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Dec. 20, 1999

Virginia (6-3) vs. Richmond (4-4)
December 21, 1999
7:30 p.m.
Robins Center
Richmond, Va.

The Series vs. Richmond
Virginia holds a 48-36 lead in the series against Richmond that dates back to its beginning over 80 years ago. The first meeting took place in the 1914-15 season with UVa winning 39-13 at home. Virginia lost the most recent meeting, an 83-79 double overtime setback on November 16, 1997 at the Robins Center in Richmond. Only two of the 84 games in the series have gone into overtime and in both instances the games were decided in double overtime. The first double overtime game was played in the 1946-47 season with UVa winning at home 55-54.

Despite the loss in the 1997-98 season, the Cavaliers have won 11 of the last 14 meetings vs. the Spiders dating back to the 1968-69 campaign.

After not playing on the Spiders’ home court for 27 years (1968-95), this is the Cavaliers’ third appearance at the Robins Center in the last five seasons. Virginia downed Richmond 67-52 at the Robins Center during the 1995-96 season and lost in double overtime in 1997-98.

Virginia vs. the CAA
The Cavaliers are 137-68 (.668) against the nine schools in the Colonial Athletic Association. Most of the games occurred prior to a school’s membership in the CAA.

In all games against the current membership of the CAA, Virginia is 51-26 vs. William & Mary, 48-36 vs. Richmond, 8-4 vs. Old Dominion, 10-1 vs. VCU, 7-0 vs. James Madison, 6-0 vs. George Mason, 4-1 vs. American, 2-0 vs. North Carolina-Wilmington and 1-0 vs. East Carolina. Since the CAA’s inaugural season in 1982-83, the Cavaliers are 28-5 vs. CAA schools for an impressive .848 winning percentage. Over the last five seasons, Virginia is 13-1 (.929) against CAA opponents.

End of the Road and Welcome Home
The Richmond game marks the end of a stretch that has included seven of eight games away from the friendly confines of University Hall. Following the Richmond game, Virginia will play its next four contests at U-Hall. After defeating VMI 98-57 on November 21, UVa went 17 days before playing Loyola (Dec. 8) in its next home game.

The Cavaliers home contest against Belmont on December 28, marks only their second home game in 37 days. The Belmont contest also begins a stretch of four home games in 12 days. In addition to Belmont, UVa hosts Dartmouth (Jan. 2), Duke (Jan. 5) and Georgia Tech (Jan. 8).

Virginia vs. In-State Teams
This is the Cavaliers’ third of four games this season against an in-state opponent. Virginia defeated VMI 98-57 (Nov. 21) at University Hall and Hampton 102-56 (Dec. 10) at the Hampton Convocation Center. In the last 21 seasons, UVa is 90-14 (.865) against in-state opponents.

Last season, the Cavaliers’ were 5-0 against in-state opponents defeating Hampton, Liberty, Virginia Commonwealth, VMI and Virginia Tech.

In the 1997-98 season, the Cavaliers were 5-2 against in-state foes. The two losses were the most against state teams since the 1987-88 season when the Cavaliers were 1-3 vs. state teams. Pete Gillen is 8-2 against Virginia schools as a collegiate head coach. He is 2-0 vs. VMI and Hampton, 1-0 vs. Liberty, 2-1 vs. Virginia Tech, and 1-1 vs. VCU.

Gillen’s Xavier team defeated Virginia Tech 85-52 in 1993-94, while his 1994-95 Providence team lost to the Hokies 91-78 in the NIT. In the 1993-94 season, Gillen’s Xavier team lost to VCU 79-76.

Changes in Virginia’s Starting Lineup
Virginia head coach Pete Gillen has used seven different starting lineups and has had a total of 10 different players start in the first nine games of the Cavaliers’ 1999-2000 season. Virginia is 5-2 in games this season with new starting lineups. Only one player, sophomore Adam Hall, has started all nine games.

