Virginia Stands Alone as Last Undefeated ACC Team
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Last year, Virginia was one of three ACC teams that lost on the opening night of the 2021-2022 college basketball season. This season, the Cavaliers stand alone as the only undefeated team remaining in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
What a difference a year makes.
UVA took care of business on Friday night with a 72-45 win over Maryland Eastern Shore to move to 5-0 on the season, while the other two remaining undefeated ACC teams each suffered their first losses on neutral courts. Notre Dame fell to St. Bonaventure 63-51 and No. 1 North Carolina was stunned by Iowa State in a 70-65 upset loss in Portland.
It has been a rough start to the season for the ACC, which has a combined record of just 8-15 against major conference opponents. The bottom of the conference has suffered several embarrassing upsets and the top of the conference has largely failed in its tests against top-tier non-conference competition.
The lone exception is Virginia, one of just 26 remaining undefeated teams in all of college basketball. Last weekend, the Cavaliers put together an incredible effort in Las Vegas, taking down two ranked opponents - Baylor and Illinois. As a result, UVA shot up 11 spots in the AP Top 25 to No. 5, the largest week-to-week rankings jump the Cavaliers have experienced since 1993. With No. 1 UNC losing to Iowa State and No. 3 Kansas falling to No. 22 Tennessee, Virginia could find itself ranked as high as No. 3 in the AP poll on Monday.
It's still very early in the season, but Tony Bennett's Cavaliers are indisputably the top team in the Atlantic Coast Conference right now.
Virginia plays at Michigan in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday night before returning home to play its first ACC game of the season against Florida State next Saturday.
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