2015–16 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

2015–16 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
Charleston Classic champions
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	#5
AP	#4
2015–16 record	29–8 (13–5 ACC)
Head coach	Tony Bennett (7th year)
Associate head coach	Ron Sanchez (7th year)
Assistant coach	Jason Williford (7th year)
Assistant coach	Brad Soderberg (1st year)
Offensive scheme	Blocker-Mover
Base defense	Pack line
Home stadium	John Paul Jones Arena

2015–16 ACC men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 3 North Carolina †	14	–	4		.778			33	–	7		.825
No. 4 Virginia	13	–	5		.722			29	–	8		.784
No. 10 Miami (FL)	13	–	5		.722			27	–	8		.771
No. 16 Louisville*	12	–	6		.667			23	–	8		.742
Notre Dame	11	–	7		.611			24	–	12		.667
No. 19 Duke	11	–	7		.611			25	–	11		.694
Virginia Tech	10	–	8		.556			20	–	15		.571
Clemson	10	–	8		.556			17	–	14		.548
Pittsburgh	9	–	9		.500			21	–	12		.636
Syracuse	9	–	9		.500			23	–	14		.622
Georgia Tech	8	–	10		.444			21	–	15		.583
Florida State	8	–	10		.444			20	–	14		.588
NC State	5	–	13		.278			16	–	17		.485
Wake Forest	2	–	16		.111			11	–	20		.355
Boston College	0	–	18		.000			7	–	25		.219
*Ineligible for both the 2016 ACC tournament and the 2016 NCAA tournament due to self-imposed postseason ban.
† 2016 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2015–16 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represented the University of Virginia during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, in their 111th season of play. The team was led by head coach Tony Bennett, in his seventh year, and played their home games at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 29–8, 13–5 in ACC play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated Georgia Tech and Miami (FL) to advance to the championship game of the ACC tournament where they lost to North Carolina. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a #1 seed where they defeated Hampton, Butler, and Iowa State to advance to the Elite Eight where they lost to fellow ACC member Syracuse.

Last season

The Cavaliers finished the 2014–15 season with a record of 30–4 overall and 16–2 in conference play, finishing in first place in the ACC for the second straight season. Despite their best regular season record in school history of 28–2, and reaching their highest national ranking since 1983, they fell in the semifinals of the ACC tournament to North Carolina, and in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 to Michigan State.

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Justin Anderson	1	G	6'6"	228	Junior	Montross, Virginia	2015 NBA draft/Dallas Mavericks
B. J. Stith	2	G	6'5"	205	Freshman	Lawrenceville, Virginia	Transferred to Old Dominion
Darion Atkins	5	F	6'8"	241	Senior	Clinton, Maryland	Graduated/2015 NBA draft
Maleek Frazier	22	G	5'10"	170	Senior	Charlottesville, Virginia	Graduated
Rob Vozenilek	23	G	6'2"	190	Senior	Richmond, Virginia	Graduated

Coaching changes

On April 1, 2015, associate head coach Ritchie McKay announced that he would be re-taking the head coaching job at Liberty, which he previously held from 2007 to 2009 until coming to Virginia. On April 17, Lindenwood head coach Brad Soderberg was hired. Soderberg had previously served as an assistant at Wisconsin alongside Tony Bennett's father Dick, and was interim head coach following the latter's retirement in 2000. On July 2, 2015, Ron Sanchez was promoted to associate head coach.

Class of 2015 signees

Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jarred Reuter PF	Marion, MA	Brewster Academy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	August 2, 2014
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 80
Mamadi Diakite PF	Conakry, Guinea	Blue Ridge School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	August 4, 2015
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 85
Overall recruiting rankings:
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:

Diakite originally committed to the class of 2016, but at the time of his commitment stated that there was an "80-percent chance" that he could reclassify to 2015 and redshirt. On September 3, Bennett announced that Diakite was eligible to join the program.

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Austin Nichols	1	F	6'9"	228	Junior	Collierville, TN	Transferred from Memphis. Under NCAA transfer rules, Nichols must redshirt for the 2015–16 season. After this season he will have two years of remaining eligibility.

