Virginia is about to find out how good it really is

Virginia is a great basketball team. Let’s just get that out of the way up front. Over the last two years, Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers have done just about everything possible to rise from a middling program stuck in the country’s deepest conference to a powerhouse that looks like the most balanced and well-run team in the country.

Virginia had been to the NCAA Tournament just once in the last eight seasons before it hired Bennett away from Washington State ahead of the 2009-10 campaign. It took a few years to get things rolling, but last season the Hoos proved to be the surprise team of the year. Virginia took home the regular season and conference tournament crowns in the ACC, won 30 games for the first time since Ralph Sampson’s heyday in 1982 and headed into the NCAA Tournament with a No. 1 next to its name.

That season would end in a heartbreaking two-point loss to Michigan State in the Sweet 16, but sensible Virginia fans knew it wasn’t all bad. The core of the team was primarily made up of sophomores and juniors, setting up Virginia to be a juggernaut again in the immediate future. That’s exactly what’s happening this season.

There are currently two undefeated teams left in DI basketball, and Virginia is one of them at 19-0. You just might not realize it with all of the attention Kentucky has been getting, from the PURSUIT OF PERFECTION treatment on ESPN’s bottom line to the talk of a 40-0 championship run since the season tipped off.

Virginia has been the more balanced team: The Cavaliers rank No. 5 in offensive efficiency (Kentucky is No. 18) and No. 2 in defensive efficiency (Kentucky is No. 1). Virginia is only allowing 49.2 points per game, which is the best mark in the country.

So, why isn’t anyone talking about Bennett’s team potentially finishing the season undefeated? It’s mostly because the ACC is impossible. Here’s a look at Virginia’s next three games, starting Saturday against Duke:

If there’s a main difference between Kentucky and Virginia so far, it’s been the spectacle. Kentucky gives off the vibe of a traveling circus while Virginia just sort of goes about its business. There are a few other differences, though. Including:

Make no mistake: Bennett has been crushing the recruiting trail. Virginia’s roster is loaded with top 100 prospects, including Justin Anderson (No. 49), Malcolm Brogdon (No. 73), Anthony Gill (No. 88), Mike Tobey (No. 81) and London Perrantes (No. 96). Bennett is keeping the momentum rolling, too. Virginia is the only program that already has multiple top 100 commitments for the class of 2016.

When it comes to perception, though, pedigree makes a huge difference. Guys in the bottom half of the top 100 don’t generate eyes like McDonald’s All-Americans do. To that point, Virginia has zero Burger Boys while Kentucky has nine. Duke, the team Virginia hosts on Saturday, has four McDonald’s All-Americans in its freshman class, and just booted another (Rasheed Sulaimon) on Thursday without really thinking twice about how it would affect the team’s depth.

Just because Virginia lacks first-round NBA draft picks doesn’t mean it lacks talent, though. Here’s a look at the KenPom Player of the Year standings:

Yeah, three Virginia guys in the top seven. That’s incredible, and it’s a testament to just how dominant the Cavaliers have been so far.

The SEC is consistently criticized, but most of it is unfair. Right now, KenPom ranks the ACC as the third best conference and the SEC as the fourth best conference. When it comes to the remaining slate, though, Virginia’s schedule looks a lot harder than Kentucky’s.

You already know Virginia’s next three games are against top 10 teams. It also still has to play at N.C. State (ask Duke how easy that game is), at Syracuse and at Louisville to end the season. Kentucky doesn’t play another team currently ranked in the top 25 the rest of the way.

Games at LSU, vs. Arkansas and at Florida won’t be easy for Kentucky, but it’s more manageable than what Virginia is looking at.

Virginia is measured and calculated with every possession. That’s a nice way of saying this is the slowest damn team in the entire country. That’s barely hyperbole: there are 351 teams in D1 basketball and Virginia ranks No. 350 in pace.

Virginia has athletes, too. Have you seen Anderson play? He’s everywhere:

It’s almost impossible to play the type of defense Virginia is playing without elite athletes. They’re just not Kentucky, with a center applying full court pressure on the ball, a power forward dropping skyhooks and and the most fervent fanbase in the country losing its mind at all of it.

There’s plenty of time to compare Virginia to Kentucky and the rest of the college basketball’s elite class. It starts Saturday when College GameDay arrives in Charlottesville.