After accepting the head coach position at Virginia, Tony Bennett said many times that one thing that interested him about the job was the chance to go toe-to-toe with basketball heavyweights like Duke and North Carolina. Bennett, of course, eventually held his own in the ACC battles and on the national landscape on the way to the 2019 National Championship.
In that way, it’s fitting that the University of Virginia will officially dedicate the John Paul Jones Arena court in Bennett’s honor on a day when the Hoos face the Tar Heels. That game is currently scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. with the pregame celebration set for approximately 15 minutes prior to tip-off. (Editor's note: After publication, this celebration was postponed due to weather and will now take place on Saturday, Feb. 21.)
Bennett finished his UVA career with a 14-12 record against UNC. At one point, that included a stretch where the Cavaliers won 11 of 15 games against the Heels. Virginia defeated North Carolina in the 2018 ACC Tournament Championship Game during a seven-game winning streak in the series.
Bennett retired on Oct. 18, 2024. Overall, he accumulated a 364-136 record across 15 seasons, making him the winningest coach in Virginia program history. He led the Hoos to the 2019 National Championship and ACC Tournament titles in 2014 and 2018. UVA also won six ACC Regular Season Championships during his tenure. He was named the ACC Coach of the Year in 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019. Prior to his arrival, Virginia had received only two NCAA Tournament bids in 12 years and had won only one NCAA Tournament game from 1996-2009. Under his guidance, the Cavaliers made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances with 13 total wins.
Current Virginia coach Ryan Odom said honoring Coach Bennett goes beyond just the wins.
“I think it’s going to be a tremendous environment,” Odom said. “We’re so excited for Coach Bennett and his family. The impact that he has made, certainly on the players that he coached and the staff that worked so hard to put Virginia basketball in such a great position nationally to win a National Championship, the impact that he and Laurel and his family have had on the students at Virginia, the community here, the impact that they continue to have on the community here is just really special. I know we’re all thankful to be a part of it and we’re excited to be able to celebrate with him on Saturday.”
Odom has guided UVA to a 16-2 start this season with a 5-1 record in ACC play. The Hoos have won five straight conference games. Most recently, they claimed a pair of road victories at Louisville and SMU last week. Even with such success out of the gates in his first year, though, Odom is not one to close doors on helpful resources.
That includes picking up pointers from Bennett himself. While the former Cavalier coach mostly watches from afar, he does check in with Odom at times.
“Yeah, no question. He texted me after the Louisville game the other day,” Odom said. “And certainly I always want his advice. He knows this place and this program and the ACC better than me. I know he’s been very supportive of the team so far, while keeping his distance - he doesn’t want to overstep and I appreciate that. He wants me to have space to do it, but at the same time I’ve got thick skin, I’d love his advice on occasion. He’s been really good with that.”
Malik Thomas’ Impact
Over the past five games, Virginia guard Malik Thomas found a groove on offense. He has averaged 17.2 points per game in that span. Over the past four games, he is shooting 50.0% from the floor overall (25-50) and 51.6% from 3-point range (16-31). Against Louisville and SMU last week, he set a new career high with 6 3-pointers in both games going 12-18 shooting on those attempts (67.0%).
Those types of splits are hard to ignore. Thomas appears to be oozing with a new confidence too. That’s carrying over into other parts of his game.
The senior has multiple assists in four of the last five games with an average of 2.4 and 27 defensive rebounds in those five games for an average of 5.4. Thomas has 5+ defensive rebounds in four of the last five games, something he had only done 12 times in 103 games prior to coming to UVA.
That latter part - defense and defensive rebounding - continues to be impressive to Coach Odom.
“He’s shooting the ball much better. His catch-and-shoots are on the uptick right now,” Odom said. “When he has some room and rhythm there, he’s confident in his shot. He’s also shooting the turn a little bit better which is good for us and for him. But again it goes back to our defense has taken a jump because his individual defense has taken a jump.”
How much of a jump?
Compare the four games against Northwestern, Butler, Texas, and Dayton in late November and early December to the six ACC games for some context. In those four non-conference games, Virginia posted a defensive rating below 100 only once with an average rating of 105.5. In the six conference games to date, UVA had a defensive rating below 100 four times with an average rating of 95.9. For effective field goal percentage, Northwestern (52.6%), Butler (53.6%), Texas (44.1%), and Dayton (44.5%) all were 44.0%+ while SMU (46.7%) is the only ACC team above that mark so far.
Keeping The Momentum
After dropping a game at Virginia Tech in its ACC opener, Virginia has ripped off five straight wins with road victories at NC State, Louisville, and SMU. This stretch has pushed the Hoos up the polls and they are now ranked No. 14 by The Associated Press. It’s also drawn attention of college basketball analysts and commentators as well with analytics showing UVA as a potential darkhorse in the national landscape.
Take this clip from Ryan Hammer, host of the BlueBlooded podcast, as one example.
Coaches, of course, don’t really put much stock in that type of noise in January. March Madness is a long ways away still. Asked about the recent success, Odom focused on continuous improvement as the way forward.
“Success is never final. I think these guys have big goals and want to have an overall successful season and you can’t stop, you have to keep going,” Odom said. “The teams that continue to grow and improve during the season will have a better chance to advance once the tournament begins.”
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