The Cavaliers opened the season with junior Stephane Dondon and sophomore Chris Williams at forward, and junior Colin Ducharme at center. Junior Donald Hand and Hall started in the backcourt. In the second game, a 98-57 triumph over VMI, Gillen started freshman Travis Watson at center instead of Ducharme. With the same starting lineup in the third game of the season against South Carolina, the Cavaliers suffered a 73-71 setback.

Gillen changed his starting lineup for the third time against Providence and it resulted in an 80-64 victory. Hall, Williams and Watson remained in the starting lineup, but junior guard Keith Friel and freshman guard Majestic Mapp started in place of Hand and Dondon. The Cavaliers used their fourth different starting combination against Arizona State (Hall, Williams, Watson, Mapp and Hand) and came away with a 70-64 victory.

In a 74-62 loss at Minnesota in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on November 30, Virginia started senior Willie Dersch, Ducharme, Hall, Hand and Watson. UVa started its sixth different lineup against St. John’s (Dec. 4) when freshman Roger Mason, Hall, Hand, Watson and Williams were in the starting lineup.

Gillen used his seventh different starting lineup in a 98-67 win over Loyola (Dec. 8). Dersch and Williams started at forward with Watson at center. At the two guard positions, Hand and Hall received the starting nod.

Hall Breaks Out of Scoring Slump
After four consecutive games without scoring in double figures, sophomore guard Adam Hall has broken out of his scoring slump with back-to-back double figure outings. In a 98-67 win over Loyola (Dec. 8), Hall scored all of his team-high 18 points in the first half. Against Hampton (Dec. 10), Hall tallied 15 points in a 102-56 UVa win. In the last two games, Hall has shot an impressive 82.4 percent from the field as he has made 14 of 17 attempts. He has also made four of his last five three-point attempts after starting the season one for 11 (9.1 percent).

On the season, Hall is shooting 57.6 percent (34-59) from the field, but is struggling at the free throw line having made 14 of 31 attempts (45.2 percent).

Double-Double for Hand
Junior guard Donald Hand registered his first double-double of the season and the third of his career against Hampton (Dec. 10) with 15 points and 11 assists. Hand’s 11 assists established a new career high. His former career high was nine assists against Duke (Jan. 24, 1998). It is Hand’s first double-double in points and assists. His first two double-doubles came last season against Wake Forest (Feb. 3) – 25 points, 11 rebounds, and Georgia Tech (Feb. 25) – 28 points, 13 rebounds.

School Record Pace for Steals
The Cavaliers are averaging 10.9 steals per game in the 1999-2000 season and at that pace, UVa would set a school record for steals. Last year, Virginia posted an all-time best 257 steals for an average of 8.6 per game. At their current rate, the Cavaliers would conclude the season with a school record 327 steals.

On four different occasions this season, Virginia has registered 15 steals in a game, which ties for 11th place on UVa’s single game steals list.

Donald Hand and Travis Watson Lead the Way
Junior guard Donald Hand led the Cavaliers in scoring last season (17.1 ppg.) and is leading the team in scoring through the first nine games of the 1999-2000 season (15.0 ppg.). He is also the team leader in assists (4.6 per game). Hand has led the team in scoring in three games and has one double-double to his credit. Freshman forward/center Travis Watson is third on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg.) and is the team’s leading rebounder (9.0 rpg.). Watson has led the team in scoring twice and in rebounding seven times, including the last four contests. He has two double-doubles in points and rebounds.

Watson Among the ACC Rookies
Freshman forward/center Travis Watson ranks highly among all ACC rookies in five statistical categories. He is tops among rookies in rebounds (9.0 rpg.) and field goal percentage (60.6 percent – 43-71). He ranks third in scoring (12.3 ppg.) and blocked shots (0.9 bpg.), and is tied for fourth in steals (1.7 spg.). Figures are for games played as of Wednesday, December 15.

