Virginia has a nice representation in this year’s March Madness, particularly in the women’s NCAA Tournament. Learn more about who’s taking to the court.
Welcome to March Madness, the greatest time of the year! Over the next three weeks, the men’s and women’s NCAA Tournaments will crown a national champion. Buzzers will be beaten, brackets will be busted, tears will be shed, nets will be cut, and we’ll be enjoying every minute of it.
This year, Virginia has six representatives across the men’s and women’s teams. Learn about them—and discover a bracket tip or two—as March Madness gets underway.
Teams from Virginia in Men’s March Madness
The University of Virginia played well all season long, but otherwise, it was a tough year for Virginia-based schools. Virginia Tech was a fringe bubble team, and we learned during the bracket reveal that VCU wouldn’t have made the NCAA tournament if the Rams hadn’t won the A-10 Conference Tournament. But they did, and so we have two Virginia teams in the men’s tourney! All times below are in Eastern Daylight Time.
Virginia Cavaliers (3-seed)
The Cavaliers have an infamous spot in history as the first 1-seed to lose to a 16-seed. Ryan Odom, the coach who led the UMBC team that defeated Virginia, is now in charge in Charlottesville. After that loss, the Cavaliers bounced back and won March Madness the following season. However, it’s been slim pickings since then. The Cavaliers were upset in two heartbreakers in 2021 and 2023, and only mustered 42 points in a First Four loss in 2024. That was the final game for legendary Virginia coach Tony Bennett, yet Odom has turned the program around in an impressive way. And he’s done it with an entirely different approach than how Bennett traditionally built his teams. Odom has a pair of talented freshmen in All-ACC First-Team star Thijs De Ridder and fan-favorite Jacari White. The three other top scorers are all transfers, including Malik Thomas, Sam Lewis, and Chance Mallory. Hoos fans aren’t questioning the process one bit. The Cavaliers are back to being a top program in college basketball. As a bonus, they led the nation with 6.5 blocks per game. Ugonna Onyenso, who transferred from Kansas State, is a big reason why. He swatted 21 shots in three games during the ACC Tournament.
This year’s record: 29-5
2026 first-round matchup: 14-seed Wright State (March 20, 1:50 p.m., TBS)
Best-ever finish: NCAA Tournament champion (2019)
Bracket advice: The Cavaliers haven’t won a tournament game since the championship year, but that should change this season. They’re a good bet to reach the Sweet Sixteen and are in one of the weaker regions. They could be a sneaky Final Four pick.
VCU Rams (11-seed)
Phil Martelli Jr. led the Virginia Commonwealth Rams to the NCAA Tournament in his first season coaching the team. And fewer teams are coming in hotter. VCU has won 16 out of its last 17 games, including a wire-to-wire victory over Dayton to win the Atlantic 10 tournament and secure the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. VCU has some memorable March Madness moments—upsetting Duke in 2007, a Final Four trip in 2011—but hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2016 despite five appearances over that timeframe. This team could break the drought. Sophomore Terrence Hill Jr. leads the squad with 14.4 points a game despite coming off the bench. Transfers Lazar Djokovic and Jadrian Tracey have been excellent additions next to him. VCU shoots a solid 36.4% from three-point range, which is good for 41st in the entire nation.
This year’s record: 27-7
2026 first-round matchup: 6-seed North Carolina (March 19, 6:50 p.m., TNT)
Best-ever finish: NCAA Tournament Final Four (2011)
Bracket advice: The Rams have a nice first-round matchup, as the Tar Heels are missing their superstar, Caleb Wilson. A second-round matchup against (most likely) the Illinois Fighting Illini would be a high-flying, entertaining watch—Illinois is 21st in scoring, while VCU isn’t that far behind at 53rd in the nation. Pick the Rams to the Sweet Sixteen if you’re feeling feisty, though a first-round upset and loss in the Round of 32 feels more likely.
