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The loss of Justin Anderson for Virginia has not hurt their current seeding of a #1 seed. They’re still on track to be a high seed as a #1 or #2 seed. Their regular season success has come as no surprise. Last year they did so and only lost one key player in Joe Harris.

With all the returning talent they had and the coaching of Tony Bennett, Virginia has had unwavered success in 2014-2015. But over their last four to five conference games there have been glaring weaknesses to Virginia. Ones that typically cost a high seed an early exit in the NCAA tournament.

As great as Virginia’s defense is they have a hard time maintaining an offensive attack. Even before the loss of Justin Anderson they had rough stretches. In the first half against Rutgers and Davidson they found themselves trailing. Thanks to proper adjustments from Bennett and increased defensive intensity they were able to run away in those games.

As the season has wore on in ACC play, Virginia’s defense has not been as sharp. That’s because teams are starting to attack Virginia more inside. They’ve also been using their poor offense against them. Louisville struggled to score against Virginia but the offense they were able to generate came via missed Virginia shots and attacking against a non-set defense.

If Virginia does not figure out a way to orchestrate better offense they will be on upset alert before the sweet 16 this season. Justin Anderson is due to come back around that time frame. Sometimes a key player returning after a layoff ends up being a detriment to a team. The time away allots players to get accustomed to playing without an individual. Adding Anderson for the tournament will be great for Virginia defensively but I see it hurting them offensively.

Virginia may end up still being a number one seed or a two seed, but the way they’re playing I’d have to rank them a true 4/5 seed with the eye test.