22. Virginia (11-2)
New head coach Ryan Odom is trying to build Virginia back into an ACC contender and his first season is off to an acceptable enough start. The Cavaliers lost a tough game to Butler but aside from that survived nonconference play unscathed, even getting impressive wins away from home over Dayton and Texas in the process. ACC play is a different animal and Virginia certainly had an eventful start to league play this week.
Wednesday’s road matchup against rival Virginia Tech became a classic before falling 95-85 in triple overtime to the Hokies. Virginia didn’t get quite enough heroics, despite 26 points from Malik Thomas and a 22-point, 13-rebound effort from Thijs De Ridder. Fortunately, Odom’s group didn’t get their heads down, coming back for a strong effort on the road in a 76-61 win at NC State. Sam Lewis starred with 23 points as the Cavaliers earned an impressive road victory to get back ont rack.
Starting league play with two challenging road games is never easy, but this is just the beginning for the Cavaliers. The ACC is better than last season and there are challenges ahead, though at least Virginia handled that trip to Raleigh and got a huge win in the process. They must keep pushing forward, though next week is relatively easier by comparison, hosting California and Stanford.