Coaches No. 5 2015–16 record 29–8 (13–5 ACC) | AP No. 4 Associate head coach Ron Sanchez (7th year) | |
Head coach Tony Bennett (7th year) | ||
The 2015–16 Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball team represented the University of Virginia during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, in their 111th season of play. The team was led by head coach Tony Bennett, in his seventh year, and played their home games at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They the season 29–8, 13–5 in ACC play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated Georgia Tech and Miami (FL) to advance to the championship game of the ACC Tournament where they lost to North Carolina. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament as a #1 seed where they defeated Hampton, Butler, and Iowa State to advance to the Elite Eight where they lost to fellow ACC member Syracuse.
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Last season
The Cavaliers finished the 2014–15 season with a record of 30–4 overall and 16–2 in conference play, finishing in first place in the ACC for the second straight season. Despite their best regular season record in school history of 28–2, and reaching their highest national ranking since 1983, they fell in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament to North Carolina, and in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 to Michigan State.
Coaching changes
On April 1, 2015, associate head coach Ritchie McKay announced that he would be re-taking the head coaching job at Liberty, which he previously held from 2007 to 2009 until coming to Virginia. On April 17, Lindenwood head coach Brad Soderberg was hired. Soderberg had previously served as an assistant at Wisconsin alongside Tony Bennett's father Dick, and was interim head coach following the latter's retirement in 2000. On July 2, 2015, Ron Sanchez was promoted to associate head coach.
Class of 2015 signees
Diakite originally committed to the class of 2016, but at the time of his commitment stated that there was an "80-percent chance" that he could reclassify to 2015 and redshirt. On September 3, Bennett announced that Diakite was eligible to join the program.