Hare Sets Career High
Junior guard Josh Hare scored a career-high 10 points in the Cavaliers’ 102-56 win over Hampton (Dec. 10). He made four of eight attempts from the floor (1-4 on three-pointers) and one of two free throws. The field goals attempted and made are career bests as well. He also added four rebounds.Warming Up From Long Range

In its last two games Virginia has heated up from three-point range, as it has made 20 three-point field goals on 53 attempts for 37.7 percent. The percentage of three-pointers made isn’t great, but considering what the Cavaliers were shooting beyond the arc in the first seven games (26.6 percent – 33-124), it is significant. In the first seven games, UVa made 4.7 threes per game, compared to 10.0 per outing in the last two contests.

Virginia made a season-high 11 three-point field goals against Loyola (Dec. 8) with seven different players accounting for the threes. The 11 three-pointers are the 11th highest total in school history. (The Cavaliers made 11 three-pointers in a game eight other times.)

Freshmen Making Significant Contribution
Three freshmen are playing significant minutes for Virginia in the early part of the 1999-2000 season. Forward/center Travis Watson, and guards Majestic Mapp and Roger Mason have each seen action in all nine of Virginia’s games.

Watson has started eight games for the Cavaliers and is the team’s leading rebounder (9.0 rpg.) and third leading scorer (12.3 ppg.). He also leads the team in field goal percentage (60.6 percent, 43-71) and blocked shots (eight), and is second on the team in steals (15). Watson is averaging 25.2 minutes of playing time a game. Watson is fourth among all ACC players in rebounding with his average of 9.0 rebounds per game.

Mapp is averaging 6.0 points and 0.8 rebound a game while playing 17.9 minutes per contest. He has started two games and is shooting a team-high 45.0 percent (9-20) from three-point range. Mapp has 23 assists and 21 turnovers and 10 steals.

Mason is averaging 6.2 points and 2.2 rebounds a game. He is averaging 16.2 minutes of playing time a game and has 11 steals and nine assists.

Ten Different Double Figure Scorers
In the first nine games of the 1999-2000 season, the Cavaliers have had 10 different players score in double figures in a game. Virginia had only seven players reach double figures in scoring last season. Junior guard Josh Hare became the 10th Cavalier to score in double figures in the 1999-2000 season when he tallied 10 points against Hampton (Dec. 10). The other double figure scorers this season are: (only first double digit performance is listed) sophomore guard Adam Hall (12 vs. VMI), junior guard Donald Hand (18 vs. Elon), freshman guard Majestic Mapp (10 vs. Elon), freshman guard Roger Mason (10 vs. Elon), freshman forward/center Travis Watson (15 vs. Elon), sophomore forward Chris Williams (16 vs. Elon), junior guard Keith Friel (14 vs. South Carolina), junior center Colin Ducharme (10 vs. South Carolina), and senior forward Willie Dersch (10 vs. Arizona State).

Head Coach Pete Gillen
Pete Gillen is in his 15th season as a collegiate head coach and sports a 294-147 record for a .667 winning percentage. Gillen is in his second year as head coach at Virginia. His two Virginia teams have compiled an overall record of 20-19. Gillen has led his teams to postseason play 11 times (eight NCAA, three NIT). He has been selected as the conference Coach of the Year five times – all while coaching Xavier (Midwestern Collegiate Conference).

He successfully began his coaching career at Virginia with an 86-70 win over Virginia Commonwealth on November 13, 1998.

Not so “Free” Throws
After leading the ACC in free throw percentage (.734) for the first time since 1979 last season, the Cavaliers have struggled from the free throw line in the early portion of the 1999-2000 campaign.

Through the first nine games of the season, UVa has shot 65.8 percent (160-243) from the free throw line. The Cavaliers have shot over 65 percent from the charity stripe only four times this season, but have eclipsed that mark in three of the last four contests.

