The worst season for Virginia Cavaliers men’s basketball in 15 years ended Wednesday with a 66-60 to Georgia Tech in the second round of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. Shortly after, the school announced that interim coach Ron Sanchez would not return next season.
Sanchez was thrust into an unenviable position after longtime coach Tony Bennett (above) retired suddenly in mid-October, just a couple of weeks before the 2024-25 season. The Cavs never won more than three games in a row this season, and a five-game skid in the middle of the season put them under .500, where they stayed for the rest of the season as UVA finished 15-17.
As Virginia fans prepare for a second season without March Madness in four years, BetVirigna.com offers these updated odds on who UVA will turn to next as the head men’s basketball coach. Check out our real money VA sports betting promos too.
Next Virginia Cavaliers Head Coach Odds
Coach | Current Position | Pct. Chance | Odds |
Ryan Odom | VCU Head Coach | 18.2% | +450 |
Bob Richey | Furman Head Coach | 15.4% | +550 |
Shaka Smart | Marquette Head Coach | 11.1% | +800 |
TJ Otzelberger | Iowa State Head Coach | 11.1% | +800 |
Ben McCollum | Drake Head Coach | 9.1% | +1000 |
Richard Pitino | New Mexico Head Coach | 9.1% | +1000 |
Alan Huss | High Point Head Coach | 7.4% | +1250 |
Will Wade | McNeese Head Coach | 7.4% | +1250 |
The Field |
| 12.5% | +700 |
This list was prepared exclusively for BetVirginia.com as part of our Virginia sports betting coverage.
Top Candidate For Virginia Basketball Coach
If you can’t beat him, hire him.
Ryan Odom made history by coaching the first 16th-seeded team to ever upset a top seed in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. If you’re reading this, you don’t really need me to rehash – or is retrieve the better word to use? – the details for you.
Odom, the son of longtime coach Barry Odom, has just one losing season in his nine years as a head coach. He took Maryland-Baltimore County and Utah State to the NCAA Tournament and now has the Virginia Commonwealth Rams in position to get their 10th trip to the Big Dance since the 2010-11 season. Will he end up making the one-hour move west on Interstate 64 from Richmond to Charlottesville in the coming weeks?
VCU entered the Atlantic 10 tournament as the -115 favorite at FanDuel Virginia Sportsbook to win it and secure a bid to the NCAAs. (NOTE: Virginia sports betting rules bar wagers on in-state teams).
Speaking of VCU, Marquette coach Shaka Smart took the 2010-11 VCU team to the Final Four, and he has the Eagles as a team that could crash the national semifinals in San Antonio next month. Marquette has odds of +2500 to make it to the Alamodome at bet365 Virginia sportsbook.
Virginia Not Alone In Coaching Search
Virginia is not the only major program looking for a coach. North Carolina State dismissed Kevin Keatts on Sunday after the Wolfpack failed to qualify for the ACC tournament in Charlotte. Last season, Keatts guided NC State on a Cinderella run to the Final Four.
Indiana will also be filling its coaching spot after its season ends. Embattled coach Mike Woodson announced last month that he would step down. Since then, the Hoosiers finished the regular season by winning five of their last eight games to put IU on the bubble for an at-large berth in the NCAAs. That bubble might have burst, though, after Oregon beat IU 72-59 on Thursday afternoon in the Big Ten tournament.
Those two schools will have the resources to attract a top name to their school, meaning Virginia likely has have competition in hiring the coach that school officials want to roam the sidelines at John Paul Jones Arena.
BetVirginia will keep tabs on the Cavaliers coaching search, and while you’re waiting to see who the Cavs hire, check out our Virginia college basketball betting guide and get the latest promos to make your March Madness run a successful one.
USA Today photo by Jim Dedmon