Teams from Virginia in Women’s March Madness
The women are really doing the heavy lifting for the state of Virginia. While the men only got two teams into the Big Dance, the women sent four. Let’s meet them. All times below are in Eastern Daylight Time.
Virginia Tech Hokies (9-seed)
Virginia Tech has a fairly balanced scoring attack; six players average more than eight points per game. Juniors Carleigh Wenzel (15.3 points per game) and Carys Baker (14.1 points per game) are tops on the team, while senior transfer Kilah Freelon has doubled her points and rebounds output from last season. The Hokies have taken a massive step forward in coach Megan Duffy’s second year in Blacksburg. They also do two things well that can lead to tournament success: They don’t turn the ball over a ton, and they’re an excellent rebounding team, especially on the offensive glass.
This year’s record: 23-9
2026 first-round matchup: 8-seed Oregon (March 20, 1:30 p.m., ESPN2)
Best-ever finish: NCAA Final Four (2023)
Bracket advice: Flip a coin to decide Virginia Tech’s first-round matchup against Oregon. The second round against Texas is where we’d end the Hokies’ ride.
Virginia Cavaliers (10-seed in the First Four)
Virginia lost its final three games, including a tough one-point loss against intrastate rival Virginia Tech. That had them squarely on the bubble. Luckily for the Cavaliers, the selection committee was more impressed by the result before those three losses: a 74-72 road victory over No. 8 Louisville. Kymora Johnson is the do-it-all junior who leads the team in points (19.0), assists (5.9), and steals (2.2) per game. And like the men’s side, Virginia’s women’s team also led all programs in blocks, averaging 6.7 per contest. It’s a block party in Charlottesville!
This year’s record: 19-11
2026 first-round matchup: 10-seed Arizona State in the First Four (March 19, 9 p.m. ESPN2)
Best-ever finish: NCAA Elite Eight (2025)
Bracket advice: The Cavaliers are small favorites over Arizona State in the First Four, so dispatching them is realistic. In the Round of 64, Georgia hasn’t won back-to-back games since January 24. Their inconsistency could allow Virginia to pull off the upset.
Richmond Spiders (10-seed in the First Four)
The Spiders were projected to finish first in the Atlantic-10 Conference before this year began. Instead, they wound up in third and were sweating out Selection Sunday after dropping a game against George Mason in the semifinals of the conference tournament. The selection committee valued Richmond’s gaudy record, however, so the Spiders will head to Durham for the First Four. They go as forward Maggie Doogan goes. Doogan’s 21 points per game is 14th in the country; she also leads Richmond in rebounds and blocks. Rachel Ullstrom and Ally Sweeney are reliable scorers to complement Doogan. The Spiders will need all three to be playing well to make any noise in the tournament.
This year’s record: 26-7
2026 first-round matchup: 10-seed Arizona State in the First Four (March 19, 9 p.m. ESPN2)
Best-ever finish: NCAA Tournament Round of 32 (2025)
Bracket advice: Last year was Richmond’s first-ever tournament game win. They’re underdogs against Nebraska and will be even larger underdogs against Baylor in the first round. Root for them in the First Four game, but that’s likely their ceiling in this tournament.
James Madison Dukes (12-seed)
Since James Madison joined the Sun Belt Conference for the 2022-23 campaign, the team has never finished with fewer than 23 wins in a season. This year was another terrific one for a program that’s been consistently great. Peyton McDaniel averaged 18.9 points per game, which was second in the conference. Alongside Ashanti Barnes (14.9 PPG) and Bree Robinson (12.1 PPG), this is a veteran team that plays cohesively. The Dukes had a slightly better record last year, but they won their conference tournament to actually go dancing this season.
This year’s record: 26-8
2026 first-round matchup: 5-seed Kentucky (March 21, 2:30 p.m., ESPNU)
Best-ever finish: NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 (1986, 1987, 1988, 1991)
Bracket advice: This was an excellent season for the Dukes. It likely ends in the first-round matchup against Kentucky, though James Madison could keep it close. We wouldn’t move them any further than the Round of 32, however.