Virginia’s best performance from the free throw line was a perfect eight for eight outing against Minnesota on November 30. The effort tied for the sixth best performance in school history. UVa made all eight attempts from the line vs. Wake Forest (1/26/85) and Houston (12/10/89). Prior to the Minnesota game, the last time the Cavaliers were perfect from the free throw line was a six for six effort against Georgia Tech on February 22, 1990.

Spreading the Minutes Around
True to his word, head coach Pete Gillen is going deep into his bench in 1999-2000. After the first nine games of the season, Virginia has nine players averaging double figures in minutes. No player is averaging 30 minutes of playing time per game.

Only four players, junior guard Donald Hand (28.6), sophomore forward Chris Williams (28.2), freshman forward/center Travis Watson (25.2) and sophomore guard Adam Hall (24.3), are averaging more than 20 minutes per contest. The other players averaging double figure minutes are: freshman guard Majestic Mapp (17.9), freshman guard Roger Mason (16.2), senior forward Willie Dersch (15.2), junior guard Keith Friel (12.0), and junior forward Stephane Dondon (11.1). Junior center Colin Ducharme is averaging 9.6 minutes per game.

Ducharme Eighth on Blocked Shot List
Junior center Colin Ducharme is currently eighth on Virginia’s all-time blocked shot list with 80. He needs three more blocks to move past Ted Jefferies (1990-93) into seventh place.

Ducharme is tied with current teammate Chris Williams for the ninth-best single season block total with 41. Ducharme notched his 41 blocks while leading the team in that category in 1996-97. Williams’ 41 blocks came last year. In addition to leading the team in blocks in 1996-97, Ducharme also held that honor in 1997-98 with 34.

Three Opponents Shoot 50 Percent
Earlier this season, Virginia had three consecutive opponents shoot 50 percent or better. Arizona State shot exactly 50 percent (28-56) on November 27, Minnesota connected on 55.1 percent (27-49) from the floor on November 30, and St. John’s converted a UVa opponent-best 55.4 percent (31-56) from the field on December 4.

Last year, Virginia did not have opponents shoot 50 percent or better in three-straight contests, however, on two occasions the opposition shot better than 50 percent in back-to back games.

Duke (1/10) shot 60.5 percent (46-76) followed by a 58.0 percent (29-50) outing by N.C. State (1/14) for the first back-to-back 50 percent shooting performance. In the second instance, Maryland (2/6) shot 54.2 percent (32-59) followed by a 58.7 percent (37-63) effort by Duke (2/11).

Cavaliers Roll to Victory over Hampton
Six UVa players scored in double figures in a 102-56 win over Hampton on December 10 at the Hampton Convocation Center. All five starters scored in double figures and shot better than 50 percent from the floor. As a team the Cavaliers shot a season high 54.3 percent (38-70). Forward Chris Williams led the way with a game-high 18 points, while junior Donald Hand and sophomore Adam Hall both contributed 15 points. Senior Willie Dersch (11), freshman Travis Watson (10) and junior Josh Hare (10) rounded out UVa’s double figure scorers. Hand also dished out a career-high 11 assists for his first double-double of the season.

Tommy Adams led Hampton (0-4) with 14 points and he also added five rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Virginia jumped out to a 20-0 lead and shot 63.2 percent (24-38) en route to a 59-23 halftime advantage.

Virginia Defeats Loyola
The Cavaliers halted their two-game losing streak with a 98-67 win over Loyola on December 8 at University Hall. UVa shot a then season-high 53.7 percent (36-67) from the floor and also registered another season best with 11 three-pointers. Sophomore Adam Hall led five Virginia players in double figure scoring with a season-high 18 points, all of which came in the first half. Hall was eight of 10 from the field. Freshman Travis Watson added 14 points and a game-high eight rebounds, while junior Donald Hand tossed in 13 points. Watson recorded four steals and Hand dished out eight assists. Freshman Roger Mason (12) and senior Willie Dersch (10) rounded out the double figure scorers for UVa.

Guard Jason Rowe led Loyola with 19 points, while forward Blanchard Hurd added 17.

