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Dec. 19, 2001

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –

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The Game
Tonight’s game is the second of two UVa contests in the John Thompson Foundation Classic. The Cavaliers opened play in the Classic November 21 with a 115-66 win over Howard at University Hall.

Virginia (2000-2001: 20-9/9-7 ACC), ranked fifth in the AP poll and fifth in the USAToday/ESPN poll, stands at 6-0 this season. The Cavaliers are coming off a 74-54 victory over Charleston Southern (Dec. 17) at University Hall. Georgetown (2000-2001: 25-8/10-6 Big East), ranked 16th in both the AP and USAToday/ESPN polls, stands at 9-1 in the 2001-2002 season. The Hoyas are coming off a 99-80 victory over Howard (Dec. 17) at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C.

The Series vs. Georgetown
Georgetown leads the series with Virginia 12-9, but the Cavaliers have won five of the last seven meetings. Three of the last four games have been decided in overtime. Georgetown won the first six meetings of the series, which dates back to the 1906-07 season. Since then, Virginia holds a 9-6 edge in the series.

In the last meeting, Georgetown defeated UVa 115-111 in triple overtime in the first round of the 2000 National Invitation Tournament at University Hall (Mar. 15). Virginia’s last win over the Hoyas was a 76-66 overtime triumph in the ACC/Big East Challenge at the Greensboro Coliseum in the 1991-92 season. UVa’s previous win was a 68-63 triumph at the Capital Centre in Landover, Md., in the 1982-83 season. The game was billed as the “game of the decade” with two of the premier players in the country, Ralph Sampson and Patrick Ewing, squaring off against one another.

Tonight’s game is Virginia’s first in the MCI Center. The Cavaliers are 2-7 on Georgetown’s home courts over the years, but have won the last two meetings (85-78 in the 1953-54 season and 68-63 in the 1982-83 season).

Cavaliers Move up to Fifth
Virginia is ranked fifth in The Associated Press (as well as the USAToday/ESPN) Poll, marking the Cavaliers’ highest ranking in the AP poll since the 1982-83 season. UVa was ranked fourth in the final AP poll of the 1982-83 season.

Virginia vs. the Big East
The Cavaliers are 115-87 (.569) against the 14 schools in the Big East Conference. Most of the games occurred prior to a school’s membership in the Big East. Tonight’s game is the second of three contests against Big East teams this season. UVa defeated Virginia Tech 69-61 (Dec. 1) and will play Rutgers (Dec. 23) at U-Hall.

In all games against the current membership of the Big East, Virginia is 72-44 vs. Virginia Tech, 9-12 vs. Georgetown, 8-8 vs. West Virginia, 7-3 vs. Pittsburgh, 5-1 vs. Notre Dame, 4-1 vs. Villanova, 3-0 vs. Boston College, 3-1 vs. Providence, 2-6 vs. Connecticut, 1-0 vs. Rutgers, 1-1 vs. Syracuse, 0-2 vs. Miami (Fla.) and Seton Hall, and 0-6 vs. St. John’s.

Virginia was the only ACC school to win all three games in the defunct ACC-Big East Challenge held from 1989-91. Syracuse was the only Big East school to win all three games in the challenge.

Non-Conference Regular Season Winning Streak
Virginia has won a school record 23 consecutive regular season games against non-conference opponents. The previous record for consecutive non-conference regular season victories was 22. During its current streak, UVa has won both of its games against ranked non-ACC teams, beating fourth-ranked Tennessee 107-89 (Dec. 19) and 20th-ranked Missouri 85-72 (Jan. 20) during the 2000-01 season. The streak began with a 98-67 win against Loyola (Md.) at University Hall on December 8, 1999. The last time the Cavaliers lost to a non-conference opponent during the regular season was on December 4, 1999 when they lost 85-63 to St. John’s University at Madison Square Garden. Since joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, Virginia won 22 consecutive non-conference regular season games from November 21, 1981 to December 19, 1982. UVa began the streak with a 63-61 win over Brigham Young (Dec. 19) to start the 1981-82 season. The streak ended the next season when Virginia lost to Chaminade 77-72 (Dec. 23).

Back-to-Back 6-0 Starts
With its 6-0 start this season, Virginia has posted back-to-back 6-0 starts for the first time since the 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons. The Cavaliers won their first 10 games of the 2000-2001 season.

Back in 1982-83, UVa won its first eight games to start the season, then Virginia won its first 10 games in the 1983-84 season.

Strength vs. Strength
Tonight’s matchup pits one team’s strengths vs. the other team’s strengths. The Cavaliers and the Hoyas enter the game as two of the nations’ top scoring teams at 87.5 points per game, while Georgetown is holding its opponents to 62.2 points per game. Virginia is holding its opponents to 64.8 points per game. Ironically, UVa and Georgetown are both shooting 48.4 percent (UVa – 181-374, GU – 309-639) from the floor, while the Hoyas are holding opponents to 35.7 percent (222-622) from the field. The Cavaliers are limiting the opposition to 37.6 percent (145-386) from the floor.

Both teams are among the Division I leaders in scoring margin. Virginia holds a +22.7 points per game margin, while Georgetown is scoring 25.3 more points per game than its opponents.

Both teams are also averaging an identical 44.0 rebounds per game.

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