Yes, UVA Is Back in the NCAA Tournament. Here’s What To Know

March 18, 2024 • By Andrew Ramspacher, fpa5up@virginia.edu Andrew Ramspacher, fpa5up@virginia.edu

March 18, 2024
Celebration as UVA is in the NCAA tournament

The Wahoos hope to have more celebrations in the NCAA Tournament like the one they had after beating Boston College in last week’s Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. (Photo by Emily Faith Morgan, University Communications)

After nearly 48 hours of worry, the University of Virginia men’s basketball team was beyond relieved when it saw its name pop up during the NCAA Tournament selection show on Sunday night. 

A video released on the team’s social media accounts featured a joyous bunch of Wahoos, as players, coaches and staff members high-fived and hugged one another. 

 

 

UVA, largely considered at great risk of missing the “Big Dance” after losing to North Carolina State University in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals on Friday night, is in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 10 seed and will be facing another No. 10 seed, Colorado State University, on Tuesday at 9:10 p.m. in a First Four game in Dayton, Ohio. 

Should the Cavaliers beat Colorado State, they will move on to play seventh-seeded University of Texas on Thursday in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

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Tuesday’s game will broadcast on truTV. (A guide to finding truTV can be found here.)

UVA (23-10) is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in coach Tony Bennett’s 15 seasons at the school, and for the 26th time overall. 

The UVA women’s team has also reached the postseason. It will play on Thursday at 7 p.m. against High Point University at John Paul Jones Arena in the inaugural Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament. 

What Is the First Four?

While the UVA men’s team has appeared in the Final Four three times in its history – including in 2019, en route to the national championship – this will be the Hoos’ First Four debut. 

Hands raised in celebration
UVA is in the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in coach Tony Bennett’s 15 seasons in Charlottesville. (Photo by Emily Faith Morgan, University Communications)

The First Four, which was established in 2011, is a play-in round of the NCAA Tournament that decides the final four spots of the 64-team bracket. There are four games played over two days in Dayton – two between the four lowest-ranked teams in the tournament field and two between the lowest-ranked at-large teams, such as Virginia and Colorado State (24-10), in the field. 

Two First Four winners – Virginia Commonwealth University in 2011 and University of California, Los Angeles, in 2021 – have gone on to make the Final Four. 

What’s Ahead?

UVA is in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament, where the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games will be played in Detroit. The top-seeded team in the region is Purdue University. 

The Cavaliers are seeking their first NCAA Tournament win since besting Texas Tech, 85-77, in overtime in the 2019 national championship game. 

Hoo To Watch 

Like Bennett’s teams from the past, the 2023-24 version of the Cavaliers is known for its stout defense. 

UVA, led by ACC Defensive Player of the Year Reece Beekman and the ACC’s blocked shots leader Ryan Dunn, is third in the country in scoring defense, allowing fewer than 60 points per game. 

Reece runs with arms extended up
The Cavaliers have ridden the back of All-ACC player Reece Beekman this season to 23 wins. (Photo by Emily Faith Morgan, University Communications)

Beekman, a second-team All-ACC honoree, also leads the team in scoring (14.3 points per game) and assists (6.3 per game). 

Sophomore guard Isaac McKneely is coming off a 23-point performance against N.C. State on Friday. He’s averaging 12.5 points per game and is shooting a team-best 45% from 3-point range. 

Media Contact

Erich Bacher

Assistant Athletic Director for Public Relations

Article Information

April 27, 2024

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