Albeit in defeat, junior guard Armaan Franklin paced the Cavaliers with fourteen points while sophomore guard Reece Beekman showed promise once again on both sides of the ball.
Virginia once again faltered due to offensive stagnancy for several important minutes, giving way to a 13-point Wake Forest run late in the second half.
Leading scorer senior forward Jayden Gardner was uncharacteristically quiet, but junior center Francisco Caffaro stepped up with the game of his life, scoring a career-high 16 points to keep the Hokies from their first ACC victory.
The Cavaliers simply could not get anything going in the second half offensively, making just one field goal over a span of about 17 minutes.
The Cavaliers — playing in their last non-conference matchup before the ACC slate — benefited from their depth in a blowout victory against a winless opponent.
After sputtering through their first 10 games, the Cavaliers still have yet to find their identity. There have been lots of ups and downs, and Bennett’s squad has some work to do.
After clawing back from an early 21-point deficit to the Hawkeyes (7-0, 0-0 Big Ten), the Cavaliers (5-3, 0-0 ACC) witnessed a jumper from senior Iowa guard Joe Toussaint fall through the net to end any dreams of a triumphant comeback.
Junior guard Armaan Franklin and senior forward Jayden Gardner — the two notable transfers for this new-look Cavalier team — have established themselves as the clear-cut scorers for a roster that requires offensive energy at times.
The Cavaliers (2-2, 0-0 ACC) once again reached deep into its bench against the Eagles (1-6, 0-0 MEAC), with Coach Tony Bennett employing various rotations featuring some newcomers.
This will hopefully be a learning experience for a new Virginia roster — one which resembles the 69-40 defeat at Purdue in 2019 or the 98-75 blowout versus Gonzaga in 2020. Most rosters under Bennett have clawed their way back from early losses, and time will tell if this team can rebound from a less than stellar start to the season.
The Cavaliers used a well-rounded offense and a stout defense to defeat the Highlanders, looking like a completely different team from the one that took the same floor Tuesday night against Navy.
The Cavaliers (0-1, 0-0 ACC) could not overcome the hot shooting of the Midshipmen (1-0, 0-0 Patriot League) and struggled to gain offensive momentum as the second half ticked away.
After a solid 2020-2021 season with the ever-reliable Coach Tony Bennett at the helm, a flood of names both exited and entered the Virginia men's basketball program
Matchups against Houston, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Duke are some of the highlights of the upcoming men's basketball season.
What many may not know about Virginia basketball is that multiple Cavaliers bridge international waters — most recently, with four of them competing in the Olympics.
The Durham, N.C. native played three seasons in the college ranks — two with Rice and one with Virginia — before declaring for the NBA Draft in mid-April.
A revolving door is a dangerous precedent to set for the culture of the team, and Bennett should look to pull it out by the hinges after this offseason.
Two Cavaliers have been permanently honored by the men's basketball program, but who should be next?
From Allen Iverson cornrows to the Kyle Guy-esque man bun to a more natural look, Clark's hair this past season was anything but consistent.
After two seasons at Virginia, sophomore guard Casey Morsell will be looking to become a part of another college basketball program.
