Virginia Cavaliers ACC Tournament Round Robin: Answering The Biggest Questions Facing The Hoos

Conference championship week is here.

It’s the ACC Tournament, baby! Virginia is the #2 seed and is a newly minted Top 10 team, the first time in three years that the Cavaliers have climbed so high. Just as a reminder as to how successful this season has been, there is this:

Best regular season record by an ACC team in the past 10 years:

2026 Duke (29-2)
2018 Virginia (28-2)
2019 Virginia (28-2)
2025 Duke (28-3)
2026 Virginia (27-4)
— Danny Neckel (@DNeckel19) March 9, 2026

Thijs De Ridder was selected to the All-ACC first team, Jacari White finished second in the Sixth-Man voting, and Ugonna Onyenso was on the All-Defensive team.

As the #2 seed, Virginia plays the winner of NC State vs the winner of Stanford vs Pitt. That game will open up the semi-final round on Thursday, March 12th at noon.

I’m joined by my editor, Jackson Caudell, to look ahead to the tournament.

Looking at the entire field, who do you see as the dark horse, one that could scare Virginia or Duke?

Val: I am going to go with a team that could be directly in Virginia’s path, and that is Stanford. For generations the key to a successful March was guard play, especially senior guard play. We don’t have to look any further than Virginia’s own title run that featured third-year guards Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome. When I say that Stanford could pull off a run, I’m looking right at Ebuka Okorie, who can pretty much go off for 30 points on any given night. He’s done that seven times in ACC play, including against North Carolina, NC State and Virginia Tech. And while I said senior guard play, well, the old rules just don’t apply anymore. If there is someone who could pull off a Randolph Childress, it seems to me it’s Okorie. He gets to the free throw line, he makes a ton of threes, and he’s leading the ACC in scoring. And as a added bonus, the two teams that Stanford would have to beat to get to Virginia – Pitt and NC State – have already fallen to the Cardinal.

Jackson: I will pick Miami. The Hurricanes nearly beat the Cavaliers in Charlottesville earlier this season and we have not seen them play the Blue Devils. This team has played really well down the stretch under first year head coach Jai Lucas and I think they have the guard play and the defense to make it to the Tournament Championship and perhaps pull off an upset.

Who is the X-factor for Virginia ahead of the tournament?

Val: I think the answer to this one is blindingly obvious, it’s Jacari White. Much of Virginia’s success this year has come from the bench mob. I think that Mallory is already the best player on the team, but he is just a freshman and I think he’s hitting the wall a bit the past couple of games. We know how valuable Onyenso is – tied for the ACC lead in blocks with Syracuse’s Kyle Williams, who is only, you know, getting 50% more playing time – and now he’s leading the team in scoring. But White brings an energy that even Mallory can’t match. White is connecting from deep at a 43% clip, which easily leads the ACC, and when the threes aren’t falling, he can attack the rim. He’s fully recovered from his broken wrist and his threes will have to be falling if Virginia were to knock off Duke.

, I agree that Jacari White is going to be the X-factor this week. When he is shooting the ball well, Virginia is a really tough team to beat. As we saw in the Duke loss, if he is off (though it wasn't just him), then Virginia's offense is not nearly as good. He is one of the best three-point shooters in the ACC and I expect a big week from him.

Given Virginia’s play down the homestretch, loosely defined as since the Hoos claimed the double-bye, what is the biggest cause for concern for Virginia?

Val: Second half play. Virginia gave up 47 second-half points to Virginia Tech. Virginia was up 32 – 19 at the half versus NC State and gave up 42 second-half points. Virginia was clearly in control of the game heading into the locker room vs Wake Forest, and a pretty weak Wake to be frank, and simply couldn’t shake the Demon Deacons. It came down to Dallin Hall, who is 79% from the pinstripe this year, to make all four of his free throws down the stretch.

You can’t let teams stick around, especially with (hopefully) having to play in the championship game the next day. Most games are won and lost in the margins and those margins get compressed come tournament time. Virginia is going to have to be more focused in the second half going forward.

Jackson: Hard to disagree with that. The good thing is that those games were well in hand, but the Hokies made things too close for comfort this past Saturday. Virginia has to show they can put teams away in the second half, or they won't make it as far as they want to in the ACC Tournament and are going to be prone for an upset when the Big Dance rolls around.

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has had Virginia on the 4-line for the NCAA tournament for weeks now. How much can UVa increase their seeding with the ACC tournament?

Val: Well, as of March 9th, you are right, Lunardi still has Virginia as a 4 seed. As does CBS, while ON3 has Virginia as a 3 seed. A win in their first game won’t move the needle at all. The only way Virginia gets a 2 seed is to win the ACC Tournament.

I am hoping for a rematch with NC State for our first game. I know, I know, it’s hard to beat a team three times in one season, but I’ll take the chance for the privilege of sending Will Wade packing a third time. Stay with Cavs on SI for full coverage Virginia’s journey.

Jackson: I think that a three seed is fully in reach if they can get to the Championship game. Is a two seed in play if they were to pull the massive upset against Duke in the Tournament Championship? Perhaps. Getting to the Championship game is the only way that Virginia can improve its position in my opinion.