For the second year in a row, Virginia will be tasked this offseason with replacing two key players from a team that won the ACC regular-season title. Like last season with the departures of Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell, the Cavaliers will once again lose one of their best offensive players in Justin Anderson and one of their best defensive players in Darion Atkins.
While the Wahoos will face questions going into Tony Bennett’s seventh season in Charlottesville, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll drop in the standings. Last October, the media picked UVa to finish fourth in the league only to see the Cavaliers finish atop the standings.
In addition, each of the conference’s top five teams has at least one key starter on the way out. While North Carolina figures to be Virginia’s biggest competition at claiming the No. 1 spot in the ACC, Duke is attempting to reload its roster via the recruiting trail and transfer circuit.
Led by rising senior and All-ACC standout Malcolm Brogdon, should UVa be considered the early favorite? We’ll let you decide. Get access to the rest of this article and unlimited access to the rest of ACCSports.com when you upgrade to Premium Access! Click on the button below to view all the benefits of becoming a Premium Access member.Get the rest of the story right now with Premium Access!
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