2021–22 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

2021–22 ACC men's basketball standings
	† winner ; As of December 27, 2021; Rankings from AP Poll

2021–22 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
2021–22 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
Legends Classic champions
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
2021–22 record	7–5 (1–1 ACC)
Head coach	Tony Bennett (13th season);
Associate head coach	Jason Williford (13th season)
Assistant coaches	Orlando Vandross (4th season); Kyle Getter (1st season);
Offensive scheme	Blocker-Mover
Base defense	Pack-Line
Home arena	John Paul Jones Arena
	Seasons ← 2020–21 →

The 2021–22 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represents the University of Virginia during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team is led by head coach Tony Bennett in his 13th year and play their home games at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Previous season[]

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Cavaliers finished the 2020–21 season 18–7, 13–4 in ACC play to win the regular season championship.^[1] 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 where they were upset in the First Round by Ohio.^[2]

Offseason[]

Coaching changes[]

Virginia Coaching Changes
Name	Previous position	New position
Brad Soderberg	Assistant Coach	Director of Scouting
Kyle Getter	Director of Recruiting/Player Development	Assistant Coach
Larry Mangino	Director of Scouting/Recruiting	Director of Player Development
Isaiah Wilkins	Forward (ratiopharm Ulm)	Graduate Assistant

Departures[]

Virginia Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Jabri Abdur-Rahim	1	F/G	6'7"	214	Freshman	South Orange, NJ	Transferred to Georgia
Justin McKoy	4	F	6'8"	215	Sophomore	Cary, NC	Transferred to North Carolina
Sam Hauser	10	F	6'8"	218	Senior	Stevens Point, WI	Graduated
Casey Morsell	13	G	6'3"	196	Sophomore	Fort Washington, MD	Transferred to NC State
Austin Katstra	24	F	6'6"	245	Senior	Charlottesville, VA	Graduated
Trey Murphy III	25	F/G	6'9"	206	Junior	Durham, NC	Declared for 2021 NBA Draft
Jay Huff	30	F/C	7'1"	240	Senior	Durham, NC	Graduated
Tomas Woldetensae	53	G	6'5"	197	Senior	Bologna, Italy	Graduated^[a]

^ Due to COVID-19, the NCAA declared that the 2020–21 season would not count against the eligibility of any basketball player. Hauser, Katstra, Huff, & Woldetensae all could have returned for 2021–22, but chose not to do so.

Incoming transfers[]

Virginia Incoming Transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School	Years Remaining	Date Eligible
Jayden Gardner	1	F	6'6"	246	Senior	Wake Forest, NC	East Carolina	2	October 1, 2021
Armaan Franklin	4	G	6'4"	204	Junior	Indianapolis, IN	Indiana	3	October 1, 2021

2021 recruiting class[]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Taine Murray SG	Auckland, New Zealand	Rosmini College	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sep 13, 2020
Taine Murray SG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR
Igor Miličić Jr. SF	Rovinj, Croatia	Ratiopharm Ulm	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	May 1, 2021
Igor Miličić Jr. SF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 77 247Sports: 82 ESPN: –
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 2021 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021. "2021 Virginia Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021. "2021 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021. "Virginia 2021 Basketball Commitments". 247sports.com. Retrieved August 28, 2021.

^ESPN has not released their team rankings for 2021 yet.

^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6] ^[7] ^[8] ^[9] ^[10] ^[11] ^[12] ^[13] ^[14] ^[15]

Roster[]

Players[]

2021–22 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Kihei Clark	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	Sr	Taft Charter	Woodland Hills, CA
F	1	Jayden Gardner	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	246 lb (112 kg)	Sr	Heritage East Carolina	Wake Forest, NC
G	2	Reece Beekman	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	So	Scotlandville Magnet	Baton Rouge, LA
G	4	Armaan Franklin	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	204 lb (93 kg)	Jr	Cathedral Indiana	Indianapolis, IN
G	5	Jayden Nixon (W)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Choate Rosemary Hall	Charlottesville, VA
G	10	Taine Murray	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	Fr	Rosmini College	Auckland, New Zealand
G	11	Malachi Poindexter (W)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	St. Anne's-Belfield School	Mineral, VA
G	12	Chase Coleman (W)	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	161 lb (73 kg)	Jr	Maury	Norfolk, VA
F	21	Kadin Shedrick	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	231 lb (105 kg)	RS So	Holly Springs	Holly Springs, NC
C	22	Francisco Cáffaro	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	242 lb (110 kg)	RS Jr	NBA Global Academy	Santa Fe, Argentina
G	23	Kody Stattmann	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	St. Augustine's College	Bentley Park, Queensland, Australia
G/F	24	Igor Miličić Jr.	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	224 lb (102 kg)	Fr	OrangeAcademy Ratiopharm Ulm	Rovinj, Croatia
G	33	Carson McCorkle	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Greensboro Day School	Raleigh, NC

