25	F	6'9"	224	Senior	Conakry, Guinea	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Virginia Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school	Years remaining	Date eligible
Trey Murphy III	25	F	6'9"	206	Junior	Durham, NC	Rice	3^[a]	October 1, 2020^[4]^[5]

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Carson McCorkle SG	Greensboro, NC	Greensboro Day School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	177 lb (80 kg)	Sep 21, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 80
Reece Beekman PG	Baton Rouge, LA	Scotlandville Magnet High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	168 lb (76 kg)	Jun 13, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 86
Jabri Abdur-Rahim SF	South Orange, NJ	Blair Academy	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	Jul 10, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 88
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 19  247Sports: 19  ESPN: 16
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Virginia 2020 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 19, 2020. "2020 Virginia Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved July 19, 2020. "2020 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 19, 2020. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 19, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 19, 2020. "Virginia 2020 Basketball Commitments". 247sports.com. Retrieved July 19, 2020.

Roster

Players

2020–21 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Kihei Clark 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Taft Charter Woodland Hills, CA   G/F 1 Jabri Abdur-Rahim 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 214 lb (97 kg) Fr Blair Academy South Orange, NJ   G 2 Reece Beekman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 174 lb (79 kg) Fr Scotlandville Magnet Baton Rouge, LA   F 4 Justin McKoy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Panther Creek Cary, NC   G 5 Jayden Nixon (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 187 lb (85 kg) Jr Choate Rosemary Hall Charlottesville, VA   F 10 Sam Hauser 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 218 lb (99 kg) RS Sr SPASH Marquette Stevens Point, WI   G 11 Malachi Poindexter (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Fr St. Anne's-Belfield School Mineral, VA   G 12 Chase Coleman (W) 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 157 lb (71 kg) So Maury Norfolk, VA   G 13 Casey Morsell 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 196 lb (89 kg) So St. John's College Fort Washington, MD   F/C 21 Kadin Shedrick 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 216 lb (98 kg) RS Fr Holly Springs Raleigh, NC   C 22 Francisco Cáffaro 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS So NBA Global Academy Santa Fe, Argentina   G/F 23 Kody Stattmann 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 204 lb (93 kg) Jr St. Augustine's College Bentley Park, Queensland, Australia   F 24 Austin Katstra (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr Albemarle Charlottesville, VA   G/F 25 Trey Murphy III 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Jr Cary Academy Rice Durham, NC   F/C 30 Jay Huff 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Sr Voyager Academy Durham, NC   G 33 Carson McCorkle 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Fr Greensboro Day School Greensboro, NC   G 53 Tomas Woldetensae 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 197 lb (89 kg) Sr Victory Rock Prep Indian Hills CC Bologna, Italy	Head coach Tony Bennett Assistant coach(es) Jason Williford Brad Soderberg Orlando Vandross Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: August 2, 2020

Coaching staff

Virginia Coaching Staff

Name	Position	Year with position	Year on coaching staff	Alma mater
Tony Bennett	Head Coach	12	12	UW-Green Bay
Jason Williford	Associate Head Coach	3	12	Virginia
Brad Soderberg	Assistant Coach	6	6	UW-Stevens Point
Orlando Vandross	Assistant Coach	3	6	American International
Kyle Getter	Director of Recruiting/Player Development	3	3	Hanover
Larry Mangino	Director of Scouting/Recruiting	5	5	Montclair State
Johnny Carpenter	Director of Player Personnel	3	6	Virginia
Mike Curtis	Strength and Conditioning Coach	12	12	Virginia
Ethan Saliba	Head Athletic Trainer	23	38	Kansas
Ronnie Wideman	Associate AD for Basketball Administration/Operations	11	12	Washington State

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Bench 3
C	Jay Huff		Francisco Caffaro	Austin Katstra
PF	Sam Hauser	Justin McKoy	Kadin Shedrick	Jayden Nixon
SF	Trey Murphy III	Tomas Woldetensae	Kody Stattmann	Carson McCorkle
SG	Reece Beekman	Casey Morsell	Jabri Abdur-Rahim	Malachi Poindexter
PG	Kihei Clark			Chase Coleman

Schedule and results

Along with Kansas, UCLA, and Georgetown, UVA was supposed to play in the early-season Wooden Legacy in Anaheim, CA, but withdrew due to COVID-19.

