Share 
Tony Bennett’s surprise decision to retire as men’s basketball coach at te University of Virginia moved the Cavaliers’ long national championship odds into even loftier territory on Friday.
FanDuel has so far marked the biggest shift, with the Cavaliers national championship odds ballooning from +7500 to +15000.
Bennett, 55, took Virginia to the NCAA Tournament 10 times in 15 seasons in Charlottesville and won the national championship in 2019. The championship came a year after the Cavaliers became the first No. 1 seed to fall to a No. 16 seed in NCAA Tournament history. His 364-136 record with the Cavaliers included six ACC regular-season titles and two in the conference tournament. He won his second AP “Coach of the Year” award with Virginia in 2018.
The Cavaliers were tabbed to finish fifth in the conference this year, according to a media poll released this week at the ACC Tipoff. The Cavaliers slightly outperformed their prognostication last year, finishing third at 13-7 in the conference after being picked fourth.
That continued a laudable trend of beating the media forecast in 14 of 16 of the previous campaigns.
The Cavaliers made more dubious poll history with the debut of this season’s AP Top 25. For the first time since 2021, Virginia failed to receive a vote.
UVA Odds After Bennett Resignation
Virginia sports bettors and those nationally will have some weighty odds to consider for Cavaliers futures bets.
- Bet365: National title odds moved from +10000 to +15000. ACC odds: from +1400 to +1800. A Bet365 trader called the move “no major impact. This isn’t a Virginia team that was expected to compete at the top.”
- BetMGM: National title odds remain at +15000.
- DraftKings: The Cavaliers’ national title odds moved from +12000 to +15000, while their odds for an ACC championship swelled from +1800 to +2500.
- FanDuel: Virginia’s national title odds shifted from +7500 to +15000. It’s ACC regular-season-winner odds shifted from +1500 to +2200.