Head coach

Tony Bennett

Assistant coach(es)

Jason Williford
Orlando Vandross
Kyle Getter

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: August 31, 2021

Coaches[]

Virginia Coaching Staff
Name	Position	Year with Position	Year on Coaching Staff	Alma Mater
Tony Bennett	Dean and Markel Families Head Coach	13	13	UW-Green Bay
Jason Williford	Associate Head Coach	4	13	Virginia
Orlando Vandross	Assistant Coach	4	7	American International
Kyle Getter	Assistant Coach	1	4	Hanover
Brad Soderberg	Director of Scouting	1	7	UW-Stevens Point
Larry Mangino	Director of Player Development	1	6	Montclair State
Johnny Carpenter	Director of Player Personnel	4	7	Virginia
Isaiah Wilkins	Graduate Assistant	1	1	Virginia
Mike Curtis	Strength and Conditioning Coach	13	13	Virginia
Ethan Saliba	Head Athletic Trainer	24	39	Kansas
Ronnie Wideman	Associate AD for Basketball Administration/Operations	12	13	Washington State

Depth Chart[]

Pos.	Starting 5	Bench 1	Bench 2
C	Kadin Shedrick	Francisco Cáffaro
PF	Jayden Gardner		Igor Miličić Jr.
SF	Armaan Franklin	Taine Murray	Jayden Nixon
SG	Reece Beekman	Kody Stattmann	Malachi Poindexter
PG	Kihei Clark	Carson McCorkle	Chase Coleman

Schedule and results[]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Scrimmage
October 17, 2021 2:00 pm		Blue vs. White Pepsi Blue–White Scrimmage	W 8–7	0–0	18 – Gardner	–	–	John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
October 23, 2021	No. 25	VCU Scrimmage	Undisclosed					John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
Regular Season
November 9, 2021* 9:00 pm, ACCN	No. 25	Navy	L 58–66	0–1	18 – Gardner	10 – Gardner	6 – Beekman	John Paul Jones Arena (13,100) Charlottesville, VA
November 12, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	No. 25	Radford	W 73–52	1–1	21 – Franklin	7 – Gardner	5 – Clark	John Paul Jones Arena (13,568) Charlottesville, VA
November 16, 2021* 8:00 pm, ESPN		at No. 15 Houston	L 47–67	1–2	11 – Franklin	6 – Clark	2 – Clark	Fertitta Center (7,051) Houston, TX
November 19, 2021* 7:00 pm, ACCRSN			W 68–52	2–2	14 – Gardner	12 – Gardner	6 – Beekman	John Paul Jones Arena (12,980) Charlottesville, VA
November 22, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPNU		vs. Georgia Legends Classic semifinal	W 65–55	3–2	23 – Franklin	7 – Shedrick	3 – Tied	Prudential Center (0) Newark, NJ
November 23, 2021* 7:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. Providence Legends Classic championship	W 58–40	4–2	21 – Gardner	13 – Gardner	7 – Beekman	Prudential Center (2,787) Newark, NJ
November 26, 2021* 7:00 pm, ACCN		Lehigh	W 61–43	5–2	11 – Clark	8 – Gardner	7 – Clark	John Paul Jones Arena (12,647) Charlottesville, VA
November 29, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN2		Iowa B1G/ACC Challenge	L 74–75	5–3	18 – Gardner	8 – Gardner	5 – Beekman	John Paul Jones Arena (13,542) Charlottesville, VA
December 3, 2021 8:00 pm, ACCN		Pittsburgh	W 57–56	6–3 (1–0)	15 – Gardner	5 – Tied	6 – Tied	John Paul Jones Arena (14,257) Charlottesville, VA
December 7, 2021* 6:30 pm, CBSSN		at James Madison	L 49–52	6–4	12 – Gardner	14 – Gardner	5 – Beekman	Atlantic Union Bank Center (8,439) Harrisonburg, VA
December 18, 2021* 2:00 pm, ACCN		Fairleigh Dickinson	W 82–49	7–4	29 – Gardner	6 – Gardner	6 – Beekman	John Paul Jones Arena (13,197) Charlottesville, VA
December 22, 2021 8:00 pm, ACCN		Clemson						John Paul Jones Arena (13,857) Charlottesville, VA
January 1, 2022 8:00 pm, ACCN		at Syracuse						Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY
January 4, 2022 9:00 pm, ACCRSN		at Clemson						Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC
January 8, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN		at North Carolina						Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC
January 12, 2022 9:00 pm, ESPN2		Virginia Tech Commonwealth Clash						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
January 15, 2022 4:30 pm, ACCRSN		Wake Forest						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
January 19, 2022 9:00 pm, ACCN		at Pittsburgh						Petersen Events Center Pittsburgh, PA
January 22, 2022 6:00 pm, ACCN		at NC State						PNC Arena Raleigh, NC
January 24, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN		Louisville						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
January 29, 2022 4:00 pm, ACCN		at Notre Dame						Edmund P. Joyce Center South Bend, IN
February 1, 2022 8:00 pm, ACCN		Boston College						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
February 5, 2022 5:00 pm, ACCN		Miami (FL)						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
February 7, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN		at Duke						Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC
February 12, 2022 ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU		Georgia Tech						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
February 14, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN		at Virginia Tech Commonwealth Clash						Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, VA
February 19, 2022 5:00 pm, ACCN		at Miami						Watsco Center Coral Gables, FL
February 23, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN		Duke						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
February 26, 2022 ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU		Florida State Senior Day						John Paul Jones Arena Charlottesville, VA
March 5, 2022 ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU		at Louisville						KFC Yum! Center Louisville, KY

