College basketball season is slowly approaching on the distant horizon. Fall classes have begun, and the countdown to tipoff is within view. The Virginia faithful will be pining for postseason basketball soon enough.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi recently updated the projected bracketology for the 2027 NCAA Tournament.
Virginia has held steady as a projected No. 3 seed, the same placement as July. This time, the Cavaliers are in the West Region in Los Angeles.
A new regional
In July, the Cavaliers were slotted in the South Region in San Antonio, Texas. If they won their first two games, then they would have been facing No. 2 Texas in its home state – an unideal matchup. In the August projection, Virginia has a less fearsome path towards the end, but a difficult opening stretch to advance into the deep rounds.
Lunardi has No. 3 Virginia in Minneapolis, facing No. 14 Miami (OH) in the opening round. If the Cavaliers win that game, they would face the winner of No. 6 St John's versus No. 11 Saint Louis.
If Virginia conquers the field in Minnesota, then it heads to Los Angeles – potentially facing the Longhorns. However, given the incredible depth of this projected West Region, nothing is guaranteed. Here is the full West Region quadrant:
- No. 1 Arizona
- No. 2 Texas
- No. 3 Virginia
- No. 4 Gonzaga
- No. 5 Vanderbilt
- No. 6 St John's
- No. 7 BYU
- No. 8 Georgia
- No. 9 Wisconsin
- No. 10 Creighton/Oregon
- No. 11 Saint Louis
- No. 12 New Mexico
- No. 13 Santa Barbara
- No. 14 Miami (OH)
- No. 15 James Madison/ETSU
- No. 16 Bethune-Cookman/Long Island
That list is full of programs which are capable of authoring Cinderella runs and upsetting higher seeds. Virginia has crossed paths with a few of those teams over the past decade – namely Texas, Vanderbilt, Wisconsin, Oregon and James Madison. This predicted quadrant has a few teams with elite offenses and others with suffocating defenses, making for unpredictable matchups.
Other teams to note
Virginia's schedule will be extremely arduous. Here are where its 2026-27 opponents checked in:
- No. 1 Duke
- No. 2 Louisville
- No. 3 UConn
- No. 4 Arkansas
- No. 5 Kentucky
- No. 5 Vanderbilt
- No. 7 Miami
- No. 8 North Carolina
- No. 10 Clemson
- No. 11 NC State
Ryan Odom and his Cavaliers have chosen to take on a difficult schedule. They hope it results in postseason boosts – particularly a deeper run in the NCAA Tournament.
Today's best reads
- Virginia basketball Coach Ryan Odom extended through 2031-32
- Sam Lewis wants it all with Virginia this season
- Five on five: Virginia faces a reloaded NC State
- Five on five: Virginia positioned better than North Carolina
- Five on five: Virginia and Miami an ACC heavyweight battle in Florida
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/virginia as Virginia Basketball Holds Steady As Top Contender In Latest Bracketology.