MBB: UVA picked to finish fifth in ACC Preseason poll

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia was selected fifth in the ACC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll, the league announced Tuesday.

Duke is the preseason favorite, followed by North Carolina, Wake Forest, Clemson and Virginia in the top five.

ACC preseason voters selected Miami sixth, followed by NC State, Pittsburgh, NC State and Louisville. Syracuse was picked 11th, while Georgia Tech, SMU, Virginia Tech, Florida State, California, Stanford and Boston College rounded out the voting.

The Cavaliers were selected fourth in the 2023-24 ACC Preseason Poll and finished third (13-7) in the standings. The Cavaliers have finished at or higher than their predicted finish in 14 of the last 16 seasons.

North Carolina’s RJ Davis was selected as the ACC’s Preseason Player of the Year, while Duke’s Cooper Flagg was tabbed as the Rookie of the Year.

Virginia opens the regular season Wednesday, Nov. 6 vs. Campbell. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.

Preseason ACC Poll
School, Points
1. Duke (42), 956
2. North Carolina (11), 924
3. Wake Forest (1), 800
4. Clemson, 765
5. Virginia, 743
6. Miami, 659
7. Pitt, 636
8. NC State, 550
9. Louisville, 518
10. Notre Dame, 462
11. Syracuse, 454
12. Georgia Tech, 433
13. SMU, 344
14. Virginia Tech, 252
15. Florida State, 251
16. California, 206
17. Stanford, 165
18. Boston College, 116
First-place votes in parentheses; 54 total voters

Preseason ACC Player of the Year
RJ Davis, North Carolina, 40 votes
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 10
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 3
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford, 1

Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 53 votes
Jeremiah Wilkinson, California, 1

Preseason All-ACC Team
First Team
RJ Davis*, North Carolina, 54
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 52
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 52
Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 41
Nijel Pack, Miami, 37

Second Team
Ian Schieffelin, Clemson, 36
Chase Hunter, Clemson, 31
Jamir Watkins, Florida State, 26
Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 21
Ishmael Leggett, Pitt, 20
*denotes unanimous selection