Roster

2015–16 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year High school/previous college Home town G 0 Devon Hall 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 209 lb (95 kg) RS So Cape Henry Collegiate Virginia Beach, Virginia F 1 Austin Nichols (I)  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 232 lb (105 kg) Jr Briarcrest Christian/Memphis Collierville, Tennessee G 2 Justice Bartley (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 209 lb (95 kg) Fr Montrose Christian School Lilburn, Georgia G 4 Marial Shayok 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 209 lb (95 kg) So Blair Academy Ottawa, Ontario F/C 10 Mike Tobey 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Sr Blair Academy Monroe, New York F 11 Evan Nolte 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 228 lb (103 kg) Sr Milton HS Milton, Georgia F 13 Anthony Gill 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Charlotte Christian/South Carolina High Point, North Carolina G 15 Malcolm Brogdon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Greater Atlanta Christian Norcross, Georgia F 21 Isaiah Wilkins 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Greater Atlanta Christian Atlanta, Georgia F 24 Caid Kirven (W) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 228 lb (103 kg) Sr Woodberry Forest Raleigh, North Carolina F 25 Mamadi Diakite  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Blue Ridge School Conakry, Guinea F 31 Jarred Reuter 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 243 lb (110 kg) Fr Brewster Academy Marion, Massachusetts G 32 London Perrantes 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 192 lb (87 kg) Jr Crespi Carmelite HS Los Angeles, California C 33 Jack Salt 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS Fr Westlake Boys HS Auckland, New Zealand F 34 Jeff Jones (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Jr St. Anne's-Belfield Charlottesville, Virginia G 51 Darius Thompson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 196 lb (89 kg) RS So Blackman HS/Tennessee Murfreesboro, Tennessee	Head coach Tony Bennett (Green Bay) Assistant coach(es) Ron Sanchez (SUNY-Oneonta) Brad Soderberg (UW–Stevens Point) Jason Williford (Virginia) Strength and conditioning coach(es) Mike Curtis (Virginia) Athletic trainer(s) Ethan Saliba (Kansas) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: September 24, 2015

Depth chart

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2	Bench 3
C
PF
SF
SG
PG	London Perrantes	Darius Thompson

