Tony Bennett was pleased how his Virginia team played in the weeks before the coronavirus pandemic abruptly shut down last season.
That's the foundation he is relying on for the fourth-ranked Cavaliers, the preseason Atlantic Coast Conference favorite for the first time in nearly four decades in a race featuring No. 9 Duke, No. 16 North Carolina and No. 21 Florida State.
"I think (it's) pretty much starting over, but I think for some of the returners, I hope there is some carryover because they were playing good basketball," the coach said. "But you do have a different team."
Coming off the 2019 national championship, the Cavaliers closed last year by winning eight straight and 11 of 12 entering the ACC Tournament that was ultimately shut down amid the pandemic. The Cavaliers return three starters and add Marquette transfer Sam Hauser as a preseason all-ACC pick to provide scoring punch to go with the program's traditional defense-heavy approach.
That combination has the Cavaliers as preseason ACC favorite for the first time since the 1982-83 season, the final year for 7-foot-4 program great Ralph Sampson. It's the first time a school outside the state of North Carolina was picked as ACC favorite since Maryland in 1996.
The Cavaliers face a bit less roster uncertainty than other contenders.
Mike Krzyzewski's Blue Devils, the preseason favorite the past four seasons, had significant losses with Associated Press league player of the year Vernon Carey Jr., point guard Tre Jones (named league player of the year by the ACC) and freshman guard Cassius Stanley all going pro.
The Tar Heels lost one-and-done point guard Cole Anthony from the first losing season of Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams' career. And Leonard Hamilton's Seminoles – who won the program's first league regular-season title – lost starting point guard Trent Forrest along with early NBA draft entrants Devin Vassell and Patrick Williams.