Virginia picked to finish 3rd in ACC; no Wahoos listed on preseason First Team

Courtesy UVA Media Relations / The Atlantic Coast Conference

Virginia was selected third by a vote of the media in the ACC Men’s Basketball 2022-23 Preseason Poll, announced Tuesday.

North Carolina is the preseason favorite. Also ranked No. 1 nationally in the preseason Associated Press poll, the Tar Heels are the preseason ACC favorites for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

In addition, the media voters selected North Carolina’s Armando Bacot as the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, while Duke’s Dereck Lively II received the nod as ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year. A 7-1 center from Philadelphia, Lively was a five-star recruit who was rated as the No. 1 overall player in ESPN 100’s rankings for the class of 2022.

Bacot was joined on the Preseason All-ACC First Team by teammate Caleb Love, Miami’s Isaiah Wong, Duke’s Jeremy Roach and Terquavion Smith from NC State.

UVA forward Jayden Gardner was joined on the preseason All-ACC second team by Lively, Justyn Mutts (Virginia Tech), PJ Hall (Clemson) and RJ Davis (North Carolina).

UNC received 90 of the 101 first-place votes and piled up 1,504 total points. Duke picked up two first-place votes and totaled 1,339 points to finish second in the poll, while Virginia racked up six first-place votes and 1,310 points to take third. Miami received a pair of first-place votes and 1,138 points for fourth place, while Florida State totaled 1,064 points for fifth place.

Notre Dame (971) was sixth in the poll, while reigning ACC champion Virginia Tech (921) picked up the final first-place vote and was seventh. Syracuse, Wake Forest, NC State, Clemson, Louisville, Boston College, Pitt and Georgia Tech comprised eighth through 15th, respectively.

Virginia was selected fourth in the 2021-22 ACC Preseason Poll and finished sixth (12-8) in the standings. The Cavaliers have finished at or higher than their predicted finish in 12 of the last 14 seasons.

Virginia opens the regular season Monday, Nov. 7 vs. North Carolina Central University. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 9 p.m.

2022 ACC Preseason Poll (101 total votes)
1. North Carolina (90), 1504
2. Duke (2), 1339
3. Virginia (6), 1310
4. Miami (2), 1138
5. Florida State, 1064
6. Notre Dame, 971
7. Virginia Tech (1), 921
8. Syracuse, 700
9. Wake Forest, 672
10. NC State, 548
11. Clemson, 528
12. Louisville, 477
13. Boston College, 368
14. Pitt, 320
15. Georgia Tech, 260
First-place votes in parentheses

Preseason All-ACC (101 total votes)
First Team
Name, School, Votes
Armando Bacot, North Carolina, 100
Isaiah Wong, Miami, 81
Caleb Love, North Carolina, 58
Terquavion Smith, NC State, 46
Jeremy Roach, Duke, 35

Second Team
Name, School, Votes
Jayden Gardner, Virginia, 32
Dereck Lively II, Duke, 19
Justyn Mutts, Virginia Tech, 18
PJ Hall, Clemson, 17
RJ Davis, North Carolina, 14

Preseason Player of the Year
Name, School, Votes
Armando Bacot, North Carolina, 82
Isaiah Wong, Miami, 5
Caleb Love, North Carolina, 4
Jeremy Roach, Duke, 3
PJ Hall, Clemson, 2
RJ Davis, North Carolina, 2
Terquavion Smith, NC State, 1
Hunter Cattoor, Virginia Tech, 1
Dariq Whitehead, Duke, 1

Preseason Rookie of the Year
Name, School, Votes
Dereck Lively II, Duke, 57
Dariq Whitehead, Duke, 25
Tyrese Proctor, Duke, 5
Mark Mitchell, Duke, 3
Tyler Nickel, North Carolina, 2
Jalen Washington, North Carolina, 2
JJ Starling, Notre Dame, 2
Kyle Filipowski, Duke, 2
Prince Aligbe, Boston College, 1
Isaac McKneely, Virginia, 1
Seth Trimble, North Carolina, 1