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Colorado State (25-10) defeated Virginia (23-11), 67-42, in the First Four on Tuesday night at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The Cavaliers struggled offensively, scoring only 14 points in the first half.
ESPN's Stephen A. Smith has seen enough from head coach Tony Bennett and called for the national championship head coach to be fired on First Take. Smith argued that Bennett's boring style of play, combined with Tuesday's loss, should be enough evidence for the program to move in another direction.
"It's not funny. I take no joy in saying this, but if it were me, I'd fire him. Strictly because of being boring. Literally. I'm not questioning his ability as a coach at all. He's a national champion for crying out loud. I'm not questioning his ability to coach, but you cannot be that boring, that unappealing for so long and get away with it," Smith said.
Despite multiple disappointing postseason performances, Bennett is still one of the most accomplished head coaches in the nation. He is 364-136 over 15 seasons with the Cavaliers, including leading the program to the 2018-19 national championship.
Under Bennett, Virginia has won six regular-season ACC championships and two ACC tournament titles. The Cavaliers have only missed the postseason once since 2013-14.
Despite the large amounts of success, Virginia has failed to meet expectations over the past four seasons. In 2023, the Cavaliers lost to No. 13 Furman in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and did not qualify for the postseason in the 2021-22 season. Since winning the national title, Virginia has not advanced past the Round of 64.
Smith may have jumped the gun on firing Bennett, but if the Cavaliers continue to fail to meet postseason expectations, the buzz surrounding Bennett's future in Charlottesville will continue to grow.