March 8–10, 2022		vs. TBA First round/Second round/Quarterfinals						Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source^[16]

Rankings[]

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. 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	17	18	19	Final
AP	25	RV	NR
Coaches	25	25*	NR

*Coaches did not release a week 1 poll.

References[]

^ Wang, Gene (March 6, 2021). "After a little help from afar, Virginia wins the ACC regular season title by beating Louisville". washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
^ Dellenger, Ross (March 20, 2021). "Ben Vander Plas Plays a Fitting Role in Ohio's Upset of Tony Bennett's Virginia". si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
^ Willett, Preston (May 19, 2021). "UVA Hoops Notes: Getter promoted to full-time assistant". cbs19news.com. CBS 19 News. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
^ White, Jeff (June 15, 2021). "Wilkins Starting New Chapter at UVA". virginiasports.com. University of Virginia Men’s Basketball. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
^ Weiszer, Marc (April 15, 2021). "Former top 40 recruit Jabri Abdur-Rahim transferring from Virginia to UGA". onlineathens.com. OnlineAthens. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
^ Shiers, Mike (April 10, 2021). "UVA sophomore Justin McKoy transferring to North Carolina". nbc29.com. NBC29. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
^ Van Haaften, Reece (March 25, 2021). "Stevens Point native Sam Hauser announces he's pursuing a professional basketball career". wsaw.com. WSAW-TV. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
^ Stein, Danielle (April 9, 2021). "Casey Morsell transfers to NC State". cbs19news.com. CBS 19 News. Retrieved May 1, 2021.
^ Campbell, Will; Darney, Caroline (April 13, 2021). "Trey Murphy III announces decision to enter NBA Draft, maintain eligibility". streakingthelawn.com. SB Nation. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
^ Barber, Mike (April 2, 2021). "UVA's Jay Huff declares for NBA draft". richmond.com. Richmond Times Dispatch. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
^ Oakes, Jamie (April 7, 2021). "Tomas Woldetensae will not return to UVA for additional year of eligibility". 247sports.com. 247 Sports. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
^ Oakes, Jamie (April 8, 2021). "BREAKING: UVA lands transfer commitment from Armaan Franklin". 247sports.com. 247 Sports. Retrieved April 11, 2021.
^ Oakes, Jamie (April 12, 2021). "BREAKING: UVA lands transfer commitment from Jayden Gardner". 247sports.com. 247 Sports. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
^ Horne, Chris (September 13, 2021). "New Zealand Guard Taine Murray Becomes Virginia Basketball's First 2021 Commitment". thesabre.com. SportsWar. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
^ "Report: European standout Igor Milicic commits to Virginia". northwestgeorgianews.com. Rome News-Tribune. May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
^ "2021-22 Men's Basketball Schedule". virginiasports.com. Virginia Cavaliers Men's Basketball. Retrieved August 28, 2021.

[3] Due to COVID-19, the NCAA declared that the 2020–21 season would not count against the eligibility of any basketball player. Hauser, Katstra, Huff, & Woldetensae all could have returned for 2021–22, but chose not to do so.