Schedule

Date Time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (Attendance) City, State
Non-conference regular season
Nov 13, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3	#6	Morgan State	86–48	1–0	15 – Tobey	8 – Tobey	4 – Tied	John Paul Jones Arena (14,034) Charlottesville, Virginia
Nov 16, 2015* 7:30 pm, ESPN2	#6	at George Washington College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon	68–73	1–1	28 – Brogdon	8 – Brogdon	4 – Brogdon	Charles E. Smith Center (5,025) Washington, D.C.
Nov 19, 2015* 9:30 pm, ESPN2	#6	vs. Bradley Charleston Classic Quarterfinal	82–57	2–1	16 – Gill	7 – Gill	8 – Perrantes	TD Arena (3,437) Charleston, South Carolina
Nov 20, 2015* 9:30 pm, ESPNU	#6	vs. Long Beach State Charleston Classic Semifinal	87–52	3–1	17 – Shayok	6 – Reuter	7 – Brogdon	TD Arena (3,417) Charleston, South Carolina
Nov 22, 2015* 9:30 pm, ESPN2	#6	vs. George Mason Charleston Classic Championship	83–66	4–1	21 – Brogdon	8 – Tobey	11 – Perrantes	TD Arena (2,820) Charleston, South Carolina
Nov 25, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3	#12	Lehigh	80–54	5–1	23 – Brogdon	5 – Tied	8 – Perrantes	John Paul Jones Arena (14,220) Charlottesville, Virginia
Dec 1, 2015* 7:30 pm, ESPN	#10	at Ohio State ACC–Big Ten Challenge	64–58	6–1	22 – Brogdon	7 – Gill	6 – Thompson	Value City Arena (12,445) Columbus, Ohio
Dec 5, 2015* 2:00 pm, RSN	#10	William & Mary	67–52	7–1	16 – Tied	7 – Gill	3 – Shayok	John Paul Jones Arena (14,105) Charlottesville, Virginia
Dec 8, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN	#10	vs. #14 West Virginia Jimmy V Classic	70–54	8–1	20 – Gill	12 – Gill	4 – Perrantes	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Dec 19, 2015* Noon, ESPN2	#8	#12 Villanova	86–75	9–1	22 – Gill	7 – Tied	6 – Brogdon	John Paul Jones Arena (14,593) Charlottesville, Virginia
Dec 22, 2015* 9:00 pm, ESPN2	#5	California	63–62 OT	10–1	17 – Gill	7 – Wilkins	6 – Perrantes	John Paul Jones Arena (13,265) Charlottesville, Virginia
Dec 30, 2015* 6:00 pm, ESPNU	#5	Oakland	71–58	11–1	17 – Gill	8 – Wilkins	5 – Brogdon	John Paul Jones Arena (14,465) Charlottesville, Virginia
ACC regular season
Jan 2, 2016 5:00 pm, ESPN2	#5	Notre Dame	77–66	12–1 (1–0)	24 – Brogdon	6 – Tied	5 – Perrantes	John Paul Jones Arena (14,389) Charlottesville, Virginia
Jan 4, 2016 9:00 pm, ESPN2	#4	at Virginia Tech Commonwealth Clash	68–70	12–2 (1–1)	22 – Perrantes	8 – Tied	4 – Brogdon	Cassell Coliseum (6,157) Blacksburg, Virginia
Jan 9, 2016 2:00 pm, ACCN	#4	at Georgia Tech	64–68	12–3 (1–2)	19 – Brogdon	7 – Tobey	4 – Perrantes	Hank McCamish Pavilion (8,073) Atlanta, Georgia
Jan 12, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPNU	#13	#8 Miami (FL)	66–58	13–3 (2–2)	20 – Brogdon	8 – Gill	3 – Tied	John Paul Jones Arena (13,495) Charlottesville, Virginia
Jan 17, 2016 6:30 pm, ESPNU	#13	at Florida State	62–69	13–4 (2–3)	19 – Perrantes	5 – Brogdon	5 – Brogdon	Donald L. Tucker Center (9,158) Tallahassee, Florida
Jan 19, 2016 9:00 pm, ACCN	#13	Clemson	69–62	14–4 (3–3)	20 – Brogdon	6 – Tied	4 – Tied	John Paul Jones Arena (14,398) Charlottesville, Virginia
Jan 24, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2	#13	Syracuse	73–65	15–4 (4–3)	21 – Brogdon	8 – Gill	7 – Perrantes	John Paul Jones Arena (13,305) Charlottesville, Virginia
Jan 26, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3	#11	at Wake Forest	72–71	16–4 (5–3)	28 – Brogdon	7 – Brogdon	5 – Perrantes	LJVM Coliseum (9,221) Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Jan 30, 2016 1:00 pm, CBS	#11	at #16 Louisville	63–47	17–4 (6–3)	13 – Tied	6 – Gill	5 – Perrantes	KFC Yum! Center (21,714) Louisville, Kentucky
Feb 3, 2016 7:00 pm, RSN	#9	Boston College	61–47	18–4 (7–3)	27 – Brogdon	11 – Gill	4 – Perrantes	John Paul Jones Arena (14,310) Charlottesville, Virginia
