UVA Reportedly Blown Out by VCU in 'Secret Scrimmage' After Tony Bennett Retires

The Virginia men's basketball team was reportedly blown out by VCU in a closed-door scrimmage the day after longtime head coach Tony Bennett announced his retirement.

VCU won 71-49 over UVA in Friday's secret scrimmage, per CBS Sports' Jon Rothstein.

The Cavaliers were missing Isaac McKneely, Dai Dai Ames, and Christian Bliss, per Hooz Got Next.

Bennett cited changing NIL and transfer portal standards in his decision to abruptly retire after 15 seasons with Virginia. He was succeeded by interim head coach Ron Sanchez.

Sanchez, who also worked with Bennett at Washington State, served for three seasons as Virginia's associate head coach before he accepted a head coaching job with Charlotte. He returned to the Cavaliers in 2023.

He is now set to lead UVA into the 2024-25 season, which begins on Nov. 6 with a Wednesday evening home game against Campbell.

Neither Virginia or VCU were ranked in the preseason AP Top 25 poll, but the Rams joined Saint Louis as one of two Atlantic 10 teams to receive votes for the poll.

The Rams are bringing back the majority of their scoring from last season with Max Shulga, Zeb Jackson, and Joe Bamisile returning to the roster. After leading VCU to the third round of the NIT last season, second-year head coach Ryan Odom is now looking to make a bid for the NCAA Tournament.

The Cavaliers meanwhile have not earned an NCAA Tournament win since the program's title run under Bennett in 2019. And even before the former head coach departed from the program, UVA faced a tough transition into 2024-25 after losing three of last season's top four scorers, having lost Reece Beekman and Ryan Dunn to the NBA draft and Jacob Groves to the end of his NCAA eligibility.

Although Bennett's sudden departure raised questions about whether stars like McKneely would consider entering the transfer portal rather than playing out the season without him, NCAA transfer rules that would prohibit non-graduate student athletes from playing until the next academic year could keep UVA's young stars in Charlottesville, at least for now.

Virginia fans will hope more time for Sanchez to adjust to his new role, as well as the returns of McKneely, Ames and Bliss, will help the Cavaliers put up a more competitive final score by the time the regular season tips off in November.