While it goes against the grain of Tony Bennett’s philosophy, the Virginia coach might want to turn up the tempo just a bit when his Cavaliers meet West Virginia in Wednesday night’s consolation match of the Fort Myers Tip-Off.

Tony Bennett knew coming into Monday night’s battle against Wisconsin that his unbeaten Virginia team was at a disadvantage.

After trailing by as many as 20 points in the third quarter, Virginia trimmed its deficit to as little five points, but it was not enough as No. 25 Oklahoma handed the Cavaliers their first loss of the season, 82-67.

Ryan Dunn posted a career-high 15 points and also a career-high four blocked shots to go along with three steals, and made 8 of 9 free throws to lead the 4-0 Cavaliers over the Tigers, 62-33.

Virginia didn’t have its sharpest game offensively on Thursday night against Texas Southern, but the defense picked up a lot of the slack in a 62-33 rout at John Paul Jones Arena.

Virginia enters tonight’s non-conference matchup against Texas Southern with a hole to fill in the starting lineup after Isaac McKneely left Tuesday’s game and didn’t return.

For the second consecutive game, five different Cavaliers scored in double figures in Jillian Brown (17), Camryn Taylor (12), Sam Brunelle (12), Kymora Johnson (11) and Olivia McGhee (10).

These early season “buy” games are the kind of outings that Virginia coach Tony Bennett likes to experiment with different combinations, give players plenty of court time, and, of course, win.

While Virginia moved to 3-0 on the season with an easy 80-51 win over visiting North Carolina A&T on Tuesday at John Paul Jones Arena, it came at a cost.

Virginia’s Reece Beekman was named to the 2024 John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top-50 Watch List, announced Tuesday on ESPN’s SportsCenter and ESPN.com.

Virginia returns to action on Tuesday night with a 7-p.m. tipoff against North Carolina A&T at John Paul Jones Arena.

Virginia earned its second win of the season after holding Campbell to just 14 points in the second half, including five in the fourth quarter, in the Cavaliers’ 74-49 victory at John Paul Jones Arena Sunday afternoon. 

Virginia has returned to the West Coast in pursuit of a future wing player from the Los Angeles area, 6-foot-7 Nikolas Khamenia from Harvard Westlake High School.

In a rare show of emotion, Tony Bennett exploded on Cory Alexander in the final minute of UVA’s 73-70 victory over Florida in the Hall of Fame Classic played in Charlotte.

With only five seconds left on the clock and Virginia clinging to a two-point lead against Florida in Friday night’s Hall of Fame Classic, the Cavaliers needed a hero.

Reece Beekman proved why he’s regarded as one of the top defensive players in the country in the waning seconds of a two-point game against Florida on Friday.

Jillian Brown (14 points, 13 rebounds) recorded her first career double-double, and Camryn Taylor scored 22 points and posted nine rebounds to lead Virginia to victory, 76-52, over Maryland Eastern Shore.

Jacob Cofie and Ishan Sharma have signed NLIs and will join the Cavaliers for the 2024-25 season.

The Virginia women’s basketball team opens its 2023-24 season by hosting Maryland Eastern Shore on Wednesday. Tipoff from John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m.

Tony Bennett confirmed after Monday night’s season-opening win over visiting Tarleton State that he has redshirted three first-year players: guards Elijah Gertrude and Christian Bliss and forward Anthony Robinson.