Tony Bennett Named 2014-15 USBWA National Coach of the Year

Virginia may have had a tough end to its season in the round of 32 at the NCAA tournament, but head coach Tony Bennett was recognized for the team's excellent campaign, as he was named the 2014-15 U.S. Basketball Writers Association Henry Iba National Coach of the Year, per VirginiaSports.com.     

The Cavaliers finished the season 30-4 overall (16-2 in the ACC), winning the ACC regular-season title for the second straight year before losing to North Carolina in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Virginia was a No. 2 seed in this year's NCAA tournament, but it fell to a tough Michigan State team in the round of 32.

Virginia fell to Michigan State last year in the Sweet 16 as well. The Cavaliers were also the higher seed in that matchup. That had Dan Wolken of USA Today wondering how much more Bennett could accomplish at the school:

And Bennett, despite an excellent season that nobody would deny, was considered by some a surprising choice for this award over Kentucky's John Calipari. Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal expressed the opinion of many:

Still, Bennett led the Cavaliers to a regular-season title in a conference that has five teams in the Sweet 16. That was certainly no small feat.

Bennett has now established Virginia as a national power and a team to be reckoned with in the ACC even if he and the school would surely love for the team to make a deeper tourney run next season.