The 2015–16 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represented the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

during the

2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 13. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and ended with the Final Four in Houston April 2–4. Practices officially began on October 2. Rule changes The followin ...

, in their 111th season of play. The team was led by head coach Tony Bennett, in his seventh year, and played their home games at

John Paul Jones Arena John Paul Jones Arena, or JPJ, is a multi-purpose arena owned by the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. Since November 2006, it serves as the home to the Virginia Cavaliers men's and women's basketball teams, as well as for co ...

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Cha ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

as members of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

. They finished the season 29–8, 13–5 in ACC play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

and

Miami (FL) Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at the ...

to advance to the championship game of the ACC tournament where they lost to

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a #1 seed where they defeated

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia *Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria Canada * Hampton, New Brunswick *Ha ...

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

, and

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

to advance to the Elite Eight where they lost to fellow ACC member

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

Last season

The

Cavaliers The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

finished the 2014–15 season with a record of 30–4 overall and 16–2 in conference play, finishing in first place in the ACC for the second straight season. Despite their best regular season record in school history of 28–2, and reaching their highest national ranking since 1983, they fell in the semifinals of the ACC tournament to

, and in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 to

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

Departures

Coaching changes

On April 1, 2015, associate head coach

Ritchie McKay Ritchie Lawrence McKay (born April 22, 1965) is an American basketball coach who is in his second stint as the head coach of the Liberty Flames of Liberty University. McKay for the last 6 seasons had been the associate head coach to Tony Bennett f ...

announced that he would be re-taking the head coaching job at

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

, which he previously held from 2007 to 2009 until coming to Virginia. On April 17,

Lindenwood Lindenwood may refer to a place in the United States: *Lindenwood, Illinois *Lindenwood, Queens, New York *Lindenwood Cemetery, Fort Wayne, Indiana In education: * Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri * Lindenwood University – Bellevil ...

head coach

Brad Soderberg Bradley William Soderberg (born May 10, 1962) is a men's college basketball coach. He is currently the Director of Scouting for the University of Virginia Cavaliers. Soderberg was previously head coach at Lindenwood, St. Louis, South Dakota State ...

was hired. Soderberg had previously served as an assistant at

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

alongside Tony Bennett's father

Dick Dick, Dicks, or Dick's may refer to: Media * ''Dicks'' (album), a 2004 album by Fila Brazillia * Dicks (band), a musical group * ''Dick'' (film), a 1999 American comedy film * "Dick" (song), a 2019 song by Starboi3 featuring Doja Cat Names ...

, and was interim head coach following the latter's retirement in 2000. On July 2, 2015, Ron Sanchez was promoted to

associate head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

Class of 2015 signees

Diakite originally committed to the class of 2016, but at the time of his commitment stated that there was an "80-percent chance" that he could reclassify to 2015 and redshirt. On September 3, Bennett announced that Diakite was eligible to join the program.

Incoming transfers

Roster

Depth chart

Schedule

, - !colspan=12 style="background:#00214e; color:white;", Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=12 style="background:#00214e; color:white;", ACC regular season , - !colspan=12 style="background:#00214e; color:white;", ACC Tournament , - !colspan=12 style="background:#00214e; color:white;", NCAA tournament

Rankings

Team players drafted into the NBA

Awards and honors

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

USBWA The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 by National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball. Scholarships The USBWA annually awar ...

District III Coach of the Year *

Malcolm Brogdon Malcolm Moses Adams Brogdon (born December 11, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers under Tony Bennett. A ...

** ACC Preseason Co-Player of the Year ** ACC Player of the Year (ACSMA, ACC Coaches) ** ACC Defensive Player of the Year (ACSMA, ACC Coaches) ** All-ACC First Team ** USBWA District III All-District Team ** USBWA District III Player of the Year ** Consensus First-Team All-American **

NABC Defensive Player of the Year The NABC Defensive Player of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches to recognize the top defensive player in United States college basketball. The award has been given since 1987 and was previously kn ...

** Senior CLASS First-Team * Anthony Gill ** All-ACC Third Team (ACSMA, ACC Coaches) ** NABC Allstate Good Works Team ** USBWA District III All-District Team * London Perrantes ** All-ACC Honorable Mention (ACSMA, ACC Coaches)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2015-16 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball seasons

Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball The Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team is the college basketball, intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Virginia. The school competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference in NCAA Division I, Division I of the N ...

2016 in sports in Virginia