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Seventh-ranked Cavaliers Head to Birmingham to Play Auburn
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Dec. 6, 2001
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –
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THE GAMEToday’s game is the second contest of the Arby’s Hardwood Classic. UNLV and Alabama-Birmingham meet in the first game at 1:00 p.m. Central Time.
Virginia (2000-2001: 20-9/9-7 ACC), ranked eighth in the AP poll and seventh in the USAToday/ESPN poll, stands at 4-0 this season. The Cavaliers are coming off a 69-61 victory over in-state rival Virginia Tech (Dec. 1) at University Hall. Auburn (2000-2001: 18-14/7-9 SEC) is 4-2 in the 2001-2002 season. The Tigers are coming off a 67-66 loss to Louisiana Tech (Dec. 4) in Auburn, Ala.
The Series vs. AuburnVirginia trails Auburn in the all-time series 2-1. The two teams have not played in over 70 years and the last two games were played when both schools were members of the Southern Conference. The Tigers won the initial game of the series 27-21 in Charlottesville in the 1919-1920 season. The Cavaliers evened the series at 1-1 with a 29-27 triumph in Atlanta in the 1924-25 season. In the last meeting in the 1930-31 season, Auburn came away with a 33-26 win in Atlanta.
The Cavaliers in BirminghamUVa is 0-2 all-time in Birmingham, dropping a pair of two-point games in postseason play. In the second round of the 1979 NIT, Virginia lost to Alabama 90-88. In its most recent game in Birmingham, UVa fell to Alabama-Birmingham 68-66 in the Mideast Region semifinals of the 1982 NCAA Tournament.
Virginia vs. the Southeastern ConferenceVirginia is 14-21 (.400) against the SEC all-time dating back to that league’s first season in 1932-33. In their last matchup against an SEC team, the Cavaliers defeated fourth-ranked Tennessee 107-89 last season (Dec. 19) in the Jimmy V Classic at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, N.J.
Taking games played when a school was in the SEC only, the series looks like this (records listed for UVa): vs. Alabama 1-4, Arkansas 0-2, Florida 1-0, Georgia Tech 0-1, Georgia 2-1, Kentucky 0-4, Louisiana State 1-0, Mississippi 1-0, Mississippi State 1-1, South Carolina 1-1, Tennessee 5-2, and Vanderbilt 1-5. Virginia has never played Auburn, Sewanee or Tulane while those schools were members of the SEC. (Please note that Virginia has played all of these schools, but not while they were members of the SEC.)
In all games against the 12 current SEC members, Virginia is 50-53 (.485).
Coming HomeToday’s game against Auburn was scheduled as a “homecoming” game for UVa senior forward Chris Williams, who is a native of Birmingham. Williams is averaging 19.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game (both averages are second on the team) in 2001-02.