Virginia Loses to St. John’s in Madison Square Garden
Despite a season-high 20 points from forward Chris Williams, and 10 points and nine rebounds from Travis Watson, UVa dropped an 85-63 decision to St. John’s University in Madison Square Garden on December 4. Erick Barkley led five St. John’s players in double figures with 27 points. The Red Storm shot 55.4 percent (31-56) from the field, including 50 percent (6-12) from three-point range, in the victory over the Cavaliers. The loss was Virginia’s second in a row.

UVa Loses to Minnesota in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
Virginia shot a season-low 36.4 percent from the field and the Cavaliers were out-rebounded 41-32 in a 74-62 loss at Minnesota in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on November 30. Terrance Simmons paced four Minnesota players in double figures with 15 points, while freshman forward Travis Watson scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to lead Virginia.

Cavaliers Finish Fifth in Puerto Rico Shootout
After dropping its first round game in the Puerto Rico Shootout to South Carolina 73-71 on November 25, UVa won its next two games to finish fifth in the tournament. The Cavaliers defeated Providence 80-64 on November 26, and then posted a 70-64 victory over Arizona State in the fifth place game on November 27.

Junior guard Donald Hand was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 19.3 points in the three contests. He was 20 of 28 (71.4 percent) from the free throw line, including a 14 of 17 effort against Providence. Hand scored a season-high 26 points in the win over PC.

Double-Double in Debut
Freshman forward Travis Watson became only the third freshman in Virginia history since the restoration of freshman eligibility in 1972-73 to record a double-double in the first game of his career. Oddly enough, it is also the second straight year that it has happened.

Watson totaled 15 points and 14 rebounds in only 19 minutes in the season opener against Elon on November 19. He earned his first career start against VMI on November 21 and totaled 16 points (7 of 9 FGs, 2-2 FTs), seven rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and two steals in 25 minutes of action. Current sophomore Chris Williams opened his UVa career with a 20-point, 10-rebound “double double” against Virginia Commonwealth last season.

The first player to record a double double in his first game was Scott Johnson, who scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 27 minutes in the 1995-96 season opener against Tennessee-Martin.

The performances of several notable Cavaliers in their college debuts are listed below.

Who? Opp./Yr. Pts. Rebs.
Junior Burrough W&M 91-92 17 6
Bryant Stith Dartmouth 88-89 12 6
Olden Polynice Lafayette 83-84 8 5
Ralph Sampson Johns Hopkins 79-80 17 8
Jeff Lamp James Madison 77-78 24 3
Marc Iavaroni W&L 74-75 14 9
Wally Walker WFU 72-73 7 3

No Three-Pointers
Virginia held Arizona State without a three-point field goal on November 27, marking the sixth time since the inception of the three-point field goal in the 1986-87 season that UVa has accomplished the feat. Interestingly, two of the five previous games that Virginia held opponents without a three-pointer came last season in a span of eight days (Loyola 0-7 on 12/30/98 and Maryland 0-7 on 1/7/99).

Only Two in Double Figure Scoring
The Cavaliers had only two players score in double figures in their victory against Providence (Nov. 26) and their loss to St. John’s (Dec. 4), marking the only times this season Virginia has not had at least three players score in double figures in a game. Last season, Virginia failed to have at least three players score in double figures four times, but only won one of those contests (a 65-58 win over Clemson on January 17, 1999).

Back-to-Back 90 Point Games
The Cavaliers scored over 90 points in back-to-back games to open the season for the first time since the 1975-76 season. Virginia began the 1999-2000 season with a 97-66 win over Elon, then defeated VMI 98-57. The last time the Cavaliers scored that many points in the first two games of a season was in 1975-76 when they posted 113-65 and 101-57 victories over Hampden-Sydney and Washington & Lee, respectively.

The combined margin of victory over Elon and VMI (72 points) is the largest in the first two games of a season since 1975-76 when UVa won by 92 points.

