Virginia Picked to Finish 3rd in ACC Preseason Poll, Gardner Second-Team All-ACC

The results of the preseason media poll for the 2022-2023 ACC men's basketball season were announced on Tuesday. Virginia was picked to finish 3rd in the ACC, behind No. 2 Duke and No. 1 North Carolina. The Tar Heels collected 93 first-place votes, while the Cavaliers received six first-place votes. 

ACC Men’s Basketball 2022 Predicted Order of Finish

1. North Carolina (90)
2. Duke (2)
3. Virginia (6)
4. Miami (2)
5. Florida State
6. Notre Dame
7. Virginia Tech (1)
8. Syracuse
9. Wake Forest
10. NC State
11. Clemson
12. Louisville
13. Boston College
14. Pittsburgh
15. Georgia Tech

North Carolina's Armando Bacot was the landslide pick as the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, receiving 82 votes. Duke's Dereck Lively II was voted the ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year, receiving 52 votes. Virginia's Isaac McKneely received one vote for ACC Rookie of the Year.

See the roster for the preseason All-ACC First and Second Teams below. Virginia's Jayden Gardner just barely missed the cut for the first team, as Duke's Jeremy Roach took the final spot on the first team with 35 votes, while Gardner was the top player listed on the Preseason All-ACC Second Team with 32 votes. 

Preseason All-ACC First Team

Armando Bacot, North Carolina (100)
Isaiah Wong, Miami (81)
Caleb Love, North Carolina (58)
Terquavion Smith, NC State (46)
Jeremy Roach, Duke (35)

Preseason All-ACC Second Team

Jayden Gardner, Virginia (32)
Dereck Lively II, Duke (19)
Justyn Mutts, Virginia Tech (18)
PJ Hall, Clemson (17)
RJ Davis, North Carolina (14)

The ACC preseason poll was voted on by the attending media at last week's ACC Basketball Tipoff event. 

At the end of last season, Jayden Gardner was selected to the All-ACC Third Team, while Reece Beekman was an All-ACC honorable mention, was selected to the All-ACC Defensive Team, and was 2nd in ACC Defensive Player of the Year voting. 

Virginia was predicted to finish 4th in the ACC before the 2021-2022 season and ended up going 12-8 in ACC play and finished 6th in the conference standings. 

Virginia is ranked No. 18 in the preseason AP Top 25 men's basketball poll.