I moved Virginia into the CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 back in September simply because I had one coach after another — including multiple coaches from the ACC — predict the Cavaliers would compete with North Carolina and Duke atop the ACC standings while I was compiling answers for our annual Candid Coaches series
It looks like a good prediction so far.
That’s because the Cavaliers improved to 3-0 Friday night with an 86-79 victory over Baylor in the semifinals of the Continental Tire Main Event in Las Vegas. Tony Bennett’s team shot 55.6% from the field, 64.3% from 3-point range and led by as many as 22 points after a 21-2 second-half run created separation.
“That [big run] gave us a distance [between us and Baylor] — and we certainly needed that the way they came back,” Bennett said in reference to the fact that Baylor actually outscored Virginia 39-24 over the final 9:17 of the showdown between the programs that won the 2019 (Virginia) and 2021 (Baylor) NCAA Tournaments. “We couldn’t stop them at the end, which was the disappointing part.”
Otherwise, it was all good.
Armaan Franklin, one of five returning starters for the Cavaliers, finished with 26 points on just 12 shots. He was 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and 9-of-10 from the free throw line. It was a performance that played a role in Virginia moving up to No. 9 in Saturday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. Next up for Virginia is Sunday’s title game of the Continental Tire Main Event against Illinois, which beat UCLA 79-70 late Friday. The Illini are up to No. 10 in the Top 25 and 1.