Watson Perfect From Field
Freshman forward/center Travis Watson was a perfect six-for-six from the field against South Carolina on November 25 to tie for Virginia’s fifth best perfect shooting game from the field of all time. It is the 11th time that a player has made all six attempts from the field. Prior to Watson, the last UVa player to make every attempt (minimum of five) from the floor was Kenny Turner, who tied the school record with a nine-for-nine effort against Samford on 11/28/89. Jeff Jones (vs. Alabama-Birmingham 3/18/82) also shares the school record with Turner.

Dersch and Hand Elected Captains
Senior forward Willie Dersch and junior guard Donald Hand have been elected captains of the 1999-2000 Virginia basketball team by their teammates. Both players served as captains of the basketball team last season.

In 1998-99, Dersch started 26 of the 30 games in which he played and received the team’s Michael McCann Leadership Award. He averaged 10.2 points and 2.8 rebounds a game last season. The three-year letterwinner is the only senior on the 1999-2000 UVa team.

Hand started all 30 games last season and was the co-recipient of the Bill Gibson Cavalier of the Year Award as the team’s most valuable player. Hand led the Cavaliers in scoring (17.1 ppg), assists (123, 4.1 ppg.), steals (57), free throw shooting (86.2 percent, 162-188) and three-point field goals (50). He was the top free throw shooter in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season. His 41 points in Virginia’s 82-79 overtime victory over North Carolina State last February are a UVa sophomore record and the most points scored by a Virginia player since Barry Parkhill established a school record with 51 points against Baldwin-Wallace during the 1971-72 season.

1999-2000 ACC Pre-Season Media Prediction
(Indicates first place votes)

Team Points
1. North Carolina (74) 792
2. Duke (16) 712
3. Wake Forest 577
4. Maryland 481
5. NC State 442
6. Georgia Tech 396
7. Virginia 358
8. Florida State 179
9. Clemson 113

Five Players Mentioned for ACC Pre-Season Honors
Virginia had five players receive votes for various 1999-2000 Pre-Season Atlantic Coast Conference teams as selected by the media attending the conference’s 38th annual Operation Basketball held on October 24 in Greensboro.

Headlining the UVa list is sophomore forward Chris Williams who was selected to the pre-season All-ACC second team. Williams also received consideration as the pre-season ACC Player of the Year. Last season, Williams was named the ACC Rookie of the Year and also garnered third team accolades. He was Virginia’s second leading scorer at 16.8 points per game and also led the squad with 7.5 rebounds per outing.

Junior guard Donald Hand was a 1999-2000 honorable mention pre-season All-ACC selection, having received the 13th-most votes. Hand led the Cavaliers in scoring in 1998-99 with 17.1 points per game and was an honorable mention All-ACC pick at the conclusion of the season.

Three members of Virginia’s heralded freshman class received consideration as the 1999-2000 pre-season ACC Rookie of the Year. Point guard Majestic Mapp, guard Roger Mason and forward Travis Watson were among seven league players to receive votes for Rookie of the Year.

Williams and Hall Win Silver
Sophomores Chris Williams and Adam Hall played on the USA Basketball Men’s Junior World Championship Team that earned a silver medal at the 16-team 1999 FIBA Men’s Junior World Championships in Portugal in July. Williams, the 1998-99 ACC Rookie of the Year and All-ACC third-team pick, set a tournament record for the USA with 12 blocked shots during the competition. He averaged 10.4 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.

Ducharme Living on The Lawn
Redshirt junior Colin Ducharme was selected to live in one of Virginia’s prestigious Lawn rooms during the 1999-2000 academic year. He is the 15th men’s basketball player to be chosen to live on The Lawn and the first since Matt Blundin, who played both basketball and football at Virginia, lived on The Lawn in 1992.

Ricky Stokes (1984), Ralph Sampson (1983) and Terry Gates (1980) are the other most recent basketball players to live on The Lawn.

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