Season Recap: Virginia

2009-2010
Virginia: 15-16 (5-11 ACC)

The season was a bit of a roller coaster for the Virginia Cavaliers. The general consensus coming into the season was that they would struggle, with one star player and not much else. And there were some growing pains. Virginia struggled a bit in the non-conference, losing four games. But they really turned the corner when they started ACC play. The Cavs went on an 8 game winning streak, starting the conference season 3-0. Much of the credit was given (rightly so) to new coach Tony Bennett, who instilled a different attitude. On the court, the catalyst was Mike Scott, who proved a more than adequate counterpart to Sylven Landesberg.

In February, things started to turn south. After their great start in conference, they lost 9 conference games in a row. They started 5-2 and ended up finishing 5-11 in the ACC. And of those 9 losses, only 2 were within single digits. One of the big reasons they struggled was the play of Sammy Zeglinski. The guard with seemingly unlimited range just couldn't hit a shot, and ended up finishing the season with a disappointing 8.9 PPG.

Best Win: 75-60 at UNC (1/31)

Some people thought coming into this game that UVA had come back down to earth, after two straight losses. But they came into Chapel Hill and really dominated from the get-go. They outhustled and outshot the Heels, and really embarrassed them in their own gym. This was probably the seminal moment in UNC's collapse. Unfortunately for UVA, it was a precursor to their own collapse.

Worst Loss: 76-71 to Virginia Tech (1/28)

In the game before their win over UNC, Virginia was in the driver's seat against their rival Hokies. They were up by 10 points at the under four timeout, only to see Tech come back and force overtime. In the overtime, the Hokies were in control. This was a devastating home loss for UVA and was really the first time in the conference season where they showed vulnerability.

Postseason Play:

UVA came into the ACC Tournament with no momentum and nothing to play for. But they were able to put together one of their better performances of the year, beating Boston College in the first round by six points. They then took on Duke, and were able to keep it somewhat close. But in the end, they only scored 46 points in an 11 point defeat. UVA finished the season with a losing record and did not get another postseason bid.

What's Ahead:

There is a lot of uncertainty facing this program now. At the end of the year, star player Landesberg got into some trouble, and ended up on the bench. And now he's headed to the NBA. That leaves a big offensive hole, as he was good for more than 17 points per game. Along with that, Jeff Jones decided to transfer. He was bringing in 7 points per game, and was coming on at the second half of the season. Tristan Spurlock also decided to transfer. He was a role player. UVA also loses Calvin Baker, Solomon Tat and Jerome Meyinsse to graduation.

That leaves them with about 29 points per game returning, with almost half of those coming from Mike Scott. UVA better hope that Zeglinski have a much better year and an incoming freshman class really perform, or they are in for a long 2010-2011 season.