Look, I know the first thing many people might say. “The Kentucky Wildcats are 30-0 and one win away from a perfect regular season. The award is John Calapari‘s to lose”. That might be an accurate statement, but I don’t think it is unreasonable to highlight the job Tony Bennett has done in Charlottesville for the Virginia Cavaliers.

The Cavaliers are 28-1 overall, suffering their lone loss at the hands of the Duke Blue Devils. Still, the school’s 15-1 record in the league has already secured them back-to-back ACC regular season titles. In a league historically dominated by the Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels, that accomplishment should not be overlooked.

Consider that the Cavaliers have not signed a top 20 recruiting class like many other top notch programs and the feat seems even more impressive. On this year’s roster alone, the aforementioned Wildcats have nine McDonald’s All-Americans. The Cavaliers have a grand total of zero.

In case you are wondering, the last McDonald’s All-American to come out of Charlottesville was Slyven Landesberg in 2008. Landesberg left the Cavaliers early after not being selected in the NBA Draft and is currently playing in the Israeli Super League. In total, the Wildcats have one less McDonald’s All-American on this year’s squad than the Cavaliers do in program history (10).

Enough with the historical comparison.

Last year, the Cavaliers lost eventual second-round pick in Joe Harris to the NBA. Harris helped lead the Cavaliers to their first ACC tournament title since 1976 and the school’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 1995. Despite the loss of Harris, the Cavaliers have exceeded last year’s best start in school history and likely will surpass the mark of 30 wins.

Just how is Bennett doing all of this?

Well for one, the Cavaliers are giving up the fewest points in the entire country on defense (50.0). They have held three teams this season to less than 30 points, two of which are in there own league. The on-ball defense and constant switching off ball screens has seen opponents struggle to get quality looks off before the end of the shot clock. The team might not kill you with length like the Wildcats do, but the result is still the same if not better.

Furthermore, the Cavaliers have won without the quality play of Justin Anderson. Anderson has been out since suffering a broken finger on his shooting hand in early February. The junior was averaging 13.4 points per game and an absurd 48.4 percent from deep, and he could return as early as Saturday.

Don’t get me wrong, going perfect in this day and age is something to be celebrated. Getting a group with the virtual size of  every NBA team and equal ego to play as one cannot be the easiest thing for Calapari to handle. At the same time, should one loss to a team like the Blue Devils discount Bennett from the discussion? His resume already includes the Naismith Coach of the Year back in 2007 with the Washington State Cougars and a second should not be out of the question this year with the Cavaliers.

After all, the program has not been a pipeline to the NBA.

The school’s best recruit is Bennett himself. The difference is instead of losing him to the NBA, the school should worry about losing him to big-time program similar to the Wildcats when a job opens up.

Michael Costeines is the ACC basketball Blogger for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter @MCosteines, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.