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Virginia basketball: 2019-20 season review and 2020-2021 first-look preview

By Mike Phillips

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - MARCH 07: Mamadi Diakite #25 and Braxton Key #2 of the Virginia Cavaliers walk off the court together after a game against the Louisville Cardinals at John Paul Jones Arena on March 7, 2020 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - MARCH 07: Mamadi Diakite #25 and Braxton Key #2 of the Virginia Cavaliers walk off the court together after a game against the Louisville Cardinals at John Paul Jones Arena on March 7, 2020 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – MARCH 07: Jay Huff #30 of the Virginia Cavaliers cheers in the second half during a game against the Louisville Cardinals at John Paul Jones Arena on March 7, 2020 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – MARCH 07: Jay Huff #30 of the Virginia Cavaliers cheers in the second half during a game against the Louisville Cardinals at John Paul Jones Arena on March 7, 2020 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

The Virginia Cavaliers entered the year as the defending national champions, but with a mass exodus after the title, they certainly went on a roller coaster ride.

2019 ended with Virginia as the national champions in college basketball and barring a poll giving it to Kansas that should also be the case in 2020. The cancellation of the NCAA Tournament due to the coronavirus should extend Virginia’s reign atop the sport to two years, but it certainly was not an easy year for the Cavaliers.

After watching key contributors like Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome, and De’Andre Hunter bolt for the NBA the Cavaliers had a bit of a reload on their hands. Having Mamadi Diakite and Kihei Clark back helped, but the loss of the three pros certainly made it harder for Virginia to generate offense.

For most of the season, Virginia had one of the worst offensive attacks in college basketball, struggling to crack 60 points most nights. A brutal stretch in mid-January saw the Cavaliers drop four out of five to fall to 12-6, raising legitimate questions about whether Virginia could even reach the NCAA Tournament.

The Cavaliers did finish strong, however, going 11-1 down the stretch to surge into the ACC’s second seed. With all of the momentum on their side, there was a good chance Virginia would have made a deep run into March Madness again this season.