Bennett tells ACC not to overload his schedule: ‘No way, no how’

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Tony Bennett has nothing against trying to make up postponed games from earlier this season, but the ACC is quickly learning it’s not going to push around Virginia’s coach.

With 28 days remaining in the league’s regular season after Saturday’s home game with Pitt, the Cavaliers have seven games remaining to be played over that four-week span, essentially two games a week … with one exception.

Presently, UVA doesn’t have a game scheduled the week of Feb. 21 through 27. At the moment, the Cavaliers have three league games that have been postponed: a home game with Virginia Tech (original date Jan. 2); a game at Wake Forest (original date Dec. 16); and a home game with Louisville (original date Feb. 6). Saturday’s Pitt game was originally scheduled to be played in Charlottesville on Wednesday, Feb. 24 but was moved up to fill in for the Louisville postponement.

So, UVA could play one or possibly two games that final week of February (hoping there are no future postponements), but don’t ask Bennett to try to jam all of the postponed games into that week.

“We’re going to try to make up games but only if they make sense,” Bennett said. “I’m not going to be pushed if they don’t make sense. No way, no how.”

Bennett’s comments came after the Cavaliers road win against NC State on Wednesday night when he was asked if he thought the Virginia Tech game would be made up.

“I have no idea,” the coach said. “I can’t even comment on that. You look for opportunities but it has to make sense.

“They tried to slam us in there, ‘Oh, you can play here and that’s three or four games in seven days,’ and I was like ‘Heck, no,’” Bennett told the ACC. “You have to look out for what’s best for your team. You want to play quality games, but it has to make sense.”

Certainly, Bennett wants to get as many sensible games in during the regular season but not at the expense of wearing his team down as it prepares for the postseason. What would be accomplished by jamming too many games inside a 10-day span with postseason play looming just days ahead?

No coach would want his team physically and mentally burned out with an overloaded schedule just before the ACC Tournament.

Good for Bennett standing up to the ACC, which is probably kowtowing to ESPN and its own ACC Network in order to fill up its TV schedule.

Bennett said he was probably speaking out of school – not really – when he divulged that Ronnie Wideman, the program’s administrative and operatives guy, informed him that Louisville couldn’t play this Saturday because of Covid issues. At that point, Bennett was fine with not playing a game Saturday, but Wideman then informed him that Pitt was available to move its game up (from its Feb. 24 date).

Bennett was OK with that.

“I don’t know where all that lies, who has the say and who doesn’t,” the coach said. “Seems like it’s a little sporadic regarding that.”

Virginia fans are clamoring for the Virginia Tech game to be made up, but the Hokies already play two games that vacant UVA week in late February. Tech plays Georgia Tech on the 23rd and Wake Forest on the 27th.

Virginia plays at Duke on Feb. 20 (a Saturday) and hosts Miami on March 1 (a Monday night). If the ACC would suggest the Cavaliers play two rescheduled games that week, that would be forcing UVA to play four games within a 10-day span.

Don’t blame Bennett for not wanting to run his team into the ground heading into post season. He’s not going to do it, and he shouldn’t.

No way, no how.