Virginia Basketball: Cavaliers season-long path to reach 2019 Final Four

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY - MARCH 30: Mamadi Diakite #25 of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates after making a game-tying shot over Matt Haarms #32 of the Purdue Boilermakers to extend the game to overtime as time expires in the second half of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament South Regional at KFC YUM! Center on March 30, 2019 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

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CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 16: Isaiah Wilkins #21 of the Virginia Cavaliers reacts to their 74-54 loss to the UMBC Retrievers during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

What were the preseason expectations for this team?

No team in college basketball had the pressure Virginia faced in 2018-19. Sure, you could argue there was plenty of pressure on the Duke Blue Devils who signed the greatest recruiting class in modern history and anything less than a national championship would be a major disappointment. But, Virginia, coming off the historic and monumental loss to UMBC last March, had to put last season’s disappointment in the rearview mirror and bounce back with a strong season.

The Hoos did just that, finishing 28-2 in the regular season and winning another ACC regular-season title. UVa’s only two losses in the regular season were both close contests with the aforementioned Blue Devils.

In the preseason rankings, most expected Duke to reign at the top with Virginia close behind. For the most part, that was true, except the Cavaliers won the ACC. The preseason AP Top 25 had the Cavaliers at No. 5, despite last March’s failures.

So, despite UVa losing Isaiah Wilkins and Devon Hall from last season’s team, there was still plenty expected from Tony Bennett’s group. And, the Wahoos delivered.

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