Previewing Virginia basketball’s rematch with SMU

We’re two weeks into 2025, and the Virginia Cavaliers men’s basketball team has officially hit rock bottom.

Their road trip to California was a total disaster. UVA suffered double-digit losses to California and Stanford, two ACC newcomers that aren’t exactly basketball powerhouses. The Cavaliers are now 8-8 overall and 1-4 in the ACC, sitting at 16th out of 18 teams in the conference.

To put into perspective just how bad it’s been, Virginia is currently rated 136th in Division 1 on KenPo, which, if the season ended today, would be the worst finish for a Virginia basketball team in the history of KenPom’s metrics which dates back to 1997.

There’s a lot to be negative about, but if there’s any…