Virginia is 6-0 again. Seems like a nice place to start.
The 48-45 win over Arizona State on Sunday in the finals of the Air Force Reserve Tip Off Tournament Hall of Fame Classic has UVA at 6-0 for the fourth straight season.
Seeing that, I’d forgotten that the 2016-2017 team had started 6-0. The last two, on their way to 31-3 and 35-3 finishes, sure.
But, yep, that 2016-2017 group was 6-0 before losing at home to West Virginia in its seventh game.
The biggest wins, according to KenPom.com, for that group of ‘Hoos: Providence (60), Iowa (71) and Ohio State (73).
The 2017-2018 group had two Top 75 wins in its first six: Rhode Island (52) and Wisconsin (70).
The 2018-2019 group: two (Wisconsin at 16, Dayton at 62).
This year’s run has three: Syracuse (35), Arizona State (67) and Vermont (68).
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This from the news and notes press release post-game: the Cavaliers have now captured seven straight November tournament championships (Corpus Christi Challenge, Barclays Center Classic, Charleston Classic, Emerald Coast Classic, Preseason NIT, Battle 4 Atlantis, Air Force Reserve Tip Off Tournament Hall of Fame Classic).
Best wins among those:
- 2013 Corpus Christi Challenge: SMU (KenPom 31, finished 27-10, NIT)
- 2014 Barclays Center Classic: LaSalle (KenPom 103, finished 17-16)
- 2015 Charleston Classic: Long Beach State (KenPom 107, finished 20-15, NIT)
- 2016 Emerald Coast Classic: Providence (KenPom 60, finished 20-13, NCAAT 11 seed)
- 2017 Preseason NIT: Rhode Island (KenPom 52, finished 26-8, NCAAT 7 seed)
- 2018 Battle 4 Atlantis: Wisconsin (KenPom 16, finished 23-11, NCAAT 5 seed)
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UVA is 92-2 all-time when holding opponents to fewer than 50 points under Tony Bennett.
The two losses:
Jan. 22, 2011: Virginia Tech (47-45) at JPJ
Dec. 4, 2013: Wisconsin (48-38) at JPJ
Compiled by Chris Graham
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