Games that were canceled due to COVID-19 issues include:

• (11/25/20) vs. Maine (Bubbleville)
• (11/27/20) vs. Florida (Bubbleville)
• (12/9/20) Michigan State (ACC-B1G Challenge)
• (12/16/20) at Wake Forest
• (12/19/20) vs. Villanova (Holiday Hoops Classic)
• (1/2/21) Virginia Tech (Commonwealth Clash)
• (3/12/21) vs. Georgia Tech (ACC tournament)

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 25, 2020* 1:30 pm, FloHoops	No. 4	vs. Towson Bubbleville	W 89–54	1–0	21 – Murphy III	8 – Hauser	3 – Tied	Mohegan Sun Arena (0) Uncasville, CT
November 27, 2020* 11:30 am, ESPN	No. 4	vs. San Francisco HomeLight Classic	L 60–61	1–1	11 – Tied	7 – Huff	2 – Clark	Mohegan Sun Arena (0) Uncasville, CT
December 1, 2020* 4:00 pm, ACCN	No. 15	Saint Francis	W 76–51	2–1	13 – Huff	8 – Shedrick	4 – Tied	John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA
December 4, 2020* 6:00 pm, ACCN	No. 15	Kent State	W 71–64 ^OT	3–1	18 – Tied	11 – Huff	4 – Hauser	John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA
December 22, 2020* 2:00 pm, ACCN	No. 16	William & Mary Makeup from Dec. 13 postponement	W 76–40	4–1	15 – Murphy III	7 – Shedrick	4 – Tied	John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA
December 26, 2020* 4:00 pm, CBS	No. 16	vs. No. 1 Gonzaga	L 75–98	4–2	19 – Clark	6 – Huff	4 – Tied	Dickies Arena (2,795) Fort Worth, TX
ACC Regular Season
December 30, 2020 6:00 pm, ACCN	No. 23	at Notre Dame	W 66–57	5–2 (1–0)	19 – Clark	10 – Hauser	5 – Clark	Purcell Pavilion (86) South Bend, IN
January 6, 2021 9:00 pm, ACCRSN	No. 22	Wake Forest	W 70–61	6–2 (2–0)	16 – Hauser	11 – Hauser	3 – Tied	John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA
January 9, 2021 2:00 pm, ACCN	No. 22	at Boston College	W 61–49	7–2 (3–0)	18 – Huff	10 – Hauser	3 – Tied	Conte Forum (0) Chestnut Hill, MA
January 13, 2021 4:30 pm, ACCN	No. 18	Notre Dame	W 80–68	8–2 (4–0)	18 – Huff	9 – Hauser	6 – Clark	John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA
January 16, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN	No. 18	at No. 12 Clemson	W 85–50	9–2 (5–0)	14 – Tied	8 – Hauser	6 – Beekman	Littlejohn Coliseum (1,876) Clemson, SC
January 23, 2021 8:00 pm, ACCN	No. 13	Georgia Tech	W 64–62	10–2 (6–0)	22 – Hauser	6 – Hauser	8 – Clark	John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA
January 25, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 8	Syracuse	W 81–58	11–2 (7–0)	21 – Tied	12 – Huff	9 – Clark	John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA
January 30, 2021 6:00 pm, ACCN	No. 8	at No. 20 Virginia Tech Commonwealth Clash	L 51–65	11–3 (7–1)	13 – Huff	6 – Murphy III	3 – Beekman	Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA
February 3, 2021 9:00 pm, ACCN	No. 14	at NC State	W 64–57	12–3 (8–1)	18 – Tied	6 – Huff	6 – Clark	PNC Arena (25) Raleigh, NC
February 6, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN	No. 14	Pittsburgh	W 73–66	13–3 (9–1)	23 – Hauser	8 – Huff	8 – Clark	John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA
February 10, 2021 7:00 pm, ACCRSN	No. 9	at Georgia Tech	W 57–49	14–3 (10–1)	18 – Murphy III	10 – Hauser	6 – Clark	McCamish Pavilion (1,200) Atlanta, GA
