Virginia's Back-To-Back Regular Season Titles Put In Perspective

Now that Virginia has clinched first place in the ACC standings for the second straight year, it's time to start putting the achievements of this nucleus of players, and perhaps this resurrected program, into historical perspective.

This is just the 10th time in league history a team finished alone in first at least two seasons in a row, and the first time it's been done by a program from outside the state of North Carolina.

Virginia tied North Carolina at 12-2 at the top of the standings in both 1982 and 1983, but never previously reigned supreme by itself for two consecutive years. Terry Holland's 1981 UVa squad was 13-1 and alone in first, the only other time that's happened at Charlottesville until last season and this one.

With a game left at Louisville on Saturday, the Cavaliers are poised to conclude the 2015 regular season with a single loss. Three defeats in two years has been matched or exceeded just five times previously by lone first-place finishers. Only Duke from 1998 through 2000 was able to do better over a three-year span.

Tony Bennett's Cavs should also get extra consideration for ringing up their win totals, and suppressing the number of defeats, while playing the 18-game ACC schedule introduced in 2013.