Virginia continued to add to its season-long list of accolades Sunday when the NCAA Tournament selection committee deemed the Cavaliers the No. 1 overall seed in the 2018 field.
Villanova, Kansas and Xavier joined Virginia as the top seeds. It is Virginia’s third time as a No. 1 seed in the past five years under coach Tony Bennett.
The Cavaliers will play in the South Region and take on the University of Maryland-Baltimore County in the first round Friday in Charlotte, North Carolina.
“Villanova is an outstanding team, but it was pretty clear-cut between Virginia and Villanova,” selection committee chair Bruce Rasmussen said on the live “March Madness Selection Show” about deciding on the top team.
Virginia (31-2 overall) went 17-1 in the ACC and paired its regular-season title with a victory in the ACC Tournament last week in Brooklyn, New York.
“Everybody’s capable in this tournament. That’s just how it is,” Bennett told reporters Sunday. “To be given a one seed is I guess a reward for a heck of a regular season and postseason, ACC conference tournament. But then you get your seeding and then it starts over.”
DOCUMENT: 2018 Men's NCAA Tournament bracket
If the Cavaliers take care of business in the first round, they will take on either No. 8 Creighton or No. 9 Kansas State the following Sunday. The South Region does not get easier from there: Cincinnati, Tennessee, Arizona and Kentucky are the No. 2 through 5 seeds, respectively.
With two wins in the first week, Virginia could match up against Pac-12 champion Arizona or SEC Tournament champion Kentucky in the Sweet 16. The South Region will play the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight at Philips Arena in Atlanta.
Bennett declined to say if he thought it was unfair for the committee to build a seemingly difficult region around the No. 1 overall seed. He said it can be difficult to transition from playing familiar conference foes for three months to preparing for an unknown opponent.
“Now of course you turn your attention to what’s next and prepare as well as you can and get as much film,” Bennett said. “We know that you gotta always be prepared and expect everything when you play a team that you’re more unfamiliar with.”
Virginia Tech, one of the two teams to defeat Virginia this season, earned one of the 36 at-large bids and one of the ACC’s nine total bids, the most by a single conference this year. The Hokies (21-11) will play as the East Region’s No. 8 seed against No. 9 Alabama Thursday in Pittsburgh. The winner likely will have to face No. 1 Villanova in the round of 32.
No teams from the District of Columbia made the field of 68, and the only school representing Maryland is No. 16 UMBC (24-10). The Retrievers upset Vermont in the America East Conference title game Saturday 65-62 on a late 3-pointer.
Bennett said he did not get to watch any of that game, but knows about UMBC star Jairus Lyles and head coach Ryan Odom. Orlando Vandross, Virginia’s director of recruiting and player development, coached under Odom at UNC-Charlotte.
“I have great respect for the family and Ryan, and he’s done a heck of a job, only in his second year (at UMBC) in how he’s turned it,” Bennett said. “He is a coach’s son as I am and he’s been around a lot.”
Virginia and UMBC will tip off Friday night 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Creighton-Kansas State game starting at 6:50 p.m. ET.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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