UVA's Bennett named AP men's college coach of the year

By AARON BEARD
AP Basketball Writer

SAN ANTONIO (AP) - Virginia's Tony Bennett is The Associated Press men's college basketball coach of the year.

Bennett was the runaway winner for the award, which is being presented Thursday at the Final Four. Bennett earned 50 of 65 votes from AP Top 25 writers with ballots submitted before the start of the NCAA Tournament.

The Cavaliers set a program single-season record for wins, dominated the Atlantic Coast Conference and reached No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the first time since the Ralph Sampson era. But the season ended with the Cavaliers falling to UMBC to become the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16-seed in NCAA Tournament history.

Bennett also won the award in 2007 when he was at Washington State.

Tennessee's Rick Barnes was second with five votes after leading the Volunteers to 26 wins and an NCAA bid.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.