Virginia Continues to Climb Towards Top Seed in Latest Bracketology Release

The Cavaliers are being rewarded for their strong season so far.

Virginia Cavaliers forward Thijs De Ridder | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The Virginia Cavaliers have not had a perfect season by any means, but overall, they've been playing some impressive games. They're slowly climbing up in the ACC standings, currently sitting at No. 3, just below Clemson at No. 2 and Duke at No. 1.

Not only are they climbing in the conference standings, but they're also in a comfortable spot in the latest bracketology. According to the recent projections released by Joe Lunardi of ESPN, Virginia is a No. 4 seed. Of course, Arizona claims the top overall seed, while Ohio State is expected to be the last team in and California could be the first team out.

As the end of the season nears, the seeding is bound to change, but if the Cavaliers show strong performances throughout the remainder of their schedule, they may not see any downward movement.

Taxing Matchups To Come

Virginia Cavaliers guard Chance Mallory | Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images

The Cavaliers' seeding will ultimately depend on how they navigate their upcoming matchups—their schedule will only get more difficult from here. This month, they will take on teams like Miami and NC State, but their most daunting matchup will take place on Feb. 28 when they face the Duke Blue Devils in Durham, N.C.

Not only are they gearing up to face a trio of talented programs, but they also have a few trap games scheduled against Syracuse—their next matchup on Feb. 7—Georgia Tech and Wake Forest.

Heading into this string of contests, Virginia must step up on both sides of the ball after showing signs of regression earlier this week, particularly on offense. As head coach Ryan Odom stated during his media appearance, "... we were just kind of standing around, you know, not passing the ball like we typically do, not moving our bodies on offense. The press was slowing us down. We weren't executing against the press. I mean, we didn't turn it over against the press, but it just clearly slowed us. When we would get defensive rebounds, we weren't pushing the ball like we typically do. And so, clearly [those are] areas that we've got to attack and get better at."

Virginia managed to pull ahead with a victory, but had they played this way against NC State or Duke, the outcome would have been drastically different, and not in their favor. This month will either make or break Odom's program—will they rise to the occasion or start to fall?