Feb 6, 2016 Noon, ACCN	#9	at Pittsburgh	64–50	19–4 (8–3)	21 – Brogdon	7 – Wilkins	5 – Wilkins	Petersen Events Center (12,508) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Feb 9, 2016 8:00 pm, ACCN	#7	Virginia Tech Commonwealth Clash	67–49	20–4 (9–3)	16 – Gill	5 – Tied	5 – Hall	John Paul Jones Arena (14,395) Charlottesville, Virginia
Feb 13, 2016 4:30 pm, ESPN	#7	at Duke	62–63	20–5 (9–4)	18 – Brogdon	5 – Tied	4 – Shayok	Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, North Carolina
Feb 15, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN	#7	NC State	73–53	21–5 (10–4)	22 – Brogdon	13 – Wilkins	5 – Tied	John Paul Jones Arena (14,016) Charlottesville, Virginia
Feb 22, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN	#3	at #12 Miami (FL)	61–64	21–6 (10–5)	28 – Brogdon	10 – Gill	7 – Perrantes	BankUnited Center (7,016) Coral Gables, Florida
Feb 27, 2016 6:30 pm, ESPN	#3	#7 North Carolina ESPN College GameDay	79–74	22–6 (11–5)	26 – Brogdon	9 – Gill	6 – Perrantes	John Paul Jones Arena (14,593) Charlottesville, Virginia
Mar 1, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPNU	#4	at Clemson	64–57	23–6 (12–5)	18 – Brogdon	10 – Gill	4 – Perrantes	Bon Secours Wellness Arena (9,626) Greenville, South Carolina
Mar 5, 2016 8:30 pm, ESPN	#4	#11 Louisville	68–46	24–6 (13–5)	17 – Brogdon	20 – Tobey	4 – Perrantes	John Paul Jones Arena (14,088) Charlottesville, Virginia
ACC Tournament
Mar 10, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN/ACCN	(2) #4	vs. (10) Georgia Tech Quarterfinals	72–52	25–6	26 – Brogdon	8 – Gill	8 – Perrantes	Verizon Center (20,719) Washington, D.C.
Mar 11, 2016 9:00 pm, ESPN/ACCN	(2) #4	vs. (3) #11 Miami (FL) Semifinals	73–68	26–6	24 – Brogdon	7 – Wilkins	4 – Brogdon	Verizon Center (20,719) Washington, D.C.
Mar 12, 2016 9:00 pm, ESPN/ACCN	(2) #4	vs. (1) #7 North Carolina Championship	57–61	26–7	15 – Brogdon	9 – Tobey	4 – Brogdon	Verizon Center (20,719) Washington, D.C.
NCAA tournament
Mar 17, 2016* 3:10 pm, truTV	(1 MW) #4	vs. (16 MW) Hampton First Round	81–45	27–7	19 – Gill	7 – Gill	4 – 3 Tied	PNC Arena (19,722) Raleigh, NC
Mar 19, 2016* 7:10 pm, TBS	(1 MW) #4	vs. (9 MW) Butler Second Round	77–69	28–7	22 – Brogdon	8 – Gill	5 – Brogdon	PNC Arena (19,433) Raleigh, NC
Mar 25, 2016* 7:10 pm, CBS	(1 MW) #4	vs. (4 MW) #22 Iowa State Sweet Sixteen	84–71	29–7	23 – Gill	8 – Gill	9 – Perrantes	United Center (21,490) Chicago, Illinois
Mar 27, 2016* 6:09 pm, TBS	(1 MW) #4	vs. (10 MW) Syracuse Elite Eight	62–68	29–8	18 – Perrantes	6 – Brogdon	7 – Brogdon	United Center (20,155) Chicago, Illinois
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest Region ^1 Game played in Greenville, South Carolina, during renovations to Littlejohn Coliseum.. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

See also: 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	Not released	6	6	12	10	10	8	5	5	4	13	13	11	9	7 (1)	7	3	4	4	4	N/A
Coaches	Not released	6	6	12	10	10	9	5	5	4	11	13	12	9	7	8	3	4	4	5	5
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Team players drafted into the NBA

Year	Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
2016	2	36	Malcolm Brogdon	Milwaukee Bucks

Awards and honors

• Tony Bennett
  • USBWA District III Coach of the Year
• Malcolm Brogdon
  • ACC Preseason Co-Player of the Year
  • ACC Player of the Year (ACSMA, ACC Coaches)
  • ACC Defensive Player of the Year (ACSMA, ACC Coaches)
  • All-ACC First Team
  • USBWA District III All-District Team
  • USBWA District III Player of the Year
  • Consensus First-Team All-American
  • NABC Defensive Player of the Year
  • Senior CLASS First-Team
• Anthony Gill
  • All-ACC Third Team (ACSMA, ACC Coaches)
  • NABC Allstate Good Works Team
  • USBWA District III All-District Team
• London Perrantes
  • All-ACC Honorable Mention (ACSMA, ACC Coaches)