The Virginia Cavaliers have been one of the most successful programs in men’s college basketball over the past 10 seasons, at least in the regular season. The program’s results in the NCAA Tournament have varied wildly.
The up-and-down postseasons aside, Virginia has produced several quality players over the past 10 years, enough so that we at BetVirginia.com, as part of our coverage of Virginia sportsbooks, could create a “team of the decade” list. Using SportsReference.com, we developed the Virginia men’s basketball team of the past decade from 2014-15 to 2023-24. The players included had to have played for the Cavaliers during this period and the list is based on combination of Player Efficiency Rating (PER) and Win Shares during those years with the team.
Virginia Men’s Basketball Team of Last Decade: 2014-2024
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Cavs Postseasons Have Been Unpredictable
According to TeamRankings.com, the Cavs have amassed a 258-76 record under coach Tony Bennett since 2014. Their .773 winning percentage over that time is tied with Duke for third-best in Division I (Gonzaga’s .879 and Kansas’ .792 are the top two).
But for as much success as UVA has had from November to February, many college basketball fans likely think first of the Cavaliers’ relative troubles in March. Yes, the school did win the 2019 NCAA Tournament and reached the Elite Eight in 2016. But Virginia also made the kind of history nobody wants to make when they lost to Maryland-Baltimore County in the first round of the 2018 tournament – becoming the first men’s No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16. Virginia sports betting apps already have odds out for who will win the next NCAA Tournament in about 51 weeks.
Even winning the 2019 title has not cured those woes. The Cavaliers have made it to three tournaments since cutting down the nets five years ago, and they have been one-and-done in each. They lost to Colorado State in a play-in game this year 67-42. In 2021 and 2023, Virginia was a No. 4 seed that saw its season ended by a No. 13-seeded team in the first round.
Virginia Team of The Decade
Malcolm Brogdon’s junior and senior campaigns coincided with the first two seasons of the past decade. In 71 games, the 6-foot-5 guard averaged 16.2 points per game, shot 48.3% from the field, 37.2% from the 3-point line and 88.9% from the free-throw line.
The Milwaukee Bucks selected him in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft, but despite that unheralded status he won Rookie of the Year for the 2016-17 season. Last year, he won the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award, appearing in 67 games for the Boston Celtics. This season, Brogdon has appeared in 39 games for the Portland Trail Blazers and is scoring 15.7 points per contest.
Ty Jerome is one of the Cavs with a 2019 championship ring on this starting five. At 6-5, he averaged nearly 10 points a game over three seasons and shot 39.2% from the perimeter. Since leaving Charlottesville, he has been a reserve player over five seasons in the NBA. He played only two games this season with the Cleveland Cavaliers before an ankle injury ended his season.
De’Andre Hunter played with Virginia for only two seasons, but the 6-8 forward had an impact. He averaged 12.4 points a game over those seasons and posted a career-high 27 points in the 2019 NCAA final against Texas Tech, his last game for UVA. After being picked fourth in the 2019 NBA Draft, Hunter has been a consistent contributor for the Atlanta Hawks in his five seasons there. This season, he’s averaging a career-best 15.7 points a game for the Hawks, who are battling for a playoff spot.
The Hawks, though, are longshots to make the final eight in the Eastern Conference. According to FanDuel Virginia Sportsbook, Atlanta has odds of +610 to make the playoffs and -1050 to miss them.
Gill, Huff Were Forces Inside
Another 6-8 forward, Anthony Gill averaged 12.7 points and 6.3 rebounds in his final two seasons with Virginia. A two-time All-ACC player, he shot 58% from the floor over his junior and senior years. Now a four-year NBA veteran, Gill averages 3.4 points per game for the Washington Wizards.
Jay Huff played all four seasons for Virginia. The 7-1 center earned all-conference and All-ACC Defense honors as a senior. He averaged 13 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game and had the conference’s highest player efficiency rating as a senior. In the pros, Huff has played 29 NBA games, 18 this season as a reserve for the Denver Nuggets, who are battling for the top seed in the Western Conference.
Huff could soon join the ranks of players who have played for both NCAA and NBA championship teams. BetMGM Virginia Sportsbook oddsmakers list the Nuggets as their second choice on the NBA futures board. The defending champs have odds of +333 to repeat.
This year’s March Madness officially ended on Monday night, with Connecticut winning its second straight title. However, many oddsmakers were ready quickly to post odds for next year’s championship. There is no wagering on in-state teams in the commonwealth, but at Caesars Sportsbook, the Cavaliers have +10000 odds to be the last team alive in 2025.
USA Today photo by Geoff Burke