[1] Wang, Gene (March 6, 2021). "After a little help from afar, Virginia wins the ACC regular season title by beating Louisville". washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. Retrieved May 21, 2021.

[2] Dellenger, Ross (March 20, 2021). "Ben Vander Plas Plays a Fitting Role in Ohio's Upset of Tony Bennett's Virginia". si.com. Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 11, 2021.

[4] Willett, Preston (May 19, 2021). "UVA Hoops Notes: Getter promoted to full-time assistant". cbs19news.com. CBS 19 News. Retrieved May 21, 2021.

[5] White, Jeff (June 15, 2021). "Wilkins Starting New Chapter at UVA". virginiasports.com. University of Virginia Men’s Basketball. Retrieved June 15, 2021.

[6] Weiszer, Marc (April 15, 2021). "Former top 40 recruit Jabri Abdur-Rahim transferring from Virginia to UGA". onlineathens.com. OnlineAthens. Retrieved May 2, 2021.

[7] Shiers, Mike (April 10, 2021). "UVA sophomore Justin McKoy transferring to North Carolina". nbc29.com. NBC29. Retrieved May 2, 2021.

[8] Van Haaften, Reece (March 25, 2021). "Stevens Point native Sam Hauser announces he's pursuing a professional basketball career". wsaw.com. WSAW-TV. Retrieved May 2, 2021.

[9] Stein, Danielle (April 9, 2021). "Casey Morsell transfers to NC State". cbs19news.com. CBS 19 News. Retrieved May 1, 2021.

[10] Campbell, Will; Darney, Caroline (April 13, 2021). "Trey Murphy III announces decision to enter NBA Draft, maintain eligibility". streakingthelawn.com. SB Nation. Retrieved May 2, 2021.

[11] Barber, Mike (April 2, 2021). "UVA's Jay Huff declares for NBA draft". richmond.com. Richmond Times Dispatch. Retrieved May 2, 2021.

[12] Oakes, Jamie (April 7, 2021). "Tomas Woldetensae will not return to UVA for additional year of eligibility". 247sports.com. 247 Sports. Retrieved April 11, 2021.

[13] Oakes, Jamie (April 8, 2021). "BREAKING: UVA lands transfer commitment from Armaan Franklin". 247sports.com. 247 Sports. Retrieved April 11, 2021.

[14] Oakes, Jamie (April 12, 2021). "BREAKING: UVA lands transfer commitment from Jayden Gardner". 247sports.com. 247 Sports. Retrieved April 12, 2021.

[15] Horne, Chris (September 13, 2021). "New Zealand Guard Taine Murray Becomes Virginia Basketball's First 2021 Commitment". thesabre.com. SportsWar. Retrieved May 2, 2021.

[16] "Report: European standout Igor Milicic commits to Virginia". northwestgeorgianews.com. Rome News-Tribune. May 2, 2021. Retrieved May 2, 2021.

[17] "2021-22 Men's Basketball Schedule". virginiasports.com. Virginia Cavaliers Men's Basketball. Retrieved August 28, 2021.

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[16]

v t Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball
Venues	Memorial Gymnasium (1924–1965) University Hall (1965–2006) John Paul Jones Arena (2006–present)
Rivalries	Virginia Tech
Culture & lore	"The Cavalier Song" "The Good Old Song" 1982 Chaminade upset 2018 UMBC upset Redemption National Championship
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
NCAA national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

2021–22 ACC men's basketball standings
v t	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 2 Duke	1	–	0	1.000	11	–	1	.917
Wake Forest	1	–	0	1.000	11	–	1	.917
Miami (FL)	1	–	0	1.000	9	–	3	.750
North Carolina	1	–	0	1.000	9	–	3	.750
Louisville	1	–	0	1.000	7	–	4	.636
Boston College	1	–	0	1.000	6	–	5	.545
Syracuse	1	–	0	1.000	6	–	5	.545
Clemson	1	–	1	.500	9	–	4	.692
Virginia	1	–	1	.500	7	–	5	.583
Florida State	0	–	1	.000	6	–	4	.600
NC State	0	–	1	.000	7	–	5	.583
Georgia Tech	0	–	1	.000	6	–	5	.545
Notre Dame	0	–	1	.000	6	–	5	.545
Pittsburgh	0	–	1	.000	5	–	7	.417
Virginia Tech	0	–	2	.000	8	–	5	.615

† winner As of December 27, 2021; Rankings from AP Poll