Following its epic national championship run in the 2018-19 season, the Virginia Cavaliers lost most of their key personnel from that team. Since then, the Cavaliers have had a hard time. Virginia has not been nearly as good since that dream season. This year, the Virginia team will lean heavily on its experience. However, a major wild card for this team’s performance is the contributions they get from players who weren’t on the team last season. This season’s College Basketball odds roster features five major additions: one transfer and four freshmen.
2022-23 Virginia Cavaliers
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| Virginia Cavaliers National Championship Odds at SBG | +2000 |
Virginia Cavaliers SBG Odds Overview
Overall, the Virginia Cavaliers are 8-2 straight up, 3-7 against the spread, and 5-5 over/under the total. Virginia has national rankings of 227th for scoring offense, 148th for field goal percentage, 80th for 3-point field goal percentage, 120th for free throw percentage, and 297th for offensive rebounding. While defensively, Virginia has national rankings of 18th for scoring defense, 70th for field goal percentage permitted, 257th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 269th for defensive rebounding.
Late on, Virginia has lost two consecutive games and has been one of the worst values on the sports betting board. Guard Kihei Clark leads the Cavaliers with 1.5 points and 5.1 assists per game. Forward Hayden Gardner adds 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest.
2022-23 Virginia Cavaliers Preview
The ultimate NCAABB betting ceiling for this roster will depend on how far their best players can take them. In particular, two players have the potential to develop into elite contributors and vault this team into bona fide contention: Reece Beekman and Kadin Shedrick. Also, Kihei Clark and Jayden Gardner are two incredibly solid and experienced fifth-year veterans. Last year Gardner was the team’s leading scorer and lone All-ACC member. Armaan Franklin also has room to grow as a wing scorer. And his development could be crucial to improving the team’s offensive fluidity. Consider that when Armaan was confident, everything seemed to open up on that end of the court.
The player with the highest probability of making major contributions is Ben Vander Plas, a graduate transfer from Ohio. The 6’8 power forward has a reputation as a stretch four but is more versatile offensively than that title would suggest. While at Ohio, he knocked down plenty of triples. But Vander Plas also frequently operated out of the high post. And he grew into a solid playmaker by the end of his fourth season. For Virginia, his reliable shooting at the four solves so many problems offensively. There’s a reason the Cavs so desperately wanted Kody Stattmann to be a reliable four and a lineup mainstay. The value add of a shooting big in the blocker-mover offense is massive. Especially when one of the movers is Reece Beekman, a streaky shooter at best.
Additionally, Leon Bond and Ryan Dunn round out the group of newcomers. They are a pair of athletic wings who will likely not be major contributors. But they offer a solid upside in the future. At the same time, Bond might be the least college-ready player out of the four first-year students. Concurrently, it’s probably just Vander Plas who will enter the season playing upwards of 20 minutes per game. If Vander Plas lives up to expectations and two freshmen emerge, that’s all Virginia will need from the newcomers. To conclude, their talent level will significantly upgrade over last year’s depth.