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, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

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 early-season tournaments to begin were the Puerto Rico Tip-Off and the Charleston Classic. The season ended with the 2016 NCAA Division I men's basketball tour ...

, 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 in

Charlottesville Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the seat of government of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Quee ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

as members of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

. 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, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

and Miami (FL) to advance to the championship game of the ACC tournament where they lost to

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

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

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 pantries, pantr ...

, and Iowa State to advance to the Elite Eight where they lost to fellow ACC member Syracuse.

Last season

The

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

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

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 basketball, Liberty Flames of Liberty University. McKay for the previous six seasons had been the asso ...

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

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

, which he previously held from 2007 to 2009 until coming to Virginia. On April 17, Lindenwood head coach Brad Soderberg was hired. Soderberg had previously served as an assistant at

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

alongside Tony Bennett's father Dick, and was interim head coach following the latter's retirement in 2000. On July 2, 2015, Ron Sanchez was promoted to associate head coach.

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

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Rankings

Team players drafted into the NBA

Awards and honors

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (August 3, 1926 – July 21, 2023), known professionally as Tony Bennett, was an American jazz and traditional pop singer. He received many accolades, including 20 Grammy Awards, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

** USBWA District III Coach of the Year *

Malcolm Brogdon Malcolm Moses Adams Brogdon (born December 11, 1992) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the University of Virginia Cavaliers und ...

** 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 a college basketball award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top men's defensive player in NCAA Division I competition. It has been given since 1987 a ...

** 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 (ACC) in NCAA Division I, Division I of ...

2016 in sports in Virginia