Virginia clings to NCAA Tournament bubble ahead of ACC Tournament

Virginia is in the unusual position on the NCAA Tournament bubble entering a regular-season finale against Georgia Tech.

Led by Tony Bennett, the Cavaliers are looking to get back into the NCAA Tournament after a first-round exit a season ago. Overall, Virginia has not advanced out of the first round of the tournament since taking home a national championship in 2019.

On Friday, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi updated his latest bracketology projections for the entire tournament field with the Cavaliers clinging to life on the bubble. Virginia is officially the “last team in” despite a recent blowout loss to Duke. The Cavaliers have just one game left before the ACC Tournament 2024

in a home game against Georgia Tech.

With an overall record of 14-16, the Yellow Jackets do not allow the Cavaliers a shot to boost their stock for the postseason, but a loss would be disastrous entering tournament play. A win would also anchor Virginia into the No. 3 seed in the ACC while securing a double bye in Washington D.C.

NCAA Tournament implications from the ACC

Traditionally one of the stronger leagues in the country, the ACC is looking at a significantly down year in March Madness. Per Lunardi’s latest, the conference has just 3 teams locked into the field with Duke, UNC and Clemson squarely positioned. Fans can track all the latest postseason odds with at FanDuel

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As for Virginia, the Cavaliers check in at 68th in KenPom’s Adjusted Efficiency margin, though defense is still the calling card for Bennett’s squad. The Cavs are 8th in KenPom’s Adjusted Defensive Efficiency, but that alone has not been enough to carry the team this season.

As for the rest of the NCAA Tournament picture, Purdue continues to gun for the top seed in the postseason while Tennessee has been bumped into the 1-seed line after securing the outright SEC title. UConn and Houston also appear poised to be 1-seeds on the final bracket while Arizona is the first No. 2 seed still in contention for a top seed.

Here’s what Lunardi had to say about the battle for the final No. 1 seed:

Arizona and UCLA squared off Thursday night in Pauley Pavilion, bringing to a close the best basketball series in Pac-12 history. In a few months the Pac-12 itself will be history, victim of an evolution in college sports that values excess over common sense. We all get it — money talks loudest — but that doesn’t mean we have to like it. But here’s the thing: No one is talking about Arizona and the Pac-12 getting the last laugh. Even Bracketology is against them — in this update, we’re elevating Tennessee as the fourth No. 1 seed in place of the Wildcats.

While most of the bracket outlook has been solidified, plenty of drama remains entering the final weekend of the regular season.