February 13, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN	No. 9	North Carolina	W 60–48	15–3 (11–1)	18 – Huff	12 – Huff	7 – Beekman	John Paul Jones Arena (250) Charlottesville, VA
February 15, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 7	at No. 16 Florida State	L 60–81	15–4 (11–2)	13 – Murphy III	5 – Tied	4 – Clark	Donald L. Tucker Center (2,950) Tallahassee, FL
February 20, 2021 8:00 pm, ESPN	No. 7	at Duke	L 65–66	15–5 (11–3)	20 – Huff	12 – Huff	3 – Hauser	Cameron Indoor Stadium (0) Durham, NC
February 24, 2021 6:30 p.m., ACCN	No. 15	NC State Makeup from Jan. 20 postponement	L 61–68	15–6 (11–4)	21 – Hauser	11 – Huff	7 – Clark	John Paul Jones Arena (0) Charlottesville, VA
March 1, 2021 6:00 pm, ACCN	No. 21	Miami Senior Night	W 62–51	16–6 (12–4)	18 – Hauser	7 – Huff	5 – Clark	John Paul Jones Arena (0) Charlottesville, VA
March 6, 2021 4:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 21	at Louisville	W 68–58	17–6 (13–4)	24 – Hauser	8 – Hauser	4 – Beekman	KFC Yum! Center (4,812) Louisville, KY
ACC Tournament
March 11, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPN2	(1) No. 16	vs. (8) Syracuse Quarterfinals	W 72–69	18–6	21 – Hauser	12 – Huff	6 – Clark	Greensboro Coliseum (2,820) Greensboro, NC
March 12, 2021 6:30 pm, ESPN2	(1) No. 16	vs. (4) Georgia Tech Semifinals	Withdrew from tournament due to COVID-19 positive test					Greensboro Coliseum  Greensboro, NC
NCAA tournament
March 20, 2021 7:15 pm, truTV	(4 W) No. 15	vs. (13 W) Ohio first round	L 58–62	18–7	15 – Hauser	9 – Hauser	3 – Tied	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall  Bloomington, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source^[6][7]

Rankings

See also: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	4 (1)	15	18	17	16	23	22	18	13	8	14	9	7	15	21	16	15	Not released
Coaches	4	4^	18	16	15	24т	21	22	12	8	15	9	8	14	20	15	15	24

^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

Notes

1. Murphy was initially eligible for 2 years. However, on October 14, 2020, the NCAA granted an additional year of eligibility for all athletes who participate in a winter sport in 2020–21, including basketball.^[3]

References

1. "Statement from ACC on men's basketball tournament". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
2. "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships". from the original on 2020-03-12.
3. "DI Council extends eligibility for winter sport student-athletes" (Press release). NCAA. October 14, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
4. "Virginia Lands Transfer Trey Murphy III". Virginia Sports. April 16, 2020.
5. "Rice transfer guard Trey Murphy III commits to Virginia". The Cavalier Daily. April 14, 2020.
6. "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". virginiasports.com. University of Virginia Athletics. Retrieved November 27, 2020.
7. "2020-21 Virginia Cavaliers Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved 2020-12-09.

^[1]

1. "Virginia Cavaliers Roster". ESPN. from the original on 2016-08-14. Retrieved September 27, 2020.