Virginia basketball’s latest ACC preseason outlook gives both Cavalier teams a chance to prove the league’s voters right - or wrong - once the games start.
The men’s and women’s teams are both set to open at John Paul Jones Arena, with the women hosting Maryland Eastern Shore on Monday, Nov. 2 at 6 p.m. and the men welcoming Drexel on Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. Before either group tips off, the conference has already weighed in on where Virginia stands entering the year.
On the men’s side, UVA landed second in the ACC preseason poll behind Duke. The Blue Devils collected 861 points and 45 first-place votes, while Virginia finished with 778 points and one first-place vote.
Louisville and Miami followed in third and fourth, and they were the only other teams to receive a first-place vote. After that came North Carolina, Clemson, Florida State, NC State, Virginia Tech, SMU, Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Stanford, Wake Forest, California, Notre Dame, Boston College, and Georgia Tech.
That forecast lines up closely with how last season ended. Duke, Virginia, and Miami finished 1-2-3, while Louisville, North Carolina, and Clemson were also among the teams picked near the top and ended up in the top six by March. Louisville was chosen third, North Carolina fifth, and Clemson sixth, and all three finished in those neighborhood spots when the dust settled.
Virginia also came away with individual recognition in the men’s poll. Second-year forward Thijs De Ridder was voted ACC Player of the Year, earning 30 votes.
Duke’s John Blackwell was next with 12. De Ridder joined Malcolm Brogdon as the only Cavaliers to be named preseason ACC Player of the Year.
He was already a first-team All-ACC selection last season after putting up 15.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
The rest of the preseason All-ACC first team featured Louisville’s Flory Bidunga, Blackwell, Miami’s Shelton Henderson, and Duke’s Patrick Ngongba II. On the second team, Virginia was represented by second-year guard Chance Mallory, who was joined by Miami’s Malik Reneau, Louisville’s Jackson Shelstad, Virginia Tech’s Amani Hansberry, and Duke’s Joaquim Boumjte Boumjte.
Virginia has a strong track record of finishing at or above its preseason projection, doing so in 15 of the last 18 seasons.
The women’s poll put UVA in a familiar but encouraging spot as well. Duke was chosen as the league favorite, drawing 49 first-place votes from a panel of media members and ACC coaches. Louisville followed with 22 first-place votes, then came North Carolina with one, Notre Dame with four, and NC State.
Virginia checked in sixth, which is the program’s highest preseason ranking since being picked sixth in 2017. The rest of the order placed Syracuse, Virginia Tech, Clemson, California, Miami, Georgia Tech, Stanford, Florida State, SMU, Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, and Boston College behind the Cavaliers.
Kymora Jonson also earned a spot among the league’s top preseason players. The ACC women’s panel selects one preseason All-ACC team, and Jonson received the third-most votes with 655.
Only Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, and Duke’s Toby Fournier finished ahead of her. Jonson averaged 19.5 points and 5.9 assists, and she ended the season as one of only three Division I players to average at least 19 points and 5.5 assists.
Virginia, of course, followed that run with a trip to the Sweet 16.
The rest of the preseason All-ACC team included Syracuse’s Uche Izoje, NC State’s Khamil Pierre, NC State’s Zoe Brooks, Louisville’s Tajianna Roberts, Louisville’s Imari Berry, Georgia Tech’s Talayah Walker, and California’s Lulu Twidale.
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