Virginia Rises In NET Rankings, Fall In KenPom After Their Close Win Over Wake Forest

Virginia did not play their best against Wake Forest, but got a win and secured the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament

Mar 3, 2026; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Jacari White (6) drives to the basket as Wake Forest Demon Deacons guard Mekhi Mason (8) defends in the second half at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

It was not pretty, but Virginia was able to get the home win against Wake Forest last night and with that, they are going to be the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament that begins next week. Duke is going to be the regular-season champion, but the Cavaliers, in Ryan Odom's first season in Charlottesville, will be the No. 2 seed and earn a double bye in the conference tournament.

How did last night's game affect UVA in the advanced rankings?

Virginia actually dropped a spot in the KenPom rankings, going from 17th to 18th. Virginia has the No. 35 offensive rating in KenPom and the No. 16 defensive rating. Their offense has been a problem over the past couple of weeks and the continious drop in offensive rating show that.

What about NET? Virginia actually rose in the NET rankings after last night's win. They moved from No. 14 to No. 13 with the win over the Demon Deacons, and they now have a 6-3 record in quad 1 games, 8-1 in quad two games, 5-0 in quad three games, and 7-0 in quad four games. This team has the profile of a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament heading into the final game. Can they climb any higher?

No. 2 seed

Last night's win clinched the No. 2 spot in the ACC Tournament and after the win last night, Ryan Odom reflected on that accomplishment and what it means for the program:

"It's a huge accomplishment. We talked about it in the locker room. You think back to June, nobody outside of the locker room thought we had a chance to finish second. And probably at that point, nobody inside the locker room knew if we had a chance to do that or do something that special. And certainly, we wanted to finish first. We weren't able to get the job done the other day to give ourselves a chance at that, but to be able to lock up that spot in the conference is a big accomplishment. You know, 26 wins, I think, is 14 now within the conference. I mean, that's a huge, huge deal. These guys are to be congratulated for that.

We certainly did as coaches. We're thankful for each one of them and the work that they've put in over the course of the year, and the belief that they have in one another, and we found different ways to win games. And you look around the country, you know, team to have 14 wins within your own conference where you're going to the NCAA tournament, it's pretty strong. And so a lot to be proud of."

Virginia wraps up their regular season on Saturday against Virginia Tech.