It was a long week on the west coast for Virginia basketball, who arrive back in Charlottesville just after 1:30am on Sunday morning with no wins to show for their tiring road trip. UVa spent the entire week in California, playing at Cal on Wednesday night before tipping off with Stanford on Saturday afternoon. It was two games, two losses for the Hoos.
Virginia may not have come up with any wins in California, but the one thing that Cavalier fans can take from it is more clarity about the future. What is clear now, 16 games in, is that this is a transition season for the program that should end with a coaching search in March, and new leadership. Interim coach Ron Sanchez is not the reason for UVa’s failings this season, but he hasn’t been able to come up with many solutions, either. In what could be considered an audition season for the former Charlotte head coach, it seems more and more likely that he won’t be given the gig full time after this season, barring a shocking turnaround.
UVa returns home on a three-game losing streak, a trio of setbacks by an average margin of 19 points. The loss at Stanford was the worst of the bunch, coming by a 23-point margin, against a team ranked #89 in Kenpom. The Wahoos now sit at 8-8 overall, 1-4 in ACC play, and their only hope of miraculously making the NCAA Tournament at this point would come either by winning out in the regular season to have a shot at an at-large bid, or winning the ACC Tournament. But at this point, UVa might not even qualify for the conference tournament; in the expanded league, only the top 15 teams in the standings make it to Greensboro this year, so the bottom two would be left out. At 1-4 and fading, Virginia is in real danger of having no postseason at all.
Virginia hasn’t been good for most of the season, but right now, it feels like they’re hitting a new low. The Hoos are down to #136 in Kenpom, and rank 210th nationally in offensive efficiency, and 99th on the defensive end. It’s been a tough watch for Cavalier fans too. Virginia ranks 223rd in turnover rate. Last year, they were 4th. The Hoos are 287th in two-point field goal percentage, 265th in steals allowed per possession, and 332nd in free throw to field goal ratio.
While there’s some talent on the roster, the Cavaliers currently don’t look like a competitive power conference team. Isaac McKneely had 22 at Stanford, but he would be much more effective as a complementary offensive player on a good team than as the focal point of the offense at UVa. Others have had their moments, but they’ve been fleeting. Plus, with wholesale change around the corner, it’s difficult to get too excited about the prospects of a player like Jacob Cofie, who has shown real flashes of potential, putting together a successful career at Virginia. Who knows if he, or any of his teammates, will be on the 2025-26 roster.
At this point, it does seem like major change is coming, and is needed. Through half the season, it’s clear that handing the program off to Sanchez and attempting to continue things as they were has not worked. Sanchez was put in a tough spot with Tony Bennett’s last-minute retirement, and this season isn’t totally on him, to be sure. But the way UVa has played these 16 games hasn’t inspired any confidence to take the job over, either.
Virginia has taken a major step back without Bennett, in large part because of poor roster construction, which he, in fairness, oversaw. If there was ever a time for UVa to chart a new path forward, it’s now. The sport and roster building has changed so much, and the program could use a fresh start in that regard, and some new ideas on the bench, too.
Where UVa turns for that next leader is to be determined. The Virginia job should be an attractive one to many quality coaches around the country, and will probably be one of the best positions available come spring. There’s no reason for Carla Williams not to run a wide search and see what interest is out there. UVa can try to make some top coaches say no before moving down the list to more realistic options, of which there are many solid coaches who could win at Virginia. The important thing is that the administration get it right and pick someone who isn’t Bennett, but can be someone that Cavalier fans can rally around, and prospective players want to play for.
The Bennett era was great, but it’s most certainly over. In a couple of months, it will be time for something new.
