Virginia Cavaliers March Madness History: Records, Titles and Highlights

The Virginia Cavaliers are only a few days away from the NCAA Tournament, in which they will be facing Wright State in the first round on Friday, March 20. The Cavaliers are entering as the No. 3 seed in the Midwest region, while the Raiders are listed as the No. 14 seed.

After such a remarkable run in the regular season and in the ACC Tournament, fans should be eager to watch UVA return to the NCAA Tournament after sitting out last year. In 2024, the Hoos clinched a First Four berth as the No. 10 seed, but they ended up facing a loss to Colorado State.

This week will mark Virginia's 27th NCAA Tournament appearance in program history, and they carry a 35-25 record, with three Final Four appearances and one Championship victory. In 2019, the Cavaliers won it all, ultimately defeating Texas Tech in an overtime thriller by a score of 85-77.

Can History Repeat Itself?

Virginia Cavaliers Thijs De Ridder shooting a basketball while being guarded by a Duke Blue Devils player — Virginia Cavaliers forward Thijs De Ridder | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Virginia went from losing the first round of the tournament in 2018 to winning the national championship the following year. But losing in the first round wasn't the worst part—the Hoos were actually the No. 1 seed and faced a dreadful 74-54 loss to UMBC, the No. 16 seed. This landed them with the embarrassing title of being the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed.

After dropping such an important matchup, watching them thrive the following year was a bit of a surprise, but also a massive highlight. However, fans remained cautious until their final victory became official. Now, those same fans are hoping UVA will repeat history. Their 15-17 overall record was not enough to slip them into the tourney, but this year, they've managed to turn things around, even with a new head coach and relatively fresh roster.

In 1981 and 1984, the Cavaliers advanced to the Final Four under coach Terry Holland. Over the years, Virginia has experienced a handful of long droughts without any NCAA Tournament appearances, but this week could mark the start of another tourney era for the Cavaliers with Odom at the helm.

Their upcoming First Round matchup against Wright State should go in their favor, but a win is never guaranteed in college basketball, particularly in the NCAA Tournament. Virginia has shown how easy it can be to drop a matchup as important as this one, but ideally, the program will have learned its lesson from 2018.