15. Virginia (25-4)
While the Cavaliers have been far from perfect, by any definition this has been a very successful first season for Ryan Odom as head coach. An afterthought in a down year for the ACC last season, Virginia has asserted themselves both in the conference and on the national level and have certainly looked like the second best team in the ACC at times. This week provided a chance to really prove that to the world and it led to mixed results.
They were looking like world beaters on Tuesday, really showing up in a 90-61 win over NC State. That dominant performance featured 19 points from Thijs De Ridder and 16 points from Sam Lewis, while the Cavaliers shot 53% as a team. Things did not go according to plan in a much tougher atmosphere on Saturday, losing 77-51 at Duke. De Ridder led the charge with another 16 points but Virginia just couldn’t keep up with the #1 team in the nation.
Before that weekend loss, Virginia had won nine games in a row and still had a chance at the ACC regular season title. Regardless, they can only shake off that tough performance because there’s still plenty of potential for these Cavaliers. They’re still very likely to nab second place in the ACC, especially with home games against Wake Forest and Virginia Tech all that remains for their regular season slate.