Bracketology 2022: Memphis, Rutgers, Virginia among latest winners

Virginia

With their run of success the last decade, including that national title in 2019, it’s a bit of a surprise to see Virginia struggling as much as they have this year. The metrics certainly don’t love the Cavaliers like they normally do, with their defense not exactly performing at the same level as we’ve come to expect. With how bad the ACC as a whole has performed this season, it’s made it even harder for Virginia to make their mark, but they absolutely still found a way this week.

It may not directly get them into the NCAA Tournament, but a 69-68 road win over Duke was an amazing first step. Jayden Gardner had 17 points, Kadin Shedrick had 16 points, and despite a bad shooting night from outside, the Cavaliers delivered a shocker at Cameroon Indoor Stadium. The Cavaliers then took care of business on Saturday, getting a solid 63-53 win over Georgia Tech, with Gardner providing a 26-point spark in this victory.

Virginia has some bad losses and has had some really rough performances, but a win at Duke is huge for them. Their resume still doesn’t say NCAA Tournament team, but a 10-5 mark in the ACC still means something even if the conference isn’t in great shape. V

irginia has five games left in the regular season, including three tough road games and a rematch with Duke, and wins in four or five of those games would put this team in legitimately decent shape for March. This week was just the beginning if they’re going to make a run and extend their current